Starbucks Pumps Its PSL With Sugar: Here's How To Order It With Less

As we move into the beloved "-ber" months, there's no denying that fall is looming. If you're in the northern hemisphere, there's a crispness to the air, even though it's technically still summer, the kids are going back to school ... and our favorite autumnal indicator is about to happen, which is Starbucks dropping its fall drinks. This year, the beloved pumpkin spice latte (PSL) hits menus on August 26th, but we're already game-planning how we're going to take full advantage of our favorite drink being in season.

The PSL is a Starbucks handcrafted drink, which means that it's made to order. Like its "secret menu" cousin, the pumpkin cookie crumble, the PSL is drop-dead delish, but it's also packed with sugar. Do you love a pumpkin spice moment but are dismayed by all the sugar in your latte? There's hope. Per the Starbucks menu, a venti PSL takes 5 pumps of thick, sugary syrup at 33 calories a pump, enough sweetness to potentially give you the jitters, especially when combined with the drink's caffeine. One way to curb the sweetness of your pumpkin spice latte is to simply custom-order it with fewer pumps of syrup; maybe just two or three for a venti, and even fewer for a smaller drink. We previously covered substitutes for a Starbucks mocha cookie crumble Frappuccino that dialed down the richness, but the basic concept is the same: enjoying your favorite drink with less of a calorie-and-sugar sock to the face.

Along with the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte, Starbucks will also be rolling out some other autumnal sips on the 26th, including the returning pumpkin cream cold brew, an iced pumpkin cream chai, and a new pecan oatmilk cortado. The pumpkin cream cold brew, per baristas posting online, is made with cold brew coffee, vanilla syrup, and a thick head of creamy, sweet pumpkin-infused cold foam. You can decrease the sweetness of this drink without sacrificing the coveted cold foam by asking for less vanilla syrup. In fact, any Starbucks drink that uses pumps of syrup — and that's a lot of them! — can be made less sweet by figuring out how many pumps are in the default recipe (your Starbucks app is a great place to find this out) and asking for a bit less.

When it comes to hacking your Starbucks handcrafted beverages for calories and sweetness, the key is to figure out what's important to you. In a PSL, for instance, if you can't live without that rich, pumpkin-y taste but still want to curb the calories, you can ask for no whipped cream or sub out the milk for an alternative like oat milk or soy milk. The choice is really up to you, which is one of our favorite things about Starbucks.