For Bwog, the arrival of fall means only one thing: time for hot apple cider. This week, the ladies of 2Girls1Snack apply their passion for steaming things in cups to review our local cider options.

Joe

Some things at Joe are worth the 20-minute line—the coffee, the cupcakes, the inexplicably large number of well-dressed Europeans. Which makes the apple “cider,” which tasted more like warmed-up apple juice, that much more of a disappointment. Expect to spend $3.00 and an extra ten minutes (supposedly spent “frothing” the drink) waiting for an overpoweringly sweet cup of cider with no added spices. Joe’s version may be good for chugging on the way to lecture or during a midterms-induced breakdown/regression to childhood, but just doesn’t deliver the fall-in-a-cup feeling that 2Girls looks for in a good apple cider.

Rating: 2/5
Price: $3.00 for small

Hungarian Pastry Shop

Hungarian’s cider is something of an acquired taste. Some will call the more muted apple flavor “watery”; some will call it “subtle.” It’s definitely more complex than the sugary version at Joe and goes better with a sweater, a scarf, and a tome of Jewish intellectual history. Hungarian also offers to add cinnamon to the cider, which complements the apple flavor nicely—though snackers are advised to proceed with caution, since the baristas are prone to overdoing the spice, resulting in an undrinkable, Cinnamon Challenge-esque brew. Order an oversized hamentaschen with your drink to help you power through your CC reading and partake in the people-watching, since that’s probably why you’re at Hungarian anyway.

Rating: 3/5
Price: $2.50 for a small

Oren’s Daily Roast

Oren’s seasonal offering is, like Joe’s, sweet, intensely apple-y and fairly unsophisticated. It also clearly comes from a plastic jug of questionable origins, which made 2Girls skeptical of the relatively hefty price point. What sets this version apart, though, is the optional addition of caramel. Although though the added flavor might freak out some diehard cider purists, it was a new and delicious angle on an old favorite.

Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $3.26 for a small

Breezy Hill Orchard

The farmer’s market just seems like the most appropriate place for a hot apple cider and, surrounded by fresh produce and a plethora of apple-flavored baked goods, Breezy Hill’s rendition of the fall favorite didn’t disappoint. Where the coffee shop varieties cooled off after a few minutes in the nippy air, this drink stayed piping hot. The fresh, intense, apple flavor and delicate blend of spices made 2Girls want to stroll through Riverside looking at the leaves and then go on a hayride, or something. In any case, it’s worth a between class trip on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Sundays.

Rating: 4.5/5

Price: $2 for a small