It’s at this time of year that female American expats are really craving a Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). Sure, they’ve had to pair their yoga pants with flip-flops instead of the traditional Uggs in Thailand, but when it comes to seasonal drinks, a Toffee Nut Latte is still not going to cut it.
Despite this need, there does not seem to be anywhere in Bangkok to get a PSL, a drink invented by Starbucks in 2003. It’s still the best-selling seasonal coffee in their worldwide range.
In Bangkok, there seems to be a Starbucks in every neighborhood and they’ve introduced some seasonal drinks. Namely: the Toffee Nut Latte and Peppermint Mocha. However, the PSL is conspicuously missing from the menu.
Why? Thai people love pumpkin and they adore overly sweet drinks. So, the PSL would, in theory, be a hit.
Coconuts needed to find out why. So we went right to the sources: the Pantip message boards and the PR office at Starbucks Thailand to find out about the drink’s history in the country.
What we found might surprise you.
First, we unearthed this poster from the deepest depths of Pantip. If it’s real, then the PSL was served in Thailand for, at least, the 2006 holiday season.
During this season, Thai netizens commented on enjoying the drink. They noted that you could get it hot, iced or as a Frappucino and that it was available only through the end of October 2006.
In 2014, Pantip users were commenting on the drink again in a long message thread. They thought that the drink was unavailable because it is associated with Halloween, Autumn and colder weather, all of which don’t really exist in Thailand.
One netizen said that he thought the flavor was strange for Thais, who often eat pumpkin as a savory dish rather than a sweet one. They found the drink too spicy for a coffee drink, which is interesting considering that Thai food is some of the spiciest in the world. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are flavored with a strong-tasting mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove
Another commenter made the astute comparison of a PSL to a chai tea and recommended it to anyone who likes chai.
One commenter said she had tried it in Hawaii but that it was “so sweet she got diabetes from drinking it,” but also pointed out that other Starbucks drinks, such as White Chocolate Mocha, are just as sweet.
We reached out to Starbucks Thailand for comment but their Public Relations representative just said that she had been doing PR for Starbucks for about a year and had never heard of the drink being served in the country and it definitely won’t be served this year.
If Starbucks responds with further information, we will update this story.
For those of you that don’t understand the cultural significance of the PSL in American Autumnal culture, this video by The Chive might shed some light on the situation:
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