Written By: Emily Rogers, Staff Writer
SEASONAL: A controversial flavor of Autumn.
As the final days of fall are upon us we cannot help but relish that the true Holidays are finally here. The most cherished memories of the season are often connected to one of the five senses, this time in particular its taste. For the last three months, anything from coffee to candles has experienced the Fall favorite flavor , pumpkin spice. However, can this seasonal flavor truly live up to its reputation as a year-round favorite? Or as a society have we been brainwashed into believing pumpkin spice is justified as a seasonal flavor all for the sake of nostalgia?
The most famous contributor to the pumpkin spice agenda for the last two decades has been Starbucks Coffee. Despite the company’s addition of the pumpkin spice latte in the early 2000s, the flavor itself didn’t become a hot topic until the early to mid-2010s via social media. The drink itself coined the term ‘basic’, before eventually following the flavor as a whole. As buyers flocked to coffee shops in hopes of understanding the hype around the seasonal drink one question stood out from it all; should pumpkin spice be a year-round flavor? Is it worth more than the nostalgia created around it by thanksgiving and the warm feeling of family and togetherness?
Differentiating it from most seasonal drinks, pumpkin spice oftentimes doesn’t even taste like the vegetable it’s named after. Oftentimes consumers express only tasting overwhelming flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Deshawn Owens (11) expresses his opinion on all things pumpkin spice by explaining how “its unique flavor tastes like if the three-month season exploded in your mouth” and that if “it was any more than seasonal it would lose its popularity and no longer have a special feeling associated with it.” Even those who enjoy all things pumpkin, especially during the colder seasons like Nathan Pantoja (11) claim, “pumpkin spice is a hard flavor to actually make taste good.” Pumpkin spice has become far too familiar as a flavor trying too hard to be a part of Autumn.
The rarity of pumpkin spice has contributed to endless problems for those in the food and service industry. The initial rush of the mediocre flavors’ arrival causes problems daily for those working in places like coffee shops. Jaidyn Gayman (12), a barista at a local coffee shop, strongly expresses not only her dislike of the seasonal palate but the process of making it too. She describes how this fall favorite affected her time at work by stating that “the smell is so pungent that by the end of the day [she} smells like it too.” A certain kind of ‘Karen-esc’ customer enjoys pumpkin spice the most and Gayman’s hatred for it only grows as customers proceed to mix espresso with the controversial flavor. At the end of the day, pumpkin spice is a seasonal treasure people love to hate. As Fall comes to a close those who enjoy the flavor will have to wait another year for its return and the rest of society will be safe from the burnt orange advertisements being shoved down their throats.