In light of national controversy over things like presidential candidates, gun rights, global affairs, etc., I think it’s time we talk about something that has united our nation (though some may not admit it) — the most beautiful seasonal beverage trend to date: the pumpkin spice latte. Once in a while it’s nice to take a coffee break away from all the bickering and hostile debates to get in touch with the basic b**** that lies within us all.
I wasn’t a big coffee drinker in high school, and it took college getting a bit more rigorous, with a few extra hours a night lost to studying, for me to venture into the world of snooty caffeinated orders like a “Grande Chai Tea Latte, three pumps, skim milk, light water, no foam, extra hot” — an exceptional example of the obnoxious personalized Starbucks orders Americans love so much, as noted by The Huffington Post in January of this year.
And while Starbucks and coffee shops around the country do a good job of making Americans feel as unique and special as their personalized orders, there is one drink in particular that seems to have captured the nation’s heart, no matter how “basic” you may be. The pumpkin spice latte is the mother of all seasonal beverages. It is the product that blazed the trail for all things pumpkin spice in our culture, from pumpkin spice gum to pumpkin spice pet food.
Why so popular? According “Discovery News” via TestTube.com, Peter Dukes, the primary inventor of the PSL, believes the beverage’s popularity has to do with nostalgia and “capturing the essence of fall.” Tara Long and Julian Huguet go on to explain that because this wistful side effect fails to make full sense of why the PSL would outsell all other seasonal beverages, it could have something more to do with its ability to generate a mental paradox — the consumer is trying something new and exciting, yet it holds a pleasant familiarity and comfort that way. Beyond the psychological draws to the beverage, Long explains that the physical sensations the drink induces also play a role. She says that “as you grow older, you lose a lot of your sense of smell, but spices like cinnamon, which is a key ingredient in pumpkin spice, [is] so poignant that [it] continue[s] to cut through,” no matter how old you are.
While this beverage has only grown in popularity over the 12 years it’s been around, there are still some haters, including Hillary Clinton, who has received some negative attention for her unsupportive outlook on the nation’s hottest novelty drink. But outlooks like hers are no match for the number of people who are able to recognize beauty when they see it. And whatever the case for its popularity, this fall it’s time to leave your personal shame behind and hop on board the American coffee bandwagon to order yourself a cup of soul-touching, caffeinated glory.