It’s officially pumpkin spice season. Starbucks is rolling out its Pumpkin Spice Latte today, marking the 21st year in a row the fall favorite has returned to menus. For many, the drink signals the unofficial start of autumn, no matter what the thermometer says in North Texas.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte - or PSL as it’s known - first launched in 2003 after Starbucks tested dozens of flavors to capture the feeling of fall in a cup. Early skeptics weren’t sure it would catch on, but the drink became a cultural phenomenon, selling more than 600 million cups over two decades and inspiring everything from candles to cereal.
Despite the name, there wasn’t any actual pumpkin in the original recipe. That changed in 2015, when Starbucks began including real pumpkin puree along with its signature spice blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Today’s PSL combines those flavors with espresso, steamed milk, and whipped cream, topped with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice.
The drink joins a lineup of returning fall favorites, including the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, and new seasonal items like the Pecan Oatmilk Cortado. Whether you’re a fan or not, Starbucks’ PSL has cemented itself as one of the most recognizable—and most debated—seasonal traditions in American coffee culture.
Yep - Starbucks really did invent the Pumpkin Spice Latte as we know it.
Here’s the backstory:
In 2003, Starbucks’ “Espresso Beverage Team” in Seattle was tasked with creating a fall seasonal drink to follow the success of their winter Peppermint Mocha.
They tested about 100 flavor combinations, and pumpkin pie kept bubbling up as a front-runner - but there was skepticism because pumpkin wasn’t a popular coffee flavor at the time.
They rolled it out in about 100 test stores in Washington, D.C. and Vancouver that year, and it quickly became a hit. By 2004, it went nationwide.
The original PSL had no actual pumpkin - it was espresso, milk, sugar, whipped cream, and a spice-flavored syrup (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove). In 2015, after criticism over artificial ingredients, Starbucks reformulated it to include real pumpkin puree.
Since then, it’s not just a drink - it’s a full-blown seasonal brand, spawning an entire pumpkin spice industry (candles, cereals, beer, dog treats… you name it).
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