Bustle says that when you take a sip of this current cultural phenomenon, you’ll likely get the flavor profile of pumpkin, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, milk, and espresso. “Pumpkin itself is healthy. Cinnamon and nutmeg are fine. But pumpkin spice lattes are about sugar,” Katie Ferraro, a dietitian, nutrition consultant, and assistant clinical professor of nutrition at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of San Diego, told Healthline.
Kim Yawitz, a registered dietitian, told Verywell Health that a 16-ounce PSL at Starbucks (also known as a “Grande”) contains 390 calories and an eye-opening 50 grams of sugar. This is double the amount of daily sugar consumption recommended by the American Heart Association. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a PSL every now and then. “Most people don’t have room in their calorie budgets for a pumpkin spice latte,” Ferrero told Healthline. “Think of it like an ice cream sundae. It’s a sometime food, a dessert food.”