Just like the monsoon season in India and the dry season along the tropical rain belt, there is another yearly weather pattern we here at the TODAY Food trend forecasting center watch out for: pumpkin spice season. We're sorry to be the ones to tell you this, but our radar has detected the big one — it’s coming.
On Tuesday, Starbucks will once again become the origin point of the inescapable sweater tsunami that is autumn with its signature Pumpkin Spice Latte.
Due to Hurricane PSL coming out Tuesday, there is a 100% probability that someone wearing an infinity scarf, well-worn Uggs and a chunky knit sweater will post a selfie with their their head tilted back, sticking their tongue out with a peace sign with one hand and holding that sweet spiced nectar in the other. Oh, the humanity.
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This is the 19th year of PSL season, being first tracked as a phenomenon-in-the-making in 2003, and the rest is cheugy history, as they say.
Storm trackers say the air will smell of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, spices that Starbucks says complements the real pumpkin in the sauce. Yes, there really is pumpkin in it, running contrary to prior speculations from one beloved TODAY weatherman.
According to CNN, a stronger storm — inflation — has affected the price of the PSL as well. The cyclone of sweet spices will now be about 4% higher in cost compared to 2021. This has upped the price of a PSL to between $5.45 to as much as $5.95, depending on location.
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Starbucks also said its Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is returning to the menu for its fourth year. This drink consists of cold brew sweetened with vanilla syrup, topped with pumpkin cream cold foam and a dusting of pumpkin spice, and may be ideal for those that need the energy boost to outrun the throngs of PS-lovers wearing skinny jeans with upper-calf length Tory Burch booties on their way to film a TikTok of a leaf-strewn picnic near the train tracks.
Also coming back for its second year is the Starbucks Apple Crisp Macchiato, but t'is now made with oat milk and Starbucks Blonde Espresso. This makes it the brand’s first official no-dairy fall offering.
The beverage is inspired by the flavors of an apple crisp with a cup of coffee, much like two weather fronts combining to create something altogether new in the atmosphere. The Starbucks creation layers the flavors of apple, cinnamon and brown sugar topped with a spiced apple drizzle, much like a colorful heap of freshly-raked leaves, but a lot tastier, we imagine.
Also coming back this season are fall-flavored baked goods, like the coffee giant's Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin and Pumpkin Scone which are both available for a limited time in addition to the available-year-round Pumpkin Loaf. One new item is an Owl Cake Pop that combines vanilla cake and buttercream which is then dipped in purple chocolatey icing and festooned with the face of a cute little owl.
You can also expect on the forecast new and returning Starbucks coffee and creamers at your local grocer's while supplies last, including a new canned Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew Pumpkin Cream coffee concentrate and a Salted Caramel Mocha-flavored roast as well as ground coffee.
Prepare your feeds for the onslaught of ecru, beige and eggshell, neutral suedes and sparkly reusable tumblers at a magnitude between “sweater weather” and “don’t talk to me until I’ve had my java.” These competing weather systems will occur within a 20 mile radius around any Starbucks location during the next few months. That basically means, like, everywhere in the country, so plan to take cover.
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