MILAN – Starbucks has declared August 27 as the first day of fall with the return of the fan-favorite PSL and the new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, both made with real pumpkin. Since PSL first made its debut in 2003, more than 424 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes have been served in the United States. It’s become a cultural phenomenon, embraced by the “beleafers” of the Leaf Rakers Society, an online group of fall fanatics to celebrate their favorite season.
The group of more than 30,000 has been in a high state of anticipation for the flavors of fall in stores and at home, posting an average of 330 times per day over the past month.
Following in the footsteps of this iconic fall beverage, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is the first new pumpkin coffee beverage to join the Starbucks menu in 16 years and a testament to Starbucks customers’ love of cold coffee (50 percent of beverage orders are cold beverages, up from 37 percent in 2013).
After trying 10 variations of the beverage, the Starbucks R&D team settled on a recipe that starts with Starbucks Cold Brew and vanilla, topped with pumpkin cream cold foam and a dusting of pumpkin spice topping.
“With customer excitement for PSL sweeping the nation each fall, we wanted to create a new beverage that combines two of our customers’ favorite things, pumpkin spices and cold brew,” said Matthew Thornton from Starbucks beverage R&D team. “With each sip of Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, you’ll enjoy the familiar, creamy, flavor of pumpkin spice followed by a refreshing taste of cold brew, for a cool beverage that will have you wishing it was fall all year long.”
PSL and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew are available in Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada for a limited time.
