the first pumpkin spice latte was made in fall of 2003.
when was the first pumpkin spice latte made?
fall of 2003
in fall of 2003, the final recipe was tested in vancouver and washington, d.c. sales of the drink exceeded the company's expectations: dukes said "we couldn't keep up initially... we had to expedite inventory to the stores." the product went on sale in all u.s. starbucks stores the following year.
pumpkin spice latte
starbucks started developing the pumpkin spice latte in january 2003 following the successful introduction of winter seasonal drinks such as the peppermint mocha and eggnog latte. according to peter dukes, starbucks' director of espresso americas, developers tested ten products with consumers, with the pumpkin spice latte coming out in the middle of the group after chocolate and caramel flavors. dukes said that "developers realized there was something special around the pumpkin flavor, especially since there wasn't anything around pumpkin at the time". the company experimented with different combinations and ratios of pumpkin to spice, ultimately deciding on a recipe with no pumpkin in it.
pumpkin spice latte