7 Bones Coffee Fall Flavors, Ranked

Am I alone in injecting seasonality into every possible aspect of my routine? Summer has me putting berries on everything and wearing my sunflower-studded overalls, and obviously, autumn finds me incorporating Starbucks' seasonal menu into my routine. Speaking of Starbucks, another aspect of my life that is constantly in flux with the seasons is my morning coffee habit. And I'm not just talking about drinking hot coffee in the winter and iced coffee in the summer; I'll even switch up where I source my beans from depending on the season. This fall, I decided to go all out and sample the full lineup of Bones Coffee's seasonal flavors. Spoiler alert: I liked them. A lot.

Bones Coffee also makes ready-to-drink lattes, but I'd never had anything from the company before. I'm glad this taste test was my entry point — you can bet I'll be sampling from the company again in the future, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for its future seasonal flavors. I ranked all seven of the fall beans by making a cup of black coffee with each and evaluating based on how well it displayed the tasting notes put forth on the bag. All were good, but a couple were particularly punchy and stood apart from the rest. Here's my official ranking of the line. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Even though Bones' "Frankenbones" flavor is getting the bottom spot on this list, that shouldn't keep you from checking it out — particularly if your own tastes differ from mine. As a lover of light, bright, fruity coffees, this one just wasn't my personal cup of tea (well, coffee). Touting a description of chocolate and hazelnut flavors on its bag, Frankenbones is immediately endearing to the eye, particularly if you — like me — are a lover of all things spooky. 

Just opening the bag will give you warm whiffs of chocolate, a good sign for any medium-dark roast coffee fans out there. I didn't get much hazelnut on the nose, so imagine my surprise when hazelnut came through pretty heavily when sipping — even more than the chocolate notes. Again, I won't call this a bad thing. It made for a tasty cup that went down very smoothly. I will say, though, that one reason this is ranking low on my list is that it didn't scream "fall" to me as much as some of the other flavors. Plus, when held up against the rest, its notes were slightly more muted (though I can chalk this up to my brewing method — even when being scrupulous with pour-overs, the tiniest factors can alter the flavors of the brew). If you don't need your coffee to exude autumnal vibes and you prefer notes of nutty chocolate, this could very well be a good bag for you. 

Bones Coffee Company claims its Frosted Pumpkin Roll coffee has cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and frosting tasting notes, and I'd say those claims are wholly founded from the moment you open the bag. It boasts a pumpkin-forward scent with a sweet frosting undertone. Brewing it muted the expected tasting notes a bit, which is the only reason this isn't getting a higher place in this ranking. 

As with every coffee on this list, this one was incredibly smooth and went down very easily when enjoyed black. I got most of the sweet pumpkin notes at the end of the sip, while during the sip, cinnamon took over. Again, I'd hardly call this a bad thing, but I had hoped for more pumpkin notes throughout. I do feel this would be very amenable to accouterments — I'd be tempted to make a creamer with heavy whipping cream and some quality pumpkin butter, using that to boost the flavors of the bake in this cup. Some of the following coffees were punchier in flavor, but overall, this was still a delicious brew. 

When apples and pumpkins are the most celebrated fall produce duo, other fare tends to fall to the wayside — including the humble pear. So, it was exciting to see Bones Coffee celebrating the fruit in its Pear-Anormal Brew (and there's the indisputable fact that I'm a sucker for a good pun). Caramel and spiced pear are purported to dominate the flavor profile in this cup, and though I quite enjoyed it, the following delivered more of a "fall" ambiance. 

On the nose, you get caramel with some mild fruitiness. Sipping reveals notes of sweet caramel, a characteristic of most coffees, as caramel notes naturally develop during the roasting process. Spiced pear came through more in scent than flavor, but it still lent a fruity tone to the overall brew. Had I tasted this blind, I wouldn't have necessarily identified it as an autumnal coffee, but it's still remarkably good. If you want a seasonal roast that doesn't taste too wild, this could be a good bag for you. 

