Fall may be weeks away, but pumpkin spice season has begun, with fans of the pumpkin spice latte looking forward to ordering the drink earlier and earlier each year.
Pumpkin pie has a lengthy history in the U.S. and the spice mix associated with the dessert treat has become inextricably linked with fall. While the flavor and scent have become American obsessions in the years since Starbucks first debuted the pumpkin spice latte, pumpkins and pumpkin pie go back much farther in American history.
Early pumpkin pies
Pumpkins were used in pies during the colonial era of the United States, according to the Library of Congress. An early landowner in 1655 wrote that English colonists "like pumpkins very much and use them also in pies, and know how to make a beverage from them."
Pumpkin pies were being made in England at the time, but they usually consisted of layers of sliced — sometimes fried — pumpkin, according to the Library of Congress. But by 1796, pumpkin pie had evolved to resemble the version more commonly eaten today, as evidenced by a recipe in "American Cookery," the first cookbook written by an American and published in America.
The book featured two recipes for "pompkin" pudding, which was baked in a pie crust. Instead of sliced pumpkin, the filling was made with stewed and strained pumpkin, eggs, sugar and cream or milk. The pies were flavored with ginger, mace, nutmeg and allspice.
Pumpkin spice
It wasn't until the 1930s that pumpkin spice was introduced as a blend. McCormick & Company introduced its pumpkin pie spice in 1934, just a few years after canned pumpkin first appeared on shelves. The company viewed the spice blend as a more convenient way for consumers to make a perfectly seasoned pie.
"It was also more economically friendly than buying individual jars of each spice needed to capture that perfect seasonal essence," a spokesperson for McCormick said.
The company does not have data on the original cost of the spice mix. The flavor of the 1934 pumpkin pie spice is believed to be similar to today's flavor and there has been no change to the company's formula since June 2022.
Today, 80% of the company's pumpkin pie spice sales are from the holiday season, according to McCormick. Interest increases in August and peaks in November.
Introducing the pumpkin spice latte
Starbucks, which brought the pumpkin spice latte back and debuted its fall menu on Thursday, first introduced the drink in 2003. The coffee giant was looking for a menu item to match the success of the peppermint mocha. Peter Dukes, who headed up the Starbucks espresso team at the time, gathered workers for a brainstorming session.
A customer survey had Starbucks considering drinks featuring chocolate and caramel, "but there was something special about pumpkin," according to Starbucks. "It scored high on 'uniqueness.'"
In the sping of 2003, workers sat down in Starbucks' "Liquid Lab" with pumpkin pie and espresso so they could sample them together. They spent three months working on the recipe featuring espresso, pumpkin spice sauce and steamed milk with a topping of whipped cream and more pumpkin spice.
"We brought in pumpkin pies into our R&D lab and actually just poured shots of espresso on 'em, and ate 'em," Dukes told "CBS Saturday Morning" in 2021.
After a final taste test, Starbucks picked the drink over the chocolate and caramel alternatives.
Even though the pie-inspired drink won the taste test, the beverage as coffee fans know it nearly didn't hit stores. Starbucks initially considered naming the drink the fall harvest latte.
"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," Dukes said in a Starbucks post.
Many know the drink as a PSL, with the nickname derived from the three-letter beverage code originally written on cups by baristas.
The drink rolled out in 100 Starbucks locations in the fall of 2003, then appeared on menus across the U.S. and Canada the following fall. Since 2015, Starbucks' PSL has included pumpkin puree.
Starbucks does not track beverage sales by individual drinks, but the company can say that hundreds of millions of PSLs have been sold. The drink is the chain's most popular seasonal beverage of all time.
Pumpkin spice everything
Pumpkin spice isn't just for pies or coffee anymore. It's in bread, toaster pastries, cookies, yogurt, coffee creamer, beer, cereal and cream cheese. The flavor has even made its way into Spam and hummus. It's also not just a flavor. The craze for everything pumpkin spice has provided fuel for popular scents for candles and soaps.
A search for "pumpkin spice" on the Target website brings up 2,365 results.
A decade ago, sales of pumpkin spice products topped $361 million. Sales of pumpkin spice-related products topped $800 million in the 12-month period ending in July 2023, according to market research firm NielsenIQ.
Pumpkin spice even made it into the dictionary in 2022.
The increasing popularity also comes with a price tag. According to personal finance site MagnifyMoney, food manufacturers commonly include a "pumpkin spice tax" in the price of their products. In 2022, the site reported that pumpkin spice products cost 14% more compared to the traditional varieties of the same products.
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