The PSL turns 21

If you think that pumpkin spice latte returned to Starbucks’ menu earlier than ever, you are not wrong. The coffee retailer brought back its signature autumn drink on August 22, two days earlier than in the past couple of years. Maybe it’s because they are excited that the PSL is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, making it officially old enough to drink alcohol in the US (bartenders, feel free to steal this idea to make a PSL-tini).

Joining the popular drink is a new drink, the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai. Other menu items revolve around pumpkin and apple flavors: Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai, Apple Crisp Oatmeal Macchiato, and Iced Caramel Apple Cream Latte to name a few. I think my teeth got cavities just reading the descriptions. The calorie and sugar count of so many coffee shop drinks is astonishing to me. I have a coworker who orders an XL cold brew drink that clocks in at over 800 calories! The only thing more shocking than the calorie count is the price of these beverages.

The Caribou chain of coffee shops in Minnesota also has an extensive autumn menu, this year featuring a variety of Honeycrisp apple drinks. This is fitting since the Honeycrisp apple was developed at the University of Minnesota. However, customers will have to wait until August 29 to order any of the autumn drinks. (Although that is still not technically autumn!) If you are DIY coffee connoisseur, you can still enjoy a PSL or a bevy of other espresso and coffee drinks by using a recipe from the EYB Library, including the Salted butterscotch latte from Baking Bites by Nicole Weston pictured above.