What’s the big deal about Pumpkin Spice Lattes?

Vegetables and coffee shouldn’t be combined


Winter is here and everyone’s wrapping up in their favourite jumpers and sharpening their elbows for the inevitable scramble into Starbucks on those chilly winter mornings.

That’s right folks, the cold pressed juices are gone and in come the novelty winter stash of steaming hot beverages.

Yep, that means the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back in. It’s so popular that it comes in packets to make at home, just so the Instagram users of the world can make their own to take a generica picture and whack a filter on it.

Every year, coffee shops everywhere start selling the PSL earlier and earlier. It’s commercialism at its finest. Do people even like coffee infused with vegetables? It seems unlikely. We’ll be drinking turnip-infused tea soon.

As you might have already guessed, I’m not the biggest fan and having tried the drink it tastes absolutely nothing like pumpkin. It’s a travesty that they even reference that orange bundle of joy.

On top of the taste, the drink’s diabetes in a cup with the amount of sugar in it, but who knows, maybe it’s worth the Instagram follows.

As a waitress in a small local farm café, the amount of customers that tell me that if we sold PSL we would make a fortune is baffling – you manage without it the nine other months of the year, people, it really isn’t a necessity.

Starbucks describes the drink as “signature espresso blended with the unmistakable spices of fall – cinnamon, nutmeg and clove – smooth with steamed milk, topped with delectably sweetened whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices.”

As a student, I’d like to start by saying that those are not the unmistakable spices of fall. The only things that season my life after October are fear, regret and disappointment.

It’s really funny watching people go crazy over this “seasonal” drink, though, thinking that they can get it for a limited time. Have you heard of Chai? It basically tastes similar to Pumpkin Spice. If you really must have a Pumpkin Spiced latte, throw a shot of espresso in your cup and you’ve basically made yourself the drink without paying the ridiculous prices for it. You’re welcome.

Starbucks are making so much money off it that Bailey’s have decided to get in on the action. It’s an epidemic.

At the end of the day, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are the most basic of complicated coffees and it’s clear that no one is in it for the taste.

The good thing is, when you spot someone ordering one, you know you’ve found an Instagram whore. Every cloud and all that.