©RyanJLane via Canva.com
Celebrate National Pumpkin Spice Day
October 1, 2024
It’s the day that all those who cheer for sweater weather wait for — National Pumpkin Spice Day! Today, Oct. 1, aficionados of the flavor blend can get their fill of pumpkin spice everything as a day celebrating the toasty, warm flavor is here.
It was 2003 when the tastemakers at Starbucks came up with the seasonal blend. The company website states, “On an early spring day in 2003, the team gathered in the ‘Liquid Lab,’ a secure research and development space on the 7th floor of Starbucks headquarters in Seattle. Members of the team brought in kitschy fall decorations and pumpkin pies and began to explore ideas. They would sample a forkful of pumpkin pie followed by a sip of hot espresso — teasing out which flavors from the pie best complemented the coffee.”
It took the “Liquid Lab” three months to perfect the recipe. However, the team still wasn’t sure the new flavor would be competitive against their chocolate and caramel beverages, which had done historically well up until that point. It wasn’t until a concoction of espresso, pumpkin spice sauce, steamed milk, and pumpkin pie topping beat chocolate and caramel beverages in a taste test that the Pumpkin Spice Latte was born.
“There was a desire to choose a really unique name, such as the fall harvest latte,” said Peter Dukes, who helped lead the creation of the new flavor. “We ultimately ended up landing on Pumpkin Spice Latte because the spices play a really important role in bringing out the flavors of pumpkin, while also highlighting the espresso in the cup.”
Allrecipes reports that, ironically, there is no actual pumpkin in a pumpkin spice mixture. The flavor is a mix of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and sometimes allspice. These are the typical flavors used to give pumpkin pie its distinctive taste, so that is most likely how it earned its name.
However, that doesn’t mean that your PSL won’t have any pumpkin at all, depending on where you get it. According to Starbucks, its Pumpkin Spice Lattes have included real pumpkin puree since 2015. Meanwhile, Dunkin’ says its PSL is “crafted with rich espresso and milk, sweet pumpkin and vanilla flavors, warm fall spices, and topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle and cinnamon sugar.”
Other chains have their own pumpkin spice products available as well, including Krispy Kreme, Wawa, and many other coffee shops, which have developed their own blends of the seasonal flavor. There are also pumpkin spice candles, donuts, cakes, and seasonal creamers available in supermarkets, made by brands such as Coffee Mate and International Delight, as well as Starbucks, to name a few.
Happy National Pumpkin Spice Day! Here’s to enjoying the seasonal drinks, scents, and foods during the limited time they are available in stores.
Recent News
