2003
PHOTO SCOTT PITTS, PROVIDED BY STARBUCKS
The “PSL”, in 2003
In 2003, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL, for short) is appearing on the menu of around a hundred Starbucks coffee shops. In Canada, to taste this novelty being tested, you have to go to Vancouver. From the first week, the managers of the stores concerned were very enthusiastic about the customer response. Building on this success, the following fall, the pumpkin spice latte was offered in all of the chain’s establishments.
PHOTO CONNOR SURDI, PROVIDED BY STARBUCKS
Peter Dukes, head of beverage development at Starbucks in 2003
[Le latté à la citrouille épicée] is now the signal for the start of fall at Starbucks. He’s a social media star [oui, il a ses propres comptes Instagram et X] and an inspiration for many pumpkin products we see today. Nobody knew at the beginning that it was going to take on this magnitude.
Peter Dukes, head of beverage development at Starbucks in 2003
600 million
In 20 years, Starbucks has sold more than 600 million pumpkin spice lattes.
Source: Starbucks
The pumpkin spice latte has its fans…
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Tranna Wintour
THE Pumpkin Spice Latte really evokes everything that is fall, my favorite season. […] I love days that are a little gray, a little cold, when you can be at home with a long sweater watching a good Halloween movie… with a latte! It’s all I love.
Comedian Tranna Wintour, who made a few posts partnering with Starbucks on Instagram due to her love of the pumpkin spice latte
…and his detractors
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Alex Perron
I don’t understand the concept. The cafe doesn’t want the pumpkin. Who thought of putting pumpkin in coffee? Pumpkin is a squash that doesn’t taste much. […] The proof that it’s not good in the first place is that they have to add spices, as if the poor fruit couldn’t be enough.
Comedian and host Alex Perron, who finds that 20 years of pumpkin spice lattes “is way too much!” »
Even in the dictionary!
Unusual, but true! The term pumpkin spice (pumpkin spice) made its entry into the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2022. The definition? “A mixture usually consisting of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and other spices that are normally used in pumpkin pie. » To find a reference to latte, you must read the different examples that follow the definition.
$787 million
PHOTO PROVIDED BY EVIVE
The derivative products are countless. Here, the Quebec company Evive recently launched its Pumpkin Spice Latte smoothie.
Revenues associated with pumpkin-flavored products sold in the United States in 2022, according to NIQ Group market research. Among these products, we find, of course, candles, but also hummus and even… deodorant!
Source : The New York Times
In a cafe near you
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PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Feuilleté Café, a new café in the Rosemont neighborhood, serves a pumpkin spice latte.
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PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Joshua De Gagné and Frédérique Lévesque, co-owners of Feuilleté Café
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PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The latte goes well with the various pastries and pastries offered on site.
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PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
An appetizing counter of sweets at Le Feuilleté
1/4
In the last two decades, many independent coffee shops have followed in Starbucks’ footsteps to offer their own version of this classic. At Feuilleté Café, which opened in July on rue de Bellechasse, in Montreal, it was natural to offer this perfume requested by customers. “I think it’s a fall staple. The spices come to comfort people when it starts to get a little colder,” says Frédérique Lévesque, who is at the head of this friendly establishment with her partner Joshua De Gagné. As she did in the summer for her elderberry lemonade, she developed the house syrup served in pumpkin spice lattes (and other caffeinated drinks, if desired). A taste that goes very well with the many delicacies offered in this café where small cakes and pastries take pride of place, the two entrepreneurs having degrees in pastry from the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec. But at Feuilleté Café, pumpkin is not the only fall star. An apple cinnamon latte is also available. “I like it even more than pumpkin spice,” confides Frédérique Lévesque.
Caramel, chocolate or pumpkin?
In 2003, what other flavors were in the running to become Starbucks’ fall seasonal drink? Caramel, chocolate, orange and cinnamon were among the finalists.
Pumpkin, really?
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The pumpkin spice latte actually incorporated pumpkin puree 12 years after its launch.
It’s only since 2015, 12 years after its launch, that the popular Starbucks drink contains… pumpkin puree. During its creation, the team responsible tasted slices of pumpkin pie followed by a sip of espresso to see which flavors of the dessert went best with the coffee, we explain in a press release from the ‘business. Well ! pumpkin was not the dominant taste. In the revised 2015 recipe, the caramel coloring was replaced with “real Kabocha squash” puree.
A “pumpkin-free” coffee
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SAINT-HENRI MICROTORREFACTOR
The “pumpkin-free” latte from Saint-Henri microroaster
But is pumpkin really necessary in a spiced latte? To this question, the Saint-Henri microtorréfacteur team answers no. “Basically, pumpkin adds little to this drink, other than color. […] It’s not the pumpkin taste that people like,” analyzes Jean-Yves Beaudoin, vice-president of marketing for the company. Thus was born the “pumpkin-free” latte that has recently been found in the various branches of Café Saint-Henri, located in Montreal and Quebec. “We wanted to make a comforting drink, with turmeric, ginger, cinnamon,” he explains, specifying that the team worked on its homemade syrups with the Montreal company 3/4 oz. What is the customer response to this “pumpkin-free” latte? “They realize it’s just as good, if not better!” » To launch its new pumpkin-free fall menu, the company published a rather comical pumpkin destruction video on social media!
A pumpkin spice latte at home
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Preparing a pumpkin spiced latte at Feuilleté Café
Want to make a comforting pumpkin spice latte? Frédérique Lévesque, from Feuilleté Café, suggests you try the following syrup recipe.
Ingredients
- 40 g of sugar
- 60 ml of water
- 10 g pumpkin puree
- ¼ tsp. teaspoon of vanilla
- ¼ tsp. teaspoon cinnamon
- A pinch of cardamom
- ¼ tsp. teaspoon ginger
Preparation
- In a cauldron, mix all the ingredients and let it infuse for about five minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool. Pass the preparation through a sieve.
- Add about 1 tsp. tablespoons of this milk syrup when preparing the latte.