I used AI to make my own pumpkin spice latte — and I'm never going back to Starbucks

It's officially cozy season, and while there's nothing wrong with seeking out the humble pumpkin spiced latte at your local coffee shop, I always feel like it's a colossal waste of money when I have one of the best coffee makers at home on my kitchen counter. Try as I might though, I've never been able to recreate the sweet and spicy flavor using store-bought syrups, so I decided to get creative in the kitchen and test some fall coffee recipes of my own. 

My experiment was in no small part inspired by Tom's Guide's very own AI editor, Ryan Morrison. Ryan's not only an expert in all the latest AI developments, but he's also a coffee fanatic, so when he told me he'd been using AI to create new coffee recipes at home, I decided to give it a try myself. 

I turned to ChatGPT and asked for three seasonal new coffee recipes that I could make from home, using my espresso machine. Here's how it went. 

The brief

I love coffee, which is lucky, because testing coffee makers is a major part of my job. Although I tend to avoid syrups when I'm evaluating machines (they override the flavor of the beans, meaning it's harder to tell if I've got a good extraction) I do love drinking a vanilla latte or dirty chai when I'm not in work mode. So while I have a few flavored syrups around, I was curious to see if I could create some tasty autumnal drinks without them.

I asked ChatGPT to make me three unique and seasonal coffee recipes that I could make with fairly common household ingredients, and it suggested the following drinks: 

1. Honey Cinnamon Espresso Latte
2. Coconut Mocha Espresso
3. Cardamom Vanilla Iced Espresso

You'll note that all these recipes have espresso in the name, which I think is because I specified that I'd need to be able to make them with my espresso machine. They're all milk-based drinks, though, and you'll be able to make them at home as long as you have access to either a single-serve machine such as a Nespresso machine, or an espresso machine. You'll also need a milk frother or a steam wand. 

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1. Honey Cinnamon Espresso Latte

ChatGPT's first recipe seemed the most pedestrian of the lot, so I decided to start with it. The exact advice is gave me is as follows:

The recipe

Ingredients

• 1 shot of espresso
• 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 oz steamed milk (or any milk substitute)

Instructions:

1. Brew a shot of espresso.
2. In your cup, stir honey and cinnamon into the espresso until well mixed.
3. Steam your milk and pour it into the cup.
4. Optionally, sprinkle a little cinnamon on top for extra flavor.

Amendments: If you don't have honey, maple syrup or agave syrup will work well. You can also use powdered milk or creamer if needed.

How it went

Although perhaps a little short on details (I could've asked for tips on how to steam the milk if I'd wanted) the recipe came together very easily. I brewed my espresso and then stirred in my honey and cinnamon. Then it was simply a case of steaming my milk and attempting (quite badly) to pour some latte art before popping a cinnamon stick on top. Fine, that wasn't in the recipe, but I thought it might look nice.

The flavor was pretty good, very cozy and autumnal. I thought it might be too much cinnamon for one drink, but it balanced well against the honey. I'd definitely make this drink again, although it was the least inspiring of the drinks I attempted. 

2. Coconut Mocha Espresso

When I'm having a slow day, I'll treat myself to a mocha at around 3 p.m. to keep myself going. Adding coconut to a mocha feels decidedly more grown-up though, so I was keen to try ChatGPT's second suggestion. 

The recipe

Ingredients

• 1 shot of espresso
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk (or regular milk)
• 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup (or cocoa powder mixed with sugar)
• 6 oz steamed milk
• A pinch of shredded coconut (optional)

Instructions:

1. Brew a shot of espresso.
2. Stir coconut milk and chocolate syrup into the espresso.
3. Steam regular milk and pour it into the cup, blending all ingredients.
4. Optionally, sprinkle shredded coconut on top for texture.

Amendments: If you don’t have coconut milk, substitute it with almond milk, oat milk, or just use regular milk and add a tiny bit of coconut extract for flavor.

How it went

If anything, I think this drink could've had more coconut flavor. I used a few tablespoons of canned coconut milk, which I typically keep in-stock for making Thai recipes, but I'd be tempted to buy a bottle of drinking coconut milk from the store and replace the dairy from this drink entirely. 

The coconut mocha was my partner's favorite of all the drinks I made, so it almost immediately disappeared upstairs to his office. After all, there's only so much espresso I should be allowed to drink. The mix of coconut and chocolate is very reminiscent of a British Bounty bar, which combines a desiccated coconut center and a creamy milk chocolate coating. The lack of spice means it's probably the least seasonal of the lot, but anything mocha immediately makes me think of hot cocoa after a cold and rainy walk, so it definitely had a cozy, nostalgic quality.

3. Cardamom Vanilla Iced Espresso

Although I typically associate fall with hot coffees, many people drink iced lattes long into the winter months, so I decided to give ChatGPT's iced suggestion a go last, as a bit of a wildcard. 

The recipe

Ingredients

• 1 shot of espresso
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• Ice cubes
• 6 oz cold milk (or milk substitute)

Instructions:

1. Brew your espresso and let it cool slightly.
2. Stir in the cardamom, vanilla, and sugar (if using).
3. Fill a glass with ice cubes and pour in the espresso mixture.
4. Add cold milk, stir, and enjoy.

Amendments: If you don’t have cardamom, you can use cinnamon or nutmeg for a different spice profile. 

How it went

I didn't have any ground cardamom, but I do keep whole cardamom pods in my cupboard for cooking curries, so I asked ChatGPT if I could use these instead: 

 Yes, whole cardamom will work! Here's how you can use it:

1. Grind the whole cardamom pods: If you have a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, you can grind the pods into a fine powder. Be sure to remove the husks after cracking the pods to access the seeds inside.
2. Infuse the flavor: Alternatively, you can lightly crush a couple of cardamom pods and steep them in the hot espresso for a few minutes, then strain them out. This will impart the cardamom flavor to the coffee without needing to grind it.

Both methods will allow you to enjoy the cardamom in your recipe. The grinding method will give you a more intense flavor, while infusing will be subtler.

So, I bashed a few pods with my pestle and mortar, and I actually think this went better than if I'd used ground cardamom. I was able to scoop them out after infusing in the coffee for a few minutes, and was left with a highly fragrant espresso without any grittiness.

This was my clear winner. It reminded me of one of my favorite coffee drinks: a dirty chai. I love drinking dirty chai (which is a shot of chai, a spiced South Asian tea, combined with a shot of espresso and topped with steamed milk) in coffee shops, but making my own chai blend always seemed like too much effort. Although simply using cardamom, sugar and vanilla wasn't nearly as authentic, it still had the spiced fragrant quality I was looking for, and this really shone through with an iced drink. If you wanted to attempt this one, I'd recommend that you definitely add the sugar. Chai is very sweet, so this played a big part in replicating that flavor. 

Here's what I learned

These recipes all took very little time, and I didn't do any extra shopping to make them. I especially enjoyed being able to ask ChatGPT for adjustments or alternatives, which made these recipes a lot more accessible without making them boring. 

The main thing I realized when making these drinks is that it's really fun to experiment from home, and I've got plenty of ingredients to play around with different flavors, no shopping needed. After the success of my coconut mocha, I'm already thinking that it'd be fun to make a chocolate orange mocha using some orange peel to garnish. 

So would I use AI-generated coffee recipes again? It's a definite yes from me. The recipes took seconds to generate, making adjustments based on what I had in stock was easy, and it hit those coffee shop cravings without having to spend a dime. 

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