The Best Fall Coffees

10 REVIEWS OCTOBER 23, 2020 Cold and caffeinated:

the best fall coffee drinks to try

After traveling around the Kansas City metro and trying different coffees, I am here to offer my take on the best and worst fall coffees around.

Story and photos by Sophia Rall | Features Editor

Ijust wanted to preface my review by saying that I had low expectations for all the coffees I tried. I don’t like a lot of sugar in my coffee, and my normal order is a Starbucks Coldbrew or black coffee. When I set out to try fall coffee drinks, I was expecting overly-sweet, overly-expensive coffees. However, 3 drinks later, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Roasterie: Pumpkin Spice Latte

My first stop was the Roasterie in Leawood. I nervously asked the barista, “Do you actually like the pumpkin spice latte?” She responded with a yes (I’m pretty sure she has to say that though). With my first sip, I was happily surprised. The pumpkin spice flavor was not overwhelming, but rather a great complement to the coffee. It also was not overly sweet. The flavor reminded me of a cold, fall morning and wearing a cozy sweater. It also woke me up effectively and actually had a lot of caffeine. Overall, I would rate it a 5 / 5 for its great fall flavor. a a a a a

Starbucks: Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

My next stop was Starbucks. I deviated from the typical pumpkin spice latte, instead trying the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. I was pleasantly surprised by this drink. It is perfect for a fall day that is chilly in the morning but warm by afternoon — a common occurrence in Kansas City. It had a great pumpkin spice flavor but also tasted very sugary. By the bottom of the cup, I was a little overwhelmed by the sugar. The cold brew part of it effectively woke me up by first period. For all of the iced coffee lovers out there, this is a great drink since it has a distinctively fall flavor but is still a cold drink. I would rate it a 4 / 5 because it had a nice flavor but was a little too sweet for me.

Messenger Coffee: Butternut Squash Latte

Messenger Coffee’s fall menu featured a butternut squash latte — a “latte featuring butternut squash, caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, molasses.” I was immediately taken aback by the idea of squash and coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I like vegetables — just not in my coffee. I honestly could not taste the butternut squash or caramel in the latte, but instead I tasted a hint of cinnamon and vanilla. Its strange, grainy texture and underwhelming flavor made for a very mediocre latte. It was definitely an innovative idea to use butternut squash in a latte, but it was executed very poorly. The most disappointing part was that it did not remind me of fall in the slightest. Overall, I would rate it a 2.5 / 5 for its boring flavor and strange texture. b

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DESIGNED BY SOPHIA RALL REVIEW 11 The Social Dilemma

calls for change in how we use technology

The film “The Social Dilemma” brings attention to the flaws within the design of social media apps and technology and how they should be corrected and regulated to prevent social issues from worsening.

Ihave always heard about how robots are not to be trusted and how people have feared technology from the moment it was created. It can be seen in movies such as “The Terminator,” “Ex-Machina” and even “G-force” where they all dramatize what would happen if artificial intelligence and technology were to get so advanced that humans lost control. Even today, I’ve heard people laugh about how the smartphone will have a mind of its own and destroy humanity as we know it. But what if that joke weren’t so far away from the truth and the takeover has already started, just not in the way sci-fi movies have laid it out to be with lasers and explosions? Is it too late to save our humanity from the burdens of technology? The Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” was an extreme shock to me, as I never realized how deeply the design of technology was infused with human psychology and behavior. I knew that I was addicted to my phone even before watching the film. I would check every notification and would spend hours each week scrolling through social media posts. I thought that I was choosing to be on my phone, but I have since learned that this addiction was purposefully ingrained into the design. The documentary relies on interviews of several influential designers and directors for social media companies like Google, Facebook,

Story and graphic by Lauren Brackney | Twitter Editor Pinterest and Youtube. There is also a small story line that progresses in between interviews to demonstrate how technology interferes with the average family. a a a a b

I liked the storyline of a young daughter, Isla, because I could relate with her the most. Isla is a young teenage girl who grew up with technology and a smartphone, just like I did. She grows self conscious of her appearance and worth because she is constantly comparing herself to her peers, using filters, and receiving negative comments about her appearance. During one part, she uploads a photo of her face with a filter on it to a platform similar to Instagram, and many of her friends tell her how beautiful she is but one girl says that her ears are too big. That night Isla cries when she looks in the mirror and tries to cover up her ears. When I first watched this scene,

I wanted to be upset with Isla’s parents for not monitoring her screen activity. After watching the remainder of the film, I have realized that I can’t be upset with her parents because they are being manipulated by the same technology as their daughter. They tried to restrict how much time their children spent on their phones by putting it in a lock box and immediately, all of the family members were stressing about getting back onto their screens.

This demonstrated how addictive technology is and I realized that even for technology’s most conscious users, it can be difficult to cut it out of your daily routine. In the past, I’ve tried to cut down on my screen time use but I always ended up going back to using it. b