Why The Pumpkin Spice Latte Almost Didn't Make The Menu At Starbucks

It's Pumpkin Spice Latte season, and for over 20 years, Starbucks fans have been flocking to stores for a taste of the drink. If you're among them, you have Peter Dukes, former lead of the Starbucks espresso beverage team, to thank. Dukes' team developed the famous flavor — and fought for it to make the menu. 

It was 2003, and Starbucks — high on the success of the Peppermint Mocha — wanted to create a new seasonal sensation. Dukes' team went to work brainstorming fall flavors: coffee, caramel, and pumpkin. Once they had a list, the brand surveyed customers to see what they thought. Pumpkin was a flop. It scored last on the list of flavors that customers wanted to buy, beaten out by conventional coffee combos. But the pumpkin concept got sky-high ratings on its uniqueness, and Dukes was determined to make the new drink a success. Executives weren't so sure, but Dukes won out. 

To put food scientists and developers in an autumnal state of mind, Dukes' team decked the lab out in fall decor. The Pumpkin Spice Latte wasn't their only project (The team tested chocolate, caramel, and cinnamon lattes, too), but it was, in fact, their biggest challenge. The goal? Stripping pumpkin pie down to its essence. In early brainstorming sessions, the team mixed actual pumpkin pies with shots of espresso. By the time the drink hit the testing stage, any trace of actual pumpkin was gone. But testers didn't care; they went all in on the PSL.

Nowadays, stores are flooded with pumpkin spice-flavored foods every fall. But back when the PSL was born, to most Americans, pumpkin pie spice was a seasoning blend: a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice that McCormick introduced in the 1930s. Pumpkins themselves were meant for pies, breads, and seasonal decor. 

Dukes' team originally planned to call the drink the "Fall Harvest Latte," but decided to switch the name. "After discussions, we thought it was important that we were very clear and direct with our customers about what to expect when they taste it, because we knew that a potential hurdle was getting customers to try it," Dukes told People. 

In 2003, the Pumpkin Spice Latte debuted in around 100 test locations; the next year, it went nationwide. Early on, executives discussed discontinuing the latte to make way for new menu items, but by the 2010s, that was unthinkable. With the help of social media — and the addition of real pumpkin to the Starbucks PSL recipe — the drink became an autumn institution. According to Thomas Prather, Starbucks VP of brand and product marketing, the latte also paved the way for more experimental drinks. "I think Pumpkin Spice Latte and the success of that gave us the confidence that we can do whatever we wanted to do with coffee," Prather told CBS. Whether you're a pumpkin spice fan or not, we can all applaud a little seasonal creativity.