Starbucks Vs Dunkin' Pumpkin Spice Latte: How Are The Fall Menu Favorites Different?

As soon as the back-to-school furor of midsummer dies down, the chugging sound of an unstoppable hype train can be heard from coast to coast. A fever-pitch frenzy of excitement strikes joy into the hearts of caffeine lovers everywhere. The reason? The imminent arrival of pumpkin spice drinks at coffee shops, bringing with them a ubiquitous syrupy sweetness and the faint undercurrent of cinnamon and cloves. If you're going for nationwide availability and name-brand prominence when it comes to pumpkin spice lattes, two names instantly spring to mind: Starbucks and Dunkin'. When it comes to discerning PSL fans, however, many have a distinct preference between the two. That's because the drinks, despite sharing a name, are not the same. Specifically, Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte contains actual pumpkin, while the Dunkin' version does not.

The seasonings that make up pumpkin spice blend are a mix of warming spices, and many variations on the pumpkin spice latte contain them, whether you're sipping your festive joe at a one-man coffee cart in Small Town U.S.A. or a chain in the middle of Manhattan. A Dunkin' PSL, to those that have tried it, takes a light hand with the spices and focuses more on the creamy, sugary notes of the drink. It may not land on the list of the unhealthiest Dunkin' drinks, but it's definitely an unmitigated sweet treat. Starbucks, which may have anecdotally pioneered the concept of a pumpkin spice latte back in 2003, didn't originally include pumpkin puree in its drinks. But it has since 2015, when the chain began to incorporate pulp from kabocha squash into its PSL cuppa. The resulting quaff is heavier on the coffee-and-pumpkin flavor than its Dunkin' counterpart.

One neat factoid you should know about both Starbucks and Dunkin' is that you can customize any drink on the regular menu with a burst of pumpkin (or pumpkin-adjacent) flavor for a delicious taste of autumn in your regular order. Hacking any drink with pumpkin spice is a perennial Starbucks trick — and the chain goes all-in every year, often releasing multiple pumpkin-flavored drinks alongside the classic PSL. But the Dunkin' pumpkin flavor swirl can also be stirred into any hot or iced drink, meaning that your fantasy fall sip is a few taps away on the relevant app. Fancy a hot tea with some pumpkin savor? You got it. Want to pound espresso shots with a kiss of sweet gourd essence to wake you up in the morning? It's on like Donkey Kong wearing a full-on spooky skeleton costume.

What this basically means is that, in terms of construction, the differences between a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte and one from Dunkin' are as marginal as you want them to be. Both chains offer the ability to customize the pumpkin-licious creation of your dreams with reckless abandon. Of course, no matter how you stir your personal cauldron of Halloween-y goodness, it doesn't change the fact that the Dunkin' pumpkin syrup doesn't contain actual pumpkin. Your mileage will vary in terms of whether that's a good or a bad thing, as taste is ultimately subjective. Either way, we always predict long lines at the drive-thru on that halcyon day when the pumpkin spice bomb drops and fall officially kicks off in Coffee Land.