Starbucks invented the Pumpkin Spice Latte 20 years ago, and since then the flavor profile has been a hallmark of late summer and early fall.
Originally the drink didn’t contain any pumpkin — it’s not a pumpkin-and-spice latte; it’s a drink flavored with the same spices as are commonly used in a pumpkin pie. That’s cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the case of Starbucks’ original PSL, but it could also contain cardamom, ginger, allspice, or any number of other ingredients that have been popular for generations in seasonal sweets.
But ignorant loudmouths with limited reading comprehension harangued Starbucks into including pumpkin in the drink, too. It’s unclear why they did that; consumers would be unlikely to respond well if other squashes such as zucchini or delicata, or even butternut, were added to their beverages. But the tradition is now well entrenched and now at this time of year the market is flooded with a torrent of similarly flavored items, usually with coffee but definitely with a flavor profile of autumn spices.
Take a look at the pumpkin and/or spice beverages that have been introduced just since August.
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