Who doesn't love sweet potato casserole? It's a widely favored side-dessert combo that I was excited to see represented in a bag of coffee. This and the following bags were remarkably difficult to put in any order; at the end of the day, it came down to personal preference, which was somewhat influenced by the strength of the flavors in each bag. This wasn't the strongest, but it still delivered everything it claimed to and was delicious to boot. 

It's easy to smell the cinnamon in the coffee, behind which you'll get subtle hints of a warm sweet potato aroma. When drinking it, most of the sweet potato comes through at the end, but you do get a nice hit of spices during the sip. As a general fan of cinnamon, I welcomed its potency here, but I wished sweet potato had more of a presence than it did. If you want a cup to remind you of your favorite Thanksgiving indulgence, grab a bag of Sweet Tater Swirl — I hardly think you'd be disappointed. 

Jacked 'O' Lantern was one of the wildest cups on this list, and it's the one I'd recommend if you prefer taking your coffee with ample creamer. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, vanilla, and real pumpkin go into formulating this brew, and the resulting cup is so undeniably fall-flavored that it would be easy to identify in a blind taste test. Given that, it may seem like this belongs at the top of this list, and I debated giving it top spot for a minute. However, I did this taste test by making cups of black coffee, and without cream to mellow it out, this was just a bit too strong. 

Pumpkin spice notes are absolutely unmistakable when sipping a cup, and they don't try to mute themselves in the slightest. On the plus side, you won't be looking for any fall flavor in this cup — on the downside, if you're like me and prefer to take your coffee black, you may be slightly overwhelmed. Plan on enjoying this brew with some of your favorite creamer. I'd choose a sweet one to add some balance to the spice notes; or, if you want to go all out, grab (or make) a festive pumpkin spice creamer to double down on the flavor profile. 

Apple Cider Donut had the top spot on this list for a minute, but at the end of the day, I had to favor the unique profile of the following bag. Still, I loved this coffee, especially because apple is undeniably my favorite autumnal flavor. Opening the bag gives wonderful, smooth cider notes on the nose with a subtle caramel apple scent behind, such that I expected this to be a lighter brew than it was. Overall, it made for a very well-balanced cup.

The grounds made a very smooth black cup of coffee, and its tasting notes built during the sip. After swallowing, I was left with ample apple cider notes and some sweetness on the soft palate, and they almost crept up the back of my nose. It was quite a fun tasting experience. Apples and caramel dominate the taste, and hints of cider spices are woven throughout. If you love apple cider but need that hit of caffeine in the morning, this is a coffee you should try. 

I know, I know, blackberries don't exactly scream "fall," but Bones' Blackberry Cobbler was so darn good I couldn't resist giving it the honor of placing first in this lineup. Even when placed next to the Jacked 'O' Lantern, this was the most identifiable cup on this list, and easily one of the most intriguing and flavorful coffees I've ever had. And though I associate blackberries with the end of summer, the "cobbler" character made this a great transitional cup that could easily move between seasons. 

The smell while this cup was brewing was everything — though it was definitely coffee, scents of a dark berry bake permeated the air as I made my pour-over. I was unsurprised and very pleased when sipping it revealed a deep, jammy flavor that continued to build even after swallowing. Even beyond that, warm, almost buttery notes come through, in addition to some mild spices. Despite the flavor journey this one took me on, it still managed not to be overwhelming as a black cup, and I didn't think it needed any dressing up whatsoever. 

There are seven coffees in Bones' Coffee Company's fall flavor lineup, so I grabbed a bag of each to make into a pristine pour-over. Ranking the flavors was no easy feat. I really enjoyed each bag, and they all had autumnal characteristics that any consumer would enjoy. My primary ranking criteria were the strength of each flavor and how smooth each was when enjoyed black. However, take the time to read through my commentary for each coffee (if you haven't already), and select which you buy based on which sounds appealing to you. None of the above would be a bad choice.