Pumpkin Spice Latte Season: 5 Facts About PSL's

CHICAGO (CBS)--Starbucks on Tuesday announced the official return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte for the fall 2018 season, and the sugary beverage is arriving even before the first leaves of autumn start to fall.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes will debut in U.S. Starbucks stores on Aug. 28--five days before summer unofficially ends on Labor Day. Dunkin' Donuts and Dairy Queen are also rolling out autumnal-flavored specialties in coming weeks.

Dunkin's fall line of pumpkin-flavored beverages and donuts are debuting Aug. 27 and Dairy Queen's Pumpkin Pie Blizzard comes out Sept. 3.

Starbucks has offered up five fun facts in honor of the Pumpkin Spice Latte's 15th anniversary.

Here are the top 5 things to know about fall's designated latte:

1.) Starbucks created the first Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003 inside a research and development space at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle. The beverage was the brainchild of Peter Dukes, director of espresso brand management at Starbucks. During the development process, Starbucks scientists brought real pumpkin pies into the Liquid Lab, even pouring espresso shots on top to find the perfect flavor.

2.) Starbucks considered naming the latte the "Fall Harvest Latte" before later deciding on "Pumpkin Spice."

3.) During the premier year of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, it was only served in 100 Starbucks stores--all in Vancouver and Washington, D.C. Now it's available in nearly 50 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

4.) Today, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is Starbucks top-selling seasonal beverage of all time.

5.) During the fall season, more than 3,000 people Tweet about the Pumpkin Spice Latte every day with the hashtag #PSL.