Pumpkin spice isn’t new or a Starbucks creation: Here’s the history of the tasty flavor

It’s fall and it’s pumpkin latte season! But the flavored coffees and seasonal shakes rolled out by chains from Starbucks to McDonald’s, Dunkin’ and Krispy Kreme from the end of August are a relatively new, cultural phenomenon.

The pumpkin spice latte, or PSL, dates back a couple of decades. It was the brainchild of Starbucks product manager Peter Dukes who, in 2003, suggested pumpkin as a new flavor, tying in perfectly with Halloween.

The origins of pumpkin spice

Pumpkin spice, or pumpkin pie spice, which is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice, has been around for much longer.

The earliest version on record, which also included cardamom and occasionally white pepper, was introduced by European settlers in New England in the early 1600s.

Ye Olde Pompkin

The first instance of a recipe for “Pompkin” (Pumpkin Spice Pie) appeared in Amelia Simmons cookbook American Cookery published in 1796. Many of the recipes in the book were adaptations of popular English dishes but pumpkin and squash were ingredients native to North America at the time, but not England.

Ready-made Pumpkin spice is commercially available for the first time

By the 1930s, ready-made pumpkin spice had started to be manufactured industrially. Thompson & Taylor Spice Co. launched its “ready-mixed pumpkin pie spice,” in 1933, and McCormick & Company followed with their version a year later.

With the market for quality, freshly-ground coffee expanding in the 1990s and early 2000s, consumers were looking for artisanal speciality coffee and some outlets started adding the spice to their brews to give them a warm kick.

Today, seasonal pumpkin spice-infused products are everywhere - from pancakes, to breakfast cereal, beer, popcorn, M&M’s, cookies, cheese, cocoa and tea...

According to Lee McPheters, a research professor and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center in Arizona State University’s WP Carey School of Business, the obsession with pumpkin spice comes down to “familiarity and comfort.”

“Like the smell of fresh-cut Christmas trees, pumpkin spice sends a message of familiarity and comfort, and that is something everybody likes,” he said.

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