Summer definitely isn't over yet, but the spicy and sweet flavors of fall are already beginning to creep back into our lives.
And nothing says fall is here quite like Starbucks' wildly popular Pumpkin Spice Latte. This year, the coffee chain is bringing back the drink earlier than ever — six days before Labor Day.
On Tuesday, Starbucks finally confirmed the drink's highly anticipated release date (Aug. 27, 2019) in the closed Facebook group Leaf Rakers Society, posting the solution to a clever puzzle. The group, which Starbucks started in 2018, is dedicated to all things related to fall — members post about the beloved PSL year around — and boasts about 30,000 members.
After rumors of an early release began circulating around the internet last week, TODAY Food reached out to several locations to confirm whether the PSL would be back in stores this month.
A manager at one Starbucks location in Brooklyn, New York, said that he expects all fall menu items to be available on August 27, the confirmed release date. A manager at a Starbucks location in Nashville, Tennessee, echoed the same news: Pumpkin Spice Lattes will be coming back on the last Tuesday of August and there will be a slew of new fall items available.
Despite fans excitement, some wondered if perhaps August was too early to welcome back to the popular beverage. The anchors weighed in during The 3rd Hour of TODAY.
“At least wait for September! August is not fall for anyone!" Dylan Dreyer said emphatically, adding that if blueberries are still fresh, there's no need to go rushing into fall-flavored foods.
“I guess it’s back to school. You go back to school, you get your Pumpkin Spice Latte, I guess?" said Sheinelle Jones.
"Everyone's just trying to kill summer!" Craig Melvin agreed.
The consensus? Craig, Dylan and Sheinelle are all happy to embrace fall beverages like the Pumpkin Spice Latte — but they’d all prefer to wait and enjoy them when it's actually fall.
August 27 will be the earliest official release date for the Pumpkin Spice Latte in the chain's history.
In 2018, Starbucks created a big stir, releasing the drink on August 28, which was also a Tuesday. However, in 2014, Starbucks hosted an online scavenger hunt which allowed a select few to get their hands on the drink on August 26. That promotion was considered an "early release," and the drink wasn't officially available to all customers until Sept. 2, 2014.
Starbucks served the first Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003 at its headquarters in Seattle. Today, the drink is available around the world and is the coffee chain's top-selling seasonal beverage of all time. A rep for the chain told TODAY that Starbucks has sold an estimated 424 million PSLs since 2003.
Casey BarberStarbucks' signature drink will be back earlier than ever this year, but it's in good company with other limited-edition fall releases. Dunkin’s own pumpkin-centric menu debuts this Wednesday, August 21. Items include the new Pumpkin Spice Donut and a PSL rival: the Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte.
The chain is getting so into fall that it will be renaming and rebranding eight stores to carry the name Pumpkin'.
Cheers, pumpkin lovers, soon you may be able to enjoy that signature flavor all year long.
