Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Pumpkin Spice – is it even autumn if we don’t get bombarded by advertisements everywhere promoting it as soon as autumn arrives? It’s so ingrained in our minds that even if you happen to be someone who doesn’t love Pumpkin Spice (*coughs* me), you automatically associate it with autumn. But how did it get so dang famous? Well, we know who to thank – Starbucks.

Here’s a surprising fun fact: the original Pumpkin Spice Latte offered by Starbucks didn’t contain any actual pumpkin! That changed in 2015, however, when Starbucks reformulated the recipe to include real pumpkin in response to customer demand for ingredient transparency.

But is it really worth spending $6–$7 (or more, depending on where in the world you are) for one cup of pumpkin spice goodness? What if you could make a Pumpkin Spice Syrup at home in under 40 minutes—perfect for a dirty pumpkin spice chai latte and other recipes coming next in my Pumpkin & Everything Nice mini-series, with this as the first episode? Even better, you could use this syrup to make these treats multiple times with just one batch. Sounds good, right? Well… here’s the recipe, YAYYY!

Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you might be wondering, ‘Didn’t she just say she doesn’t like Pumpkin Spice?’ True, but that’s because I don’t enjoy how strongly spiced most pumpkin spice blends are—it almost makes it hard for me to taste the other notes in my latte. So, I decided to create a Pumpkin Spice Syrup that doesn’t rely on overpowering spices like allspice or cloves. Instead, it leans toward warm, sweet, and mildly spicy flavours, which ensures that whatever recipe you use it for—even coffee—it won’t overpower other flavours but will instead complement them.