We tried Pumpkin Spice Lattes from 4 major chains, and 7-Eleven was the clear winner

Pumpkin Spice Lattes started taking over the country before fall even began, with big chains like Starbucks, Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, and 7-Eleven rolling out their seasonal beverages in August.

Read more: Starbucks is rolling out a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, its first new pumpkin coffee drink in over a decade

We set out to determine which PSL powerhouse reigns supreme before the cold weather actually sets in.

We hopped on a subway to Penn Station to visit New York City's sole Krispy Kreme location.

The brand has multiple pumpkin spice offerings, including a cheesecake-filled doughnut inspired by the popular fall treat.

Read more: Krispy Kreme is selling a new pumpkin spice doughnut stuffed with cheesecake just in time for fall

But we decided to stick with the classic hot Pumpkin Spice Latte for the purposes of our taste test.

Read more: Krispy Kreme is bringing back its fan-favorite pumpkin spice cake doughnut just in time for fall

The barista handed us our order, which cost $3.26 and had whipped cream coming out of the top of the lid.

When we took the lid off, it was clear that there was too much whipped cream — in our experience, it didn't look anything like the promotional images.

While definitely present, the pumpkin spice flavor was not overpowering and the whipped cream, while messy, didn't taste bad.

Ian called it quits after his first sip, but Meredith kept drinking the Krispy Kreme PSL on the subway ride down to the Financial District, where we popped into Starbucks to try the drink that started it all.

We ordered a classic Pumpkin Spice Latte and, upon opening the lid, we saw that Starbucks' presentation was far superior to Krispy Kreme's whipped cream mess.

The taste was better, too. Starbucks' whipped cream was of a higher quality and a better complement to the latte itself. The spice on the top also offered a nice textural component to the drink.

After that, we walked across the street to Dunkin'.

Dunkin' introduced its Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte to stores this year, posing the first major challenge to the Starbucks heavyweight's 16-year reign as the most popular PSL.

Meredith had previously tasted the iced version and was impressed with Dunkin's take on the seasonal treat.

But when it came to the hot one — which cost $3.47 — we were pretty disappointed with the appearance.

The taste wasn't much better. The drink was excessively sweet, and Ian thought it tasted like perfume and had the chemical smell of a candle.

We moved on to our final destination of the day and, frankly, assumed that we had already found our winner in the Starbucks PSL.

But 7-Eleven — the dark horse of the four — would ultimately prove us wrong.

We walked in and were surprised to find that the convenience store's version of the viral drink was actually dispensed from a machine.

The pour was much more watery than we had expected, further dashing our hopes of dethroning the Starbucks PSL.

We added a bit of complementary cinnamon on top to mimic the Starbucks and Krispy Kreme PSLs and then gave it a go.

To our collective delight, the 7-Eleven Pumpkin Spice Latte was an absolute treat.

The drink was rich, creamy, and perfectly spiced — yet not overpowering. We tasted notes of chai, clove, and cinnamon.

Starbucks' PSL — which was the most expensive at $5.06 — is definitely the most Instagram-worthy...

...but our dark horse certainly upset the field when it came to taste.

And at $2.22, it was the cheapest, too.

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Our full PSL rankings are: 1. 7-Eleven 2. Starbucks 3. Krispy Kreme 4. Dunkin'

• Read more:
• Starbucks is rolling out a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, its first new pumpkin coffee drink in over a decade
• Regional fall foods in the US that everyone should try in their lifetime
• Starbucks is releasing a new line of spooky tumblers just in time for Halloween
• A former Starbucks barista made a 'Cinderella Latte' out of Pumpkin Spice Latte and White Chocolate Mocha, and now people are ordering it all across the world