Do you know the popular trendy Starbucks drink Pumpkin Spice Latte or PSL?
Have you ever noticed that the scent and flavor of pumpkin spice are everywhere? Maybe you have seen it at the store, whether in your body wash, a candle, or even different foods. You may be interested in where pumpkin spice comes from and what it is like today.
During the colonial era (18th—19th century), pumpkin was the most commonly grown crop, as it was the easiest to sustain. Then, food started becoming less basic and more inventive, so colonists started putting the plant into the American classic, pumpkin pies or pumpkin spiced pies. According to Allrecipes, that’s where the pumpkin spice idea originated from. It wasn’t just the flavors that named it Pumpkin Spice.
A couple hundred years later, in the 1930s, pumpkin spice was turned into a blend. The familiar household name, McCormick & Company introduced its pumpkin pie spice in 1934. The company viewed the spice blend as the most convenient way for customers to make a prize-winning pie. Later, canned pumpkin spice made its debut. This debut made it even more convenient and popular considering it was now in direct reach for all.
You may know about the drink at Starbucks called the Pumpkin Spice Latte. It has blown up since it first appeared in 2003 and comes back every fall near the beginning of September. It is part of their everyday routine for some: Drive to Starbucks and get your pumpkin spice latte. About 20 million lattes are sold yearly, costing $400 to 800 million. This growth in history has caused a giant boom in the pumpkin spice market, causing many other cafes to also make their version of the drink, like Dunkin’ Donuts and Dutch Bros.
Not only have cafes been catching up on this trend, but so have many other brands whether food-related or not they are all still very popular. Many food brands like Oreo have pumpkin spice-flavored foods, mainly desserts. For example, they have pumpkin spice cookies, pies, and even SPAM. There aren’t only food items, but many different candles have pumpkin spice.
Lani Hodge, a senior at Doherty High School said, “I like candles and the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.” There are also a lot of body wash and perfumes that have that scent. There are also many different cooking sprays included in the mix. There are so many different items that use the pumpkin spice scent.
So yes, pumpkin spice is very well-liked, but why? The reasons for this completely go from benefits for your health to a feeling that we all know; home. Obviously, the flavor is directly related to the autumn/winter season, which is also the season of family. Approximately 54.1 million people in the U.S. fly out for Thanksgiving every year and 115.2 million fly out for winter break. Connecting these facts, pumpkin spice and pie is known to remind people of home, family, and all those wonderful nostalgic Thanksgiving memories. Lani Hodge says, “I like pumpkin spice because it reminds me of Thanksgiving memories and pumpkin pie.” Hodge also said, “Yeah, it makes me feel nostalgic.”
As said, pumpkin spice also has a few health benefits. These health benefits connect to the nostalgia of all things fall, including the scent of pumpkin spice. The smell of anything PSL is the loveliest, but the smell also triggers your senses, sending a signal to your thalamus (your body’s information relay system) before heading to your brain. From there it goes straight to your cortex causing higher-level processing. The flavor also has antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and according to many, extremely therapeutic.
The transition from summer to autumn can be a rough one, but let a pumpkin spice latte help smooth you over. From the colonists to us now, pumpkins have always been an important part of people’s lives. From holiday traditions to remembering our history, a ritual for relaxing, or hopping onto popular trends. Obviously, it is much more elevated now but the flavor will forever taste its warm authentic self. Now, before the season is over grab yourself a latte, a candle, or even some pumpkin spice hot cocoa and let yourself sink into that toned-down autumn vibe.
