As the air gets crisp and the leaves fade from green to shades of brown, red and orange, many other fall traditions are carried in on the breeze. From cute boots and coats, to corn mazes and Halloween decorations, fall is a distinct time of year loved by many. One well known tradition is the Pumpkin Flavoured Everything trend, specifically the various pumpkin spice drinks that arise. This particular trend—along with the furry boots, scarves and tall socks fashion—is the subject of a momentous kind mockery that I, for one, think is ridiculous.
I’ve been recently employed by a coffee company and taken on the responsibility of making everyone’s perfect cup of coffee. As the end of August approached and the long awaited drop of cinnamony, nutmegy goodness was at our doorstep, I began to notice it: the memes. Suddenly my social media was filled with hatred for these drinks.
I’m here to tell you that, as a Barista, pumpkin lattes are by far not the worst thing to mix up. You start to get into a groove when they’re popular. If four people ordered four pumpkin lattes, it would be a snap; the ingredients are all the same, they fall into the simple latte equation of flavour: espresso and steamed milk. So I began to wonder, where did this hatred arise?
Of all the drinks, blended things are the most time consuming, and the promotional beverages are usually the most complicated. We all can recall the barista outrage about the Unicorn Frappe. Trust me, a coffeehouse classic like a flavoured latte is pretty far down on the list of difficult beverages.
While there can be something said about the pressure of the sheer volume of orders, especially on the release date, I’m never apologetic when I order anything pumpkin flavoured. My number of orders of a fairly complicated vegan version of caramel beverages, on the other hand, has dropped significantly out of mercy.
As a barista, the pumpkin spice (and any of the fall seasonal beverages) are no different than the spring, winter or summer specials. However, very rarely has a summer iced drink special roused people to such a point. Never have my customers who ordered a summer special apologized or looked ashamed, explained themselves or even just whispered their order out of some sort of shame. Honestly, as a barista and as a cashier, it makes me angry that people are afraid to order a simple drink, worried about what I or their other peers may think of them.
Let me repeat that: people are actually ashamed to order an enjoyable fall special from a coffee shop. People make it a point to be disgusted by this beverage, to make fun of those who enjoy it, and shame people for drinking something they enjoy because they think it’s delicious. What if people whispered their burger order because a cheeseburger was too basic and had become a point of malicious intent? The difference here, I’ve observed, is that the fall flavored drink’s largest fanbase is women; however, I’ll leave you to mull over those implications yourself.