The “Father” Of Starbucks PSL Says Flavor Almost Didn’t Happen

As fall approaches every year, devoted Starbucks fans count down the days until they can get their hands on the seasonal coffee drink they long for - the Pumpkin Spice Latte. The beloved PSL has become so much more than a beverage, it now defines a whole season. And it turns out, the flavor almost never happened in the first place.

Peter Dukes is credited with being the man behind the idea, the so-called “father of PSL.” Back in 2001 he was in charge of espresso drinks for Starbucks and after the success of the company’s Peppermint Mocha, he was asked to create a drink for the fall season. He and a team came up with a hundred different ideas, then narrowed it down to 10, which included the Pumpkin Spice Latte, but he says it “never had a chance” because they weren’t sure if customers would want to try it.

“It was the flavor that almost wasn’t,” Dukes explains. “And what saved it was that it was a unique beverage.” To create that original flavor, he says the team brought pumpkin pies into their R&D lab and poured espresso shots on them and ate them. And all that hard work paid off, since Starbucks has sold more than 500-million of them since their debut in 2003. Dukes says, “It took off to a whole other level that nobody ever could have predicted.”

Source:CBS News

Closeup of a starbucks coffee cup

Photo: Getty Images


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