See what you started, Howard? Thirteen years ago, when you only had 7,000 Starbucks stores, you weren't so sure, though. The product development team wanted to go with Chocolate Caramel or Cinnamon Spice; they tested better with the tasting panels.
The Wall Street Journal gave the game away three years ago in an article that also revealed the ingredients:
The pumpkin-spice sauce (note, not syrup, like most Starbucks drinks) made with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg spices, combines with steamed milk, espresso, whipped cream and a pumpkin-spice topping. But no actual pumpkin in the Pumpkin Spice Latte.Today you're up to 24,000 locations (!), and PSLs are back on the seasonal menu, kinda like a rotating tap at the neighborhood tavern.
Personally, I think they taste gross, but that's the genius of Murica: I don't have to order one, let alone drink it. Sixty-four grams of "sugars" for a 20-ounce PSL with whole milk & whipped cream.
As for the "sauce," Starbucks tells us it's "Sugar, Condensed Skim Milk, Pumpkin Puree, Fruit And Vegetable Juice For Color, Natural Flavors, Annatto, Salt, Potassium Sorbate,." Not a health food drink, in other words. You want healthier, Starbucks is in the juice bar biz, too, with Evolution Fresh, featuring cold-pressed juices like Pineapple Coconut, or Fresh Greens & Lemon. I am such a non-believer, though. None of that Kool-Aid for me, thank you.
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