It’s an Autumn favourite which was originally created by Starbucks in the US. There are now many variations. Here we explain how to make your own Pumpkin Spiced Latte at home using our coffee bags.

First some history on this iconic drink. Starbucks created and trademarked the Pumpkin Spice Latte. It has reportedly generated over $1.4 billion for the company and has inspired over 1.5 million Instagram posts. It is a hugely popular drink and is a big part of the success of the international mega chain. The drink is very sweet and dominated by the spiced flavours of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. It was almost cancelled as a seasonal special at the last second due to lacking the taste of coffee. Owners thought that producing a drink without coffee was not a good look for a coffee company. Another lesser-known fact about the drink is that the original Starbucks version had no traces of pumpkin, although later iterations do.

Other brands have similar versions of the famous latte. Caffe Nero has various spiced sweet drinks, Costa has a Maple Spiced Latte, Pret a Manger has a version and so does Costa Coffee. They signal the start of sweater weather and give us something to look forward to as the temperature starts to get colder.

There are a couple of ways to make a pumpkin spice latte, many now involving real pumpkin unlike the original Starbucks version. We have gathered a few of the options here. First you will need to be able to froth your own milk. A Pumpkin Spice Latte is (as you may have guessed) is a jazzed up version of a classic latte. This means it must be 1/3 coffee and 2/3 milk, with 1cm of foam on top. If you have a handheld frothing wand or standing milk frother at home these will do the job perfectly. Not everyone has access to one of these however and there are three options if you’d prefer to froth your milk another way.

Your first option is to warm your milk slightly on the stove and then use a hand mixer to beat it into a foam. The bubbles will be larger than a traditional latte, but it will still do the trick. Alternatively, you could try using a blender. Make sure to cover any holes with a dishcloth in case warm milk goes flying around your kitchen. The third way to froth your milk is to use a handheld immersion blender, the same as you would use to make soup. This works best as all the bubbles are quite small and uniform. As milk is quite thin, blend it on a low setting so that the milk doesn’t spray everywhere. Use a container with high edges, such as a jug or deep saucepan, to avoid making a big mess. If you’re not someone who is fussed about froth, then don’t bother with any of this! Feel free to just warm your milk and use it unfrothed. Whipped cream can be a delicious way around needing to froth your own milk and adds a special touch.

Now that your milk is ready, it’s time to move onto making the Pumpkin Spice Latte itself. The original version doesn’t have coffee, but our version uses our delicious coffee bags. There are two options here, one using real pumpkin and one without. We recommend using our new seasonal Autumn roast for the below recipes. The flavours perfectly compliment the spices in the latte and create a truly warming cup. You are welcome to use any of your favourites of our coffee bags of course. This recipe uses pumpkin puree which can be harder to find in the UK. Most health food stores will sell it, try Wholefoods or your local health food store. Around November you can also find it in most supermarkets, for example Sainsbury’s or Tesco, in the American food aisle. Some bigger outlets will sell it all year round.