{"id":922961,"date":"2018-08-31T17:42:28","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=922961"},"modified":"2018-08-31T17:42:28","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:42:28","slug":"can-anything-stop-pumpkin-spice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=922961","title":{"rendered":"Can Anything Stop Pumpkin Spice?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Food<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Can Anything Stop Pumpkin Spice?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
By <\/span>Elise Taylor<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

llustrated by Min Heo.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Even by 9 a.m., you could tell that August 28 was going to be one of those suffocating, soupy New York City summer days. Business men sweat profusely through their suits, unwilling participants in the world\u2019s unsexiest wet t-shirt contest. Women tied up their hair, the only requirement being that it was just far, far away from their necks. The air smelled of microwaved trash.<\/p>\n

But inside Starbucks? Well, it was a crisp fall day. One that was perfect for a Pumpkin Spice Latte.<\/p>\n

Yes, before the first day of autumn, before Labor Day, even before September, the coffee chain changed seasons. Earlier than ever, menus were adorned with orange-colored leaves and large hand-painted renderings of \u201cPSLs,\u201d advertising their triumphant return. Not that such a physical proclamation was necessary\u2014the drink had already been trending on Twitter for two days.<\/p>\n

There were detractors, sure. Those who said it was too early, those who called the drink \u201cbasic.\u201d But if you serve it, they will come. \u201cAre people really ordering pumpkin spice lattes today? In this heat?\u201d I asked the barista at my local Starbucks. \u201cAll morning,\u201d she said, without missing a beat.<\/p>\n

A group of tall, burly firefighters sauntered into the store. The tallest and burliest looked up at the menu. \u201cOh my god, pumpkin spice lattes are back!\u201d<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2003, a small group of Starbucks employees, including Peter Dukes, the director of espresso Americas, were charged with an audacious task: they were to create a new seasonal drink for the coffee chain\u2019s menu. Starbucks had seen earlier success with the Eggnog Latte and the Peppermint Mocha. So, they figured, if people liked holiday drinks, maybe they\u2019d like fall ones too.<\/p>\n

The team holed up on the 7th floor of Starbucks\u2019s Seattle headquarters, in a room called the \u201cLiquid Lab.\u201d They tested flavors. They tinkered with recipes. And finally, they came up with a drink that combined pumpkin spice sauce, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, espresso, and steamed milk, all polished off with a whipped cream and pumpkin pie-flavored drizzle.<\/p>\n

At first, they considered calling it the Fall Harvest Latte. But Pumpkin Spice Latte, they thought, had a better ring to it.<\/p>\n

That fall, they rolled out the Pumpkin Spice Latte to 100 stores in Vancouver and Washington, D.C. Dukes recalled calling their managers to ask about sales. \u201cYou could hear the excitement in their voices,\u201d he said in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

But it\u2019s not like Starbucks invented pumpkin spice. A written record of that flavor profile (pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) can be traced back to at least 1671, in a recipe for \u201cPumpion Pie\u201d in The Compleat Cook.<\/em> (\u201cTake about half a pound of Pumpion and slice it, a handfull of tyme, a little rosemary, parsley and sweet marjorum slipped off the stalks, and chop them small, then take the cynamon, nutmeg, pepper and six cloves, and beat them.\u201d) In the 1980s, the New York Times<\/em> called the combination the \u201cpumpkin spice axis.\u201d McCormick has been selling a similarly-named mix for years.<\/p>\n

Nor was Starbucks the first to put the flavor in something other than a pie. In the 19th century, an apple varietal was named \u201cpumpkin spice.\u201d Recipes from the 1930 and 1940s show people experimenting with pumpkin spice cakes.<\/p>\n

