The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte made it’s 2018 debut on August 28th, making it the earliest release to date. For anyone who’s feeling like this year has really flown by, Starbucks is really trying to move this end of summer thing along. With the end of summer, few things are certain—and one of them includes manufacturers stuffing pumpkin spice in everything they can think of, from vodka (PSV) to toothpaste (PST). You name it—starting in September, it comes in PUMPKIN.
Once upon a time, ordering a PSL wasn’t something you could be personally victimized for. It was just another flavoured latte that made you feel like you were getting into the fall spirit, while simultaneously fuelling your caffeine addiction. In the past quintessential of its existence, the PSL has transitioned from beloved seasonal beverage, to subject of hate-mongering and divisiveness.
I’m still surprised by the large amount of people who think that hating the flavour “pumpkin spice” is interesting. People say it like its pearl-clutching news, “Pumpkin spice doesn’t actually have pumpkin in it!”. This begs the question, pumpkin spice is meant to taste like the spices used in pumpkin pie—which tastes good to a lot of people. Even though it may be overused, not liking this particular blend of spices doesn’t make you a cultural critic.
Why do people even care anyway? “Liking pumpkin spice is basic, and being basic is bad!” Spewing prejudice and contempt has never been sophisticated. Sorry, but the bar for “basic” moves all the time, and it’s moved beyond the shameful preaching a long time ago. Finally, to all the PSL haters out there, hating pumpkin spice is now officially “basic,” if that’s what will stop you! After-all, there are far more important things to worry about this time of year—like all the midterms you’ll have in less than a month (sob!).
Sources: