Sugar, spice, and everything pumpkin spice.
Fall has arrived in the northern hemisphere and whether you like it or not, pumpkin spice flavored/scented everything is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Pumpkin spice originally was a blend of spices used to flavor pumpkin pie. Commonly featuring cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, mace, and clove. In the 1930s, the spice became a pre-blended mix available for purchase so that instead of buying multiple spices, bakers could simply buy one.
Starbucks had started developing a new seasonal drink in 2003 after the success of others like the Peppermint Mocha and Eggnog Latte. Developers recognized an opportunity with pumpkin, as there was not anything pumpkin-flavored around. Later in 2003, the pumpkin spice latte that we all know of today was released. The debut of the PSL was met with massive success, selling over 425 million drinks and over $1.4 billion in sales since its launch.
The success of the pumpkin spice latte was hard for other companies in the food industry not to notice, so they began following in Starbucks’ footsteps. Before you knew it, pumpkin flavored everything became the star of the season and has yet to be dethroned.
Well obviously there’s pumpkin all over our grocery stores because of the success of the PSL, but why was it successful? What can the pumpkin spice attribute to its success? Basic white girls? Yes, but why are so many people so devoted to the pumpkin spice latte? Basic white bitches rejoice, you’re not crazy– there’s a reason for the craze.
A John Hopkins doctoral candidate has stated that human brains are built to fill in gaps between scents and associations an individual has with them. When we pick up a scent, our senses know the difference between a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin spice latte. The brain’s piriform cortex is the part where it connects the smell to our personal experiences. This evokes emotion from nostalgia.
The way we perceive taste is also affected by how something is presented and labeled. If someone tells you that your latte is supposed to taste like pumpkin spice, it is going to come across as especially pumpkin spicy to you.
So basically, the pumpkin spice latte is successful because it plays with our emotions (be careful water signs). Whether you love it or hate it, let’s all agree that pumpkin spice is a cultural icon. It manages to be the most symbolic Fall flavor and manages to do so even though the latte does not have any actual pumpkin in it. Iconic. Happy PSL season!