Starbucks Might Bring Pumpkin Spice Lattes Back Earlier Than Ever This Year

Do you feel an autumnal chill in the air? Probably not yet, but that won’t stop pumpkin spice lovers from returning to their seasonal addiction in just a couple weeks. Though the company itself hasn’t announced an official date yet, Business Insider is reporting that some Starbucks employees have contacted them and leaked on social media that the coffee giant's pumpkin spice lattes will return to menus on August 27. If true, this release date will be the earliest official launch for the fall-themed drink yet.

Starbucks has established a definite trend of inching up its pumpkin spice launch date in recent years. From 2015 to 2017, the date went from September 8 to September 5, and then made a significant leap to August 28 in 2018. Granted, this year’s alleged August 27 date is only one day earlier, but with the public constantly clamoring for pumpkin spice season to begin earlier and earlier, it wouldn’t be surprising if Starbucks continues to shift its date year by year until we’re all sipping PSLs at our Fourth of July barbecues.

In the past, Starbucks has differentiated between “early release” dates and “official launch” dates. According to Inc., the early release of the pumpkin spice lattes is only available to certain customers—sometimes only rewards members or fans who partake in an online scavenger hunt. This usually happens about five or six days before the official launch, when pumpkin spice products hit all menus for everyone. The earliest "early release" was August 26 in 2014. If the pumpkin spice latte does officially launch on August 27 this year, we’re probably looking at an early release date around August 22.

Dunkin’, also a major player in the pumpkin spice game, is less coy. It announced on Monday that the entire fall menu will be available starting August 21, for which it’ll drum up excitement by rebranding eight stores as “Pumpkin'.”