Why Pumpkin Spice
With fall just around the corner (we hope) I personally have been trying to get myself into the fall mindset. By this, I mean I have changed my computer background to everything green and orange, I have broken out my pants and sweatshirts from the back of the closet, and I have been exclusively ordering pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks pretty much everyday of the week. Pumpkin is one of the most sought after and anticipated flavors of the year every year. Ironically though, there always seems to be an abundance of people that claim to hate everything pumpkin, and yet there is never enough to go around from the months of September to November- weird. Now this raises the question, is pumpkin, specifically pumpkin spice, actually good or is it just one of these things that’s better because we're all missing it nine out of the twelve months a year? Well let us review both the iced latte and the hot latte.
First, I have always been a fan of cold drinks no matter the temperature outside. Let’s be honest, I know all of us have eaten ice cream in the dead of winter before. The iced latte at regular Starbuck’s is such a hit or miss for me. Sometimes it's perfect and I want to cry because I can practically feel the leaves fall from the trees but sometimes you can just taste that it was made without any love. Now the lattes on campus at Randles are always made with a personal touch (shoutout to Aaron). I have never gotten a drink from him and been dissatisfied. This leads me to believe that iced pumpkin spice lattes are indeed good, depending on who is making it. Now I will say I like everything and anything really depends on who’s making it so I may be a little biased and unfair in this conclusion.
Now the hot latte. As I said I am not a hot drink kind of girlie, unless we're talking about hot chocolate which I could gulp down in seconds, but from time to time I like to indulge and see if my feelings have changed. For me, the drink is good and all but the flavor is not the main reason I stay on my phone in September waiting to hear if pumpkin spice is back. Once I get that notification from Starbucks (and I know I sound like a typical white girl, sue me) it just brings a smile to my face because that means fall is coming.
Fall used to be my least favorite season because it was horrible weather, cold in the mornings and hot in the afternoons then cold in the evenings again. For me, as an athlete especially, I could not figure out how to dress for my day which caused me to be uncomfortable consistently until it was finally winter and I could bundle up all day long without fear of it randomly being 90 degrees out of nowhere. As a kid, I also hated wearing pants so whenever it started getting cold outside and my parents got worried about the weather and would make me wear pants it caused me to associate discomfort with fall and chilly weather. The holidays in fall also never interested me. Halloween was always somewhat boring and Thanksgiving was just a day that started off with arguing about the food then ended with arguing about politics or some other major controversy and with the combine noises of my dad fighting my aunt while my grandmother chews so loud I cannot think, the whole day seemed like more stress then it was worth. With all this said, as I grew older and started appreciating the time family spent together as well as good food, I realized that fall has a certain vibe that no other season can bring. When you walk into your house and smell the pumpkin candles burning right after your mom cleaned the house for family to come over or when you walk outside and stop to appreciate the colors changing and the leaves falling you begin to understand why pumpkin spice is special. It brings with it all the amazing vibes and wonder of fall. It is one of the markers of autumn.
The reason I love pumpkin spice is because it is only here for a small time. The best things are the ones that we do not get to keep in my opinion. If I could order a pumpkin spice latte year round then it would no longer be special when I grab a book and a blanket and sit down to read next to my window while I sip on it in the cold air. If I could drink eggnog in the middle of July, why would it be special during Christmas time? This is my answer to the question, is pumpkin spice even good? Because whether it is good or not does not matter, as long as we all know fall is coming.
