Every Fall, grocery stores line their shelves with pumpkin spice-flavored items. More traditional items include pumpkin spice pastries, pumpkin pies, and now even pumpkin spice flavored candy. When many think of pumpkin spice, many associate the flavor with the famous Starbucks latte. However, the origin of pumpkin spice dates back way before the pumpkin spice latte ever existed.

The flavor is a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves which has been spices humans have enjoyed in their food for a long time. The phrase pumpkin spice is credited to The Washington Post. During an issue posted in 1936, a recipe for “pumpkin spice cakes” was published and referred to a collection of flavors commonly used for pumpkin pies. The seasoning made today does not actually include any pumpkin in the flavor.  

The phase was first used in 1936 but it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the actual spice flavor was created by spice and seasoning companies. In 2003, Starbucks was the first coffee company to experiment with the flavor and use it in their famous and popular Pumpkin Spiced Latte. Other coffee companies and now food companies have joined in and has now made pumpkin spice the unofficial flavor of fall.