How to get a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte earlier this year

Ah, fall. The changing colour of leaves, the late afternoon sunsets, the chill in the air, the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. So how about getting your hands on that favourite flavoured drink before the end of August?

There’s a lot of hype each September around the return of the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. You may have noticed in the past a lot of “OMG!” exclamations and giddy Instagram hashtagging on softly-filtered closeups of the whipped cream-topped sugary concoctions snapped lovingly by many in its legion of rabid fans.

Well, this time around the ‘bux is frothing things up even more with a social media scavenger hunt that can help devoted fans get the precious nectar of the coffee gods in their hot little hands while it’s still hot out.

First, the official debut of the PSL (yep, we’re abbreviating, just like that cute barista at the Starbucks on Granville does on your cup) is September 2 this year, keeping with the traditional day-after-Labour-Day launch. But earlier in August Starbucks opened up a Twitter account for @TheRealPSL, and began to tease that the drink might be showing up a little earlier on the menu.

Fear not, these follies are not limited to the U.S.A. We got in touch with Starbucks Canada, who gave us the lowdown on the rumoured early arrival of the PSL. The way it works is that there will be clues posted online from @TheRealPSL account, and this “scavenger hunt” will grant participants the chance to “unlock” stores early.

The online game will conclude on August 25, which is when participants will find out how to unlock their stores, and they will be able to visit stores nationwide the following day, August 26, to enjoy early access to the beloved PSL.

The rest of us non-scavengers will just have to wait until September 2 if we want a PSL… or we can stick to our non-chain artisanally roasted single-origin slow-coffee pour-over routines.

Featured photo by Becky via Flickr