caramel, tiramisu and vanilla bean," says Cooper Dent. Torani's newest syrups include chocolate chip cookie dough, cupcake, macadamia nut and pumpkin pie. Many fl avors are available in sugar-free formulations.
SOME LIKE IT HOT Hot beverages like hot chocolate, chai lattes and steamed
ciders are year-round off erings. "Th e most common chocolate drinks at cafes are chocolate, white and caramel mochas, hot chocolates and indulgent milkshakes," Cooper Dent says. Alice's Tea Cup, with three New York City locations, serves
hot chocolate infused with rooibos tea and spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and powdered cayenne pepper. Th e New York restaurant Serendipity 3 is known for the Nell Gwynne, with layers of chocolate, espresso and steamed espresso, topped with whipped cream and orange peel. In Cambridge, Mass., the two 1369 Coff ee House locations
serve the London Fog, an Earl Gray hot tea charged with steamed milk and vanilla. Other hot specialties include a Mexican chocolate with chipotle and cinnamon. Vietnamese coff ee, a dark roast coff ee with sweetened condensed milk, is served hot or iced.
"Th e winter months create a very high demand of specialty
drinks due to holiday shopping," Hureau says. "Consequently, iced lattes and iced coff ees are still big favorites. Holiday fl avors such as pumpkin spice, gingerbread, eggnog, and butterscotch defi nitely have a surge in popularity and go great with hot chocolate as well as lattes." Speculoos, Routin's new Belgium cookie fl avor, is spiced
with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom and white pepper. Regional favorites include pumpkin spice in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, and peppermint and toff ee crunch in the Midwest. Peach and mango are popular year-round in the South. And as you might suspect, summer specialties are best
served cold: "Everything from sweet smoothies to iced and blended coff ees," says Cooper Dent. "We fi nd favorite fl avors sell all year long and fruit fl avors spike in spring and summer."
HOT OJ At Open City coff eehouse in Washington, D.C., a featured
drink is hot mulled orange juice—fresh OJ heated and steeped with Earl Grey tea—as well as a mulled cider with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger, served with gingersnap cookie.
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