Fall is the best coffee season in Ohio, and not only because of pumpkin. The mornings turn cool enough for a hot drink, the patios get one last good month, and every shop rolls out the drinks that only work when there is a chill in the air.
Here is how we would spend a fall coffee day around Dayton, plus what is actually on the menu at our shop in uptown Centerville.
What is pouring at House Blend Cafe this fall
We are a seasonal shop at 58 E Franklin St in Centerville, open Saturdays 10 AM to 2 PM from September through the Saturday before Christmas. The fall lineup:
- Pumpkin Spice Latte. The one everybody asks for, made with real pumpkin spice rather than a syrup pump you can taste from across the room.
- Pumpkin Chai Latte. Our favorite of the group. Chai spice plus pumpkin reads warmer and less sweet than a straight pumpkin latte, and it is the drink we recommend to anyone who says they usually find fall drinks too sugary.
- Gingerbread Butterscotch Latte. Gingerbread and butterscotch with nutmeg on top. It lands somewhere between dessert and breakfast, which is exactly right in November.
- Hot Chocolate. Whisked chocolate and steamed milk with whip. The one to order for the kid in the group, or for the adult who is done pretending.
- Candy Cane White Mocha arrives in November, for anyone already counting down.
The bakery case matters in fall too. Cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, kouign-amann, scones, muffins and cookies, baked for the day, which is why the case looks thinner at 1:45 PM than at 10:05 AM.
How to order fall drinks better anywhere
- Ask about sweetness. Most fall drinks are built sweet by default. Half the pumps, or a smaller size, is usually the difference between a good drink and a dessert.
- Chai is the quiet winner. Spiced chai carries pumpkin, apple and maple flavors without turning cloying.
- Temperature matters more than flavor. A 190-degree latte in a cold car is perfect for ten minutes and then mediocre. If you are driving far, order it a touch cooler.
- Cold brew never really leaves. Midday October afternoons still call for iced coffee, and the shops that keep cold brew on tap all fall are the ones worth bookmarking.
Cozy rooms to drink it in
Fall is when a coffee shop's room matters as much as its beans.
- Uptown Centerville. Our front room and dark blue room feel best in October and November, and our patio is still the right call for a warm Saturday until the cold settles in. We are on the south end of the map.
- Washington Township. Nutmeg Cafe — 9166 Dayton Lebanon Pike is an easy neighborhood stop on the east side, and Coffee Hub Centerville — 450 N Main St and ContempoRoast — 967 S Main St cover the middle and south of Centerville.
- Oakwood and Kettering. Central Perc European Cafe — 2315 Far Hills Ave is the most European room in the area and a good one to sit inside on a gray day. Tastefully Roasted — 6 Oakwood Ave and Epic Coffee Shop — 22 W Stroop Rd, Kettering round out the north side.
- Downtown Dayton. For an afternoon in the city, the Wayne Avenue corridor is the walkable cluster: Press Coffee Bar — 257 Wayne Ave, Reza's Downtown — 438 Wayne Ave, Wholly Grounds — 825 Wayne Ave, and Hawthorne Hill Coffee — 521 Wayne Ave, with Ghostlight Coffee — 1201 Wayne Ave in South Park to the east. St. Anne the Tart — 1500 E 5th St is the pastry-first stop if you want something to carry.
If you would rather make a day of it than pick one room, the Dayton coffee crawl is our six-stop fall route, and the best coffee shops in Dayton guide covers everything else in the city.
A note on fall timing
Two things change fast this time of year. Patios close first, then hours shorten. We close for the season after Saturday, December 19, and our patio will be weather-dependent well before then, so a fall afternoon is worth taking advantage of now.
Bring a friend, order the chai, and take the walk down Franklin Street before the leaves are gone.