Still, Starbucks held quite the winning hand: a good-tasting product, money to market it, and stores to distribute it. But does that explain how it became their top-selling seasonal beverage of all time, with 350 million sold since 2003? Or why, on average, the #PSL gets 3,000 tweets a day during the fall? Or how it became an explosive catalyst for a full-blown cultural phenomenon?<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody knew back then what it would grow to be,\u201d Dukes has said of his creation. \u201cIt\u2019s taken on a life of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many lives, in fact. At this point, it\u2019s not an exaggeration to say you can find pumpkin spice everything. Just a few examples: pumpkin spice deodorant, pumpkin spice socks, pumpkin spice pancakes, pumpkin spice vodka, pumpkin spice body spray, pumpkin spice lip balm, pumpkin spice light bulbs, pumpkin spice mailboxes, pumpkin spice high visibility safety vests, pumpkin spice backpacks, pumpkin spice bagels, \u201csexy\u201d pumpkin spice Halloween costumes, pumpkin spice Pringles. Last year a rumor spread that there were even pumpkin spice condoms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Of course, other brands were bound to piggyback on Starbucks\u2019s success. But there\u2019s something strange about this trend train: it\u2019s not stopping.<\/p>\n

While other \u201cit\u201c foods have fallen out of favor (see: cabbage soup) or been replaced by a cooler, newer product (who drinks their coffee with coconut milk nowadays?), pumpkin spice is still chugging along.<\/p>\n

If you examine the Google Trends (Google\u2019s tracking of search popularity) chart of pumpkin spice from 2004 through current day, you\u2019ll notice it has peaks and valleys: it spikes in the fall, and drops in the warmer months, only to tick up again when September rolls around. Makes perfect sense for a seasonal product.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what\u2019s interesting. Every year, the peak of the queries grows higher and higher. Comparing the peaks of 2004 and 2017 is like comparing a bunny hill to a Himalayan mountain. Even with the over-saturation of related products, the internet labeling it as \u2018basic,\u201d and the fact that it\u2019s been an incessant part of the cultural vernacular for 15 years now, people aren\u2019t sick of pumpkin spice. They\u2019re only searching for it more.<\/p>\n

A 2017 Nielsen report, \u201cAre Americans Still Falling for Pumpkin?\u201d examined the state of the spice. Their overall conclusion was, that even after all this time, \u201cpumpkin-themed products are still a hit with consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were however, some buts.<\/em> All those wackadoo pumpkin spice products in the grocery store probably aren\u2019t selling\u2014only 10 percent of product categories accounted for 87 percent of pumpkin-flavored sales across the consumer landscape. The biggest sale increases were seen in cereal (up 183 percent that year) and\u2014what else?\u2014liquid coffee (up 596 percent). But other products, like yogurt and craft beer, saw a decline. Not everything pumpkin spice turns to gold.<\/p>\n

Four years ago, almost to the month, I started working in magazines. Which means that, four years ago, almost to the month, I started receiving pumpkin-spice related pitches\u2014from restaurants, clothing companies, and beauty brands. I remember rolling my eyes, thinking, \u201cwhen will people get sick of pumpkin spice?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The answer might well be. . . never. Because here\u2019s the thing: pumpkin spice was never really a trend. It\u2019s in a 1631 cookbook. It\u2019s in 1930s newspaper recipes. It was the inspiration for a 19th century horticulturist\u2018s apple-naming. And if you think about it, most Americans have been ingesting a form of pumpkin spice on Thanksgiving for generations.<\/p>\n

Sure, we have our limits (no yogurt). And maybe one day, people will tire of pumpkin spice lattes. But even if those fade, pumpkin spice will pop up elsewhere, just as it\u2019s been doing for centuries.<\/p>\n

\n

Trending Stories on Living:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Why Milwaukee Is the Midwest\u2019s Coolest (and Most Underrated) City — Read More<\/li>\n
  • The Kenyan Cool Girl\u2019s Guide to Nairobi — Read More<\/li>\n
  • Is Princess Charlotte the Brightest Star of the British Royal Family? — Read More<\/li>\n
  • The Best Celebrity Wedding Moments in Vogue — Read More<\/li>\n
  • Stylist Lolita Jacobs\u2019s Effortlessly Chic Wedding in the South of France — Read More<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

    Source URL: https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/can-anything-stop-pumpkin-spice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Food Can Anything Stop Pumpkin Spice? By Elise Taylor August 31, 2018 llustrