Why the Largest Pumpkin Spice Latte in the Universe?

On October 2, Catfight Coffee is attempting to make the Largest Pumpkin Spice Latte in the Universe.

And yes, we know what you’re probably thinking:

Why not make it a Guinness World Record? We looked into it. We could potentially go that route, but Guinness wanted roughly $15,000 to officially verify it.

So…we passed on the Guinness Book. Besides, we’ve always called ourselves The Greatest Coffee Company in the Universe for a reason. It’s intentionally ridiculous. It’s impossible to prove. And that’s kind of the point.

We don’t really feel like we’re in the coffee business; We’re in the Catfight Coffee business!

We don’t see many other companies in our lane, and that gives us the freedom to make our own rules, create our own events, and occasionally decide that what downtown Boonton really needs is a gigantic pumpkin spice latte.

This Friday is Boonton’s final First Friday street closure of the year. A few times each year, Main Street shuts down to traffic and basically turns into one giant block party. These nights have been incredibly healthy for our downtown businesses, and we wanted to do something big enough—and weird enough—to give people another reason to come experience Boonton.

But there’s another reason we chose the Pumpkin Spice Latte. We want to reclaim it.

My relationship with coffee goes all the way back to childhood.

I remember being seven or eight years old and sneaking sips from the cold cups of coffee my parents would leave behind while running their own businesses. I remember drinking coffee with my Grandpop while he worked in his workspace. Coffee is family and memories. But one of my strongest coffee memories came shortly after I got sober and walked into Starbucks for the first time. Starbucks was a very different place back then.

It was where you met potential band members. Where you went on a first date when you couldn't afford a fancy dinner. Keeping in mind that Starbucks was known for crazy exensive coffee drinks back then (as now). Where you sat and wrote poetry. Where you caught up with an old friend.

It felt like a clubhouse.

And truthfully, that sense of community is part of what we’ve always wanted Catfight Coffee to become. To bring back that 90's/2k coffee shop experience...just with better coffee.

Back then, believe it or not, the Pumpkin Spice Latte was weird. Starbucks itself describes it as an experimental seasonal idea that customers initially weren’t clamoring for. It was the drink the weird people ordered. Or, rich people, after all, it was $3.75! 

We waited all year for that first Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Eventually, PSL became so gigantic and so embedded in pop culture that some of that magic disappeared. Now when pumpkin spice season arrives, there can almost be a collective sigh instead of the excitement it once created. So the Largest Pumpkin Spice Latte in the Universe is our way of taking it back.

It’s for the weirdos again.

It’s a celebration of fall, of Boonton’s Main Street, of two years of the Catfight Coffee shop, six years of Catfight Coffee as a business, and most importantly, everyone who has supported us along the way.

If we’re going to say thank you, we might as well do it with 55 gallons of pumpkin spice latte.

See you October 2.