The History of Pumpkin Spice: More Than Just a Latte
- Lyle Perez
- Aug 21, 2025
- 2 min read
When fall rolls around, you can’t escape it pumpkin spice is everywhere. Coffee shops roll out their seasonal drinks, grocery stores stock shelves with pumpkin-flavored everything, and new “pumpkin spice” products pop up every year in places you’d never expect. From cookies and cereals to candles and even dog treats, the flavor has taken over autumn in a way few things ever have. But have you ever stopped to wonder where it all began? This is the history of pumpkin spice.
Pumpkin spice might feel like a modern trend, but its roots stretch back hundreds of years.
The interesting thing is, pumpkin spice doesn’t really have much to do with pumpkin. The mix we all recognize today is usually made of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. These were once luxury spices, traded across continents and valued as highly as gold. They were used for medicine, cooking, and celebrations long before anyone thought about putting them into a latte. By the time America was celebrating its first Thanksgivings, pumpkin pie flavored with these spices had already become a favorite dessert. Over time, that pie and its spice blend became tied to fall traditions, harvest festivals, and family gatherings. That association is a big reason why pumpkin spice feels so connected to the season even now.
Things really changed in 2003 when Starbucks launched the Pumpkin Spice Latte. The drink was meant to be a seasonal experiment, but it became a massive hit. Within a few years, it wasn’t just about coffee anymore pumpkin spice exploded into everything from snack foods to candles. It became a symbol of fall itself, marketed as the flavor of comfort, warmth, and nostalgia. The success of that one latte turned pumpkin spice from a kitchen tradition into a cultural phenomenon.
But pumpkin spice is more than just flavor. Part of its appeal comes from memory. The spices remind people of cozy kitchens, holiday dinners, and cool nights when the seasons start to change. It taps into nostalgia, and that’s something companies know people will keep coming back for. Of course, not everyone is a fan. Some think pumpkin spice is overhyped and complain that it’s been stretched too far, showing up in products that don’t need it. Others argue it’s become too commercialized, a seasonal fad driven more by marketing than tradition. But whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny it’s one of the strongest cultural symbols of fall, right alongside carved pumpkins, haunted houses, and bags of candy corn.
That’s a quick look at how pumpkin spice traveled from ancient spice routes to your favorite fall drink, but there’s so much more to the story. On the latest episode of The Halloween Podcast, I go deeper into its history, its cultural impact, and even its surprising ties to Halloween traditions.
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