If the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte was a person, it would be able to drive in most of the U.S. this year. In 2003, the corporate coffee chain rolled-out what has become a signature fall flavor for many Americans, but it turns out there’s not even pumpkin in it.
The pumpkin spice flavor so popular during autumn is actually a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves, according to an article from The Washington Post. There’s no pumpkin in it, but the ingredients are three of the key spices in pumpkin pie spice, what the popular flavor is named after. These three spices are common in a variety of dishes, including that sweet potato casserole your family might make on Thanksgiving.
What exactly makes that pumpkin spice flavor so popular? According to an article from NBC News, half the charm is the nostalgic feeling people get when they smell that aromatic steam off their frothy fall beverage.
“Home” often evokes nostalgic memories, and those memories might make us think of certain smells. The smells of the season might vary based on what was cooked most frequently in the home. If you celebrate Christmas, you might associate certain smells with winter and the month of December. For example, some Americans celebrate the holiday by baking an assortment of Christmas cookies. The smell of gingerbread and sugar cookies might do more than make you salivate—it might even evoke feelings of comfort and joy because of the fond Christmas memories you have.
There’s actually science behind this. It’s called the Proust Phenomenon. Marcel Proust, a French Novelist, wrote about taking a bite out of a cookie he ate in his childhood. The flavor of the tea biscuit brought back a long-forgotten memory.
The interesting science behind memory recollection caused by smell instead of the other senses is that odor-evoked memories actually tend to be more emotional. The comfort that is often associated with the flavors of pumpkin spice has science behind it.
So, it’s more than just good marketing. Next time you get a whiff of that cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in your latte sit back and allow your mind to drift to a comforting memory. Now that’s a real coffee break.