Class is in session: Grading Coffee Club’s new fall menu

These days, with the school year in full swing, students have just one thing on their mind: the impending doom of midterms. Luckily, last Friday, Coffee Club dropped five new drinks as part of their 2026 seasonal fall menu just in time for sleep-deprived students like me already regretting enrolling in their 8:35 a.m. lectures. To honor this midterm spirit, I’ve assigned a letter grade to each drink I had the pleasure of trying this week, from average to top of the class. 

Iced Earl Grey matcha: A reluctant B

On paper, this seemed like the perfect drink for me. As a true matcha lover and someone who can’t make it to class without a cup of Earl Grey tea in the morning, this mashup was almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the case. 

When I tried the drink, I immediately felt the Earl Grey flavor dominate the matcha, making it feel like an afterthought. Instead of a smooth, rich matcha, the texture itself felt quite watery. Perhaps my high expectations colored my disappointment, but I’m not convinced I will order this drink again. If you are particularly passionate about Earl Grey, this is the drink for you. For me, however, this experience felt like a group project with close friends — where you expect everything to go perfectly, but suddenly one friend gets sick, the other goes MIA, and you end up creating the entire slide deck yourself. 

Butter pecan chai: A festive B+ 

The menu’s butter pecan chai was a pleasant surprise. While I don’t typically gravitate toward butter pecan, this combination worked perfectly. Upon drinking, the chai flavor was intense, its spices hitting you in the back of the throat like a scalding cup of cider. Fortunately, the butter pecan’s sweetness acted as a lovely counterpoint. 

This drink is the personification of sitting by the fireplace and the embodiment of fall, bringing me back to early memories of apple picking as a kid and crunching on auburn leaves. Perhaps there is no better description of this drink than that of my roommate and coffee shop companion, who noted while sipping, “I have fall in my mouth.” 

However, it’s worth noting that the drink is quite sweet, so I would stay away if you don’t have a sweet tooth. But for those that do, or for anyone who just wants a comforting pick-me-up from the brisk weather, this is the one to order. I could envision this drink as a problem set with an impossible-looking first question yet shockingly easy enough to breeze through in an hour. 

Blueberry pie latte: A rocky A-

As a lover of inventive lattes that can hardly be considered coffee, words can not describe how excited I was to hear that Coffee Club would be adding a blueberry pie-flavored latte to their menu. So when I came to check out the full Fall Menu, I’d already had this drink twice. On my first try during a study session, I felt the blueberry flavor was almost too present and slightly artificial. However, on my second, slightly reluctant attempt, the balance was perfect. 

The coffee flavor hit me first, with a subtle fruity note afterward — simply lovely. While the drink possessed a slightly watered-down taste, most likely from ordering it iced, it was still subtly sweet and refreshing. That said, I would mark it as a hit-or-miss, like a paper you finished in a hazy all-nighter but still somehow got a decent grade on. 

Brown sugar honey flat white 

The Brown Sugar Honey Flat White is the perfect drink for coffee lovers. At first, I expected an overly sweet concoction with strong notes of brown sugar and honey, as the name suggests, but instead I got a coffee-forward drink with gentle, graceful hints of sweetness. Though simple, this drink feels incredibly reliable — a solid treat after a rough exam. It was not only a hit with me and my friends, it also seems to be a ubiquitous crowd favorite. I overheard several others order the drink during my short stay at Coffee Club. Like a paper with a prompt you actually like, the Brown Sugar Honey Flat White is just as satisfying. 

Mate fog: A surprising A+ 

While browsing the Coffee Club Instagram page and studying up on these seasonal drinks, I was undoubtedly the most wary of the menu’s Mate Fog. Though I enjoy mate, its herbal profile didn’t seem suited to a milky drink. However, I quickly retracted my prejudice after the first sip. The drink — which is only served warm — is indulgent, comforting, and amply sweet. The mate flavor isn’t overpowering, acting more as an earthy complement to the sweet, creamy flavor. Unique in an amazing way, the Mate Fog felt like the cool older sister of a London Fog. Its presentation and concept are reminiscent of a final project that seems incredibly boring at first, but the more you research it, the deeper you fall down the rabbit hole. 

Overall, Coffee Club’s seasonal menu was inventive, spirited, and quirky. The Mate Fog and Brown Sugar Honey Flat White are already becoming my repeat orders, but the menu makes sure to include a favorite for every cafe-goer. Whether you’re relishing the cooler weather or dreading the coming winter, there is no denying the craving for a comforting drink during long study sessions. So, get out your grade book and see which of these drinks is about to become your favorite student.

Siri Iagnemma is a contributing writer for The Prospect from Cambridge, Mass. She is a member of the Class of 2030 and can be reached at siag[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.