Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

There is nothing like the time of year when Fall begins creeping in, especially out here in the desert of Phoenix. By the time schools start each year, Phoenicians begin looking for every sign possible that Fall is on our heels. It’s not just because so many of us love the smell of fresh baked pumpkin bread, or the feel of a warm delicious apple pie latte going down our throat, but really, we are just darn tired of the heat! Celebrating Fall means we are celebrating the triple digit weather leaving and settling into the next 9 months of why we all live here!

Our Fall fever may kick in when school starts, but the reality is we still have a good two more months until we can even pretend the weather is cooling off. Today was our first day under 100 degrees for the season, and at Cultivate, we couldn’t be more excited! And believe me, we have checked the weather app over and over to make sure this is for real and that the trend is sticking around. Here’s to hoping!

For now, we’re going to start celebrating fall by making some of our favorite Fall drinks! There are so many you can make at home, even if you don’t have an espresso machine. Here are 5 of our favorites:

1. Dirty Chai Latte

I know. I just said, “drinks you can make at home without an espresso machine,” and our very first drink is a dirty chai. Although traditionally a dirty chai is made with a shot or two of espresso, it can be substituted for a very similar brew from a Moka Pot. Some even argue this is just as good as a shot of espresso your local barista pulls from their fancy machine. We will let you be the judge. You can pick up a Moka Pot for relatively cheap. Here’s a great recipe for a delicious dirty chai latte from This Original Organic Life

2. Mexican Cafe De Olla

One of the things we love about coffee is learning the many different ways other countries prepare it. This is a delicious option that’s great for when the weather cools down. It’s made on the stovetop, and although traditionally it’s made in special ceramic pots, you can make it in any sauce pan. However, using the traditional handmade pottery makes it a lot more beautiful and taste authentic. To learn how to make this at home check out Muy Bueno Cook Book’s blog.

3. Slow Cooker Gingerbread Latte

So, this may sound a little more Christmas than Fall, but let’s be honest, we all want to get as much time in for these favorite hot drinks as we can! This is a simple, but very tasty drink, and great for serving at parties. We found this recipe from Mom On Time Out.

4. Hot Buttered Rum Coffee

A few years ago, friends of ours turned us on to the delicious cold weather drink of Hot Buttered Rum. It is a rich, oh-so-good drink that will warm you from the inside out. Having this drink in Phoenix is a lot like trying to wear your favorite winter boots. You really only have a good week or two that it is truly appropriate, but you know you will start wearing them Oct-March despite being a high of 70 degrees out! This is a drink you picture yourself having on a cold day, sitting by the fire with some of your favorite friends – but you may have to make do hanging by your pool. Farm Girl Dabbles took this wonderful treat and made it even better by creating a coffee hot buttered rum!

5. Pumpkin Spice Latte

You were probably wondering if we were going to get to the most sought after Fall drink there is, a pumpkin spiced latte. Well we saved the best for last! We all know it’s Fall when Starbucks starts serving pumpkin spiced lattes, but what we don’t often know is how terrible they are for us. The fake ingredients, high calories, and not too mention the cost, puts a damper on this treat. We found a recipe that keeps the delicious, but takes away a lot of the bad. Oh She Glows adds a little twist by making it a Salted Pumpkin Spiced Latte.