Starbucks tweaks pumpkin spice latte recipe

Starbucks and Panera are hyping reformulated versions of the popular drinks — which will include real pumpkin — in a fight to win over fans of the beverage in coming weeks.

The announcement comes a year after a blogger’s viral quest to find out what exactly was in the drink resulted in the crushing (and unsurprising) truth that the PSL contained no pumpkin, just some natural and artificial flavors, caramel coloring and tons of sugar. That is now being replaced with pumpkin.

The popularity of the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks has made it common offering on menus at other chains during the fall. Starbucks Corp. said Monday, August 17, its version of the concoction this year will be made with real pumpkin, and without caramel coloring.

Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte will be available August 25.

Peter Dukes, Starbucks’s director of Espresso and Brewed Coffee Americas, announced the news on the Starbucks blog, blogs.starbucks.com. It was simple – espresso, perfectly steamed milk, warm fall spices with delicious flavor of pumpkin pie that reminds you of the cool, crisp days of autumn.

Panera Bread Co., meanwhile, said its pumpkin latte this year will be made “entirely without artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup”.

“Starbucks created a huge craze based on their pumpkin spiced latte”, Danelle Kosmal, vice president of research for alcoholic beverages at Nielsen, told CNNMoney last October.