It's been ringing in fall since 2003: the Pumpkin Spice Latte. A cozy drink of espresso, frothed milk and PSL syrup, topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice.
Pumpkin Spice Latte: the drink that almost didn't exist!
In the early 2000s, Espresso Director Peter Dukes and his colleagues gathered at the Starbucks Liquid Lab with a mission to create a new seasonal drink after the success of the Peppermint Mocha Christmas drink. They sent out a survey of about 20 flavors, and Pumpkin actually came out pretty poorly. Despite the lack of customer enthusiasm, Dukes wanted to develop a prototype because there was nothing else like it on the market at the time.
The decision led to the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte research and development effort, in which the team poured espresso over pumpkin pie and tasted to translate pumpkin pie into a latte. The syrup was finalized after months of refinement, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte appeared in cafes in Washington and Vancouver in 2003. The pilot test exceeded expectations, and the following year PSL was introduced in all stores.
Initially, the syrup contained no pumpkin, only artificial flavors and sugar, as well as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Not surprisingly, some health-conscious consumers raised concerns, so the recipe was changed in 2015 to add real pumpkin puree.
You can make your own espresso with pumpkin puree and a simple infusion of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Browse our espresso beans for the perfect counterpart to coffee: we recommend the darker roasts, chocolatey and nutty ones like Italo Disco or the Orang Utan coffee from Sumatra.
