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Starbucks doubles down on pumpkin

Photo provided by Starbucks

August 26, 2019

By now, everyone knows that Starbucks has declared Tuesday the first day of fall with the return of its Pumpkin Spice Latte, but the chain is also adding a new pumpkin option — the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. It's the first pumpkin coffee beverage to join the menu since Starbucks launched the PSL 16 years ago. Since then, more than 424 million PSLs have been served in the U.S., according to a company press release.

Considering that 50% of beverage orders at Starbucks are cold beverages — up from 37% in 2013 — Matthew Thornton, a member of the Starbucks beverage R&D team, said the team wanted to launch a cold pumpkin option. After trying 10 variations, they settled on a recipe that starts with Starbucks cold brew and vanilla and is 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," he said. "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 will be available in Starbucks stores Tuesday in the U.S. and Canada for a limited time