How to Order Levi’s Pumpkin Mocha Breve

Yup, it’s that time of year again. 🎃 Whether your usual is a customized PSL or “Just coffee. Grande coffee”, here’s a drink that may pique your interest!

Levi from Fangirl is a not-insignificant part of why I’ve wanted to be a Starbucks barista since I was in high school. My applications were ignored/rejected through most of my college years, but at long last I am living the dream; now that it’s pumpkin spice season once again, I’m finally making this signature Levi drink a reality as well.

“My own concoction — Pumpkin Mocha Breve, light on the mocha. Don’t try to order it from anyone else; it’ll never turn out the same.”

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Extrapolating from the book:

Cath’s initial order is “Just coffee. Grande coffee.” → We’ll make it a grande (medium).
“Levi grabbed a cup and started pumping syrup into it.” → Presumably something called a Pumpkin Mocha Breve has both pumpkin sauce and mocha sauce in it. (And per Starbucks standard, sauce/syrup is the first thing that goes in the cup!)
“The [espresso] machine made a hissing noise.” → This indicates steamed milk, or in this case probably breve (half-and-half). It’s not mentioned, but espresso is also implied, especially since Cath originally ordered coffee.
“Levi heaped whipped cream onto her drink.” → Both the Starbucks PSL and Caffè Mocha come with whipped cream by default. “Heaped” sounds like extra whip to me!

Levi’s Pumpkin Mocha Breve

Grande Caffè Mocha
Breve (instead of 2% milk)
1.5 pumps mocha
2.5 pumps pumpkin
Extra whipped cream

In case you’re curious: Although both come with whipped cream, I picked the Caffè Mocha instead of the PSL as the base drink since the PSL also has a pumpkin topping (not mentioned in the book). “Don’t try to order it from anyone else” could just be Levi flirting with Cath, or it could be that he puts fractional/decimal pumps of sauce in the drink (which will “never turn out the same” between baristas); I adjusted it to add up to the standard 4 total pumps in a grande espresso drink. You could also try 1 pump mocha / 3 pumps pumpkin.

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Pumpkin Mocha “Breve”, Isabelle’s Version

Grande Latte
Single shot
Ristretto
Oatmilk
1 pump mocha
2 pumps pumpkin

In case you’re curious: I’m lactose intolerant, so I usually get my drinks with oatmilk and no whip; since I’m not getting whip, I order as a latte instead of a mocha. I also don’t want as much caffeine, so I reduce down to one shot (instead of the standard two for a grande) and make it ristretto because I just think ristretto shots taste better. (Sometimes I’ll make it a blonde ristretto shot for more caffeine but a more mellow coffee flavor.) I also round down the pumps for a slightly less sweet drink.

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More variations

Feel free to experiment with the pumpkin/mocha ratio to your preference.
If you don’t like coffee/espresso, you can order this as a hot chocolate instead of a mocha, or a steamed milk instead of a latte (same modifications).
If it’s still warm out where you are, you can order this iced (Iced Mocha/Latte as the base drink; same modifications).
Or you could order it as a Mocha Frappuccino (same modifications, or you could do 1 pump mocha + 2 pumps pumpkin for the standard three pumps in a grande Frappuccino).
Try it with pumpkin topping! (You can order a PSL as the base drink to get the topping included by default, or order as a mocha/latte and add the pumpkin topping.)