The start of fall is right around the corner, and for flavored coffee fans, that usually means the return of their beloved pumpkin spice lattes. This year, however, McDonald's is leaving PSL lovers out in the cold. But it may be offering them a taste of something better.
In mid-August, the fast-food giant announced its fall beverage lineup, without a single pumpkin in sight. But in its place is perhaps a more inventive take on fall drinks, with the new Caramel Apple Pie coffee.
"Step aside, pumpkin spice; there’s a new flavor in town! McDonald’s is giving fall with its newest seasonal coffee flavor: Caramel Apple Pie, now available at participating restaurants nationwide," the brand explained in its announcement. "It blends a mix of apple and caramel flavoring with McDonald’s bold coffee, topped with salted caramel-flavored whipped cream and crumbled apple pie bits, giving us a sweet seasonal twist."
The seasonal flavor is available as a Frappe, hot and iced lattes, and iced coffee. And really, it's a pretty smart move for McDonald's to diversify away from the pumpkin spice scene, which is typically dominated by the drink's originator, Starbucks. (Though it should be noted, Tori Amos takes a little credit for the beverage's invention, too.)
According to the coffee chain's own history, the fall beverage was invented in its high-security development space in Seattle, known as the "liquid lab," in 2003 by a group of its coffee scientists.
"The group had developed seasonal recipes for the Eggnog Latte and Peppermint Mocha and wanted to add a new drink to the fall lineup," Starbucks explained. "Exploring ideas for an autumn-inspired espresso beverage, they sampled a forkful of pumpkin pie followed by a sip of hot espresso to tease out which pie flavors best complemented the coffee. They were off to a good start."
After three months of product testing and seeing how it played out across 100 locations, the flavor stuck. This year, Starbucks announced it's ushering in fall early by releasing the flavor on August 25, several weeks before the official start of autumn.
And because of the flavor's absolutely enormous popularity (according to Food & Beverage Magazine, the chain had sold more than 424 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes between 2003 and 2025), everyone else has created their own, including Dunkin', Peet's, and Krispy Kreme.
So let's all be happy McDonald's is going its own way this fall. At the very least, now you have one more seasonal drink to add to your rotation to keep things interesting until the winter drinks roll in.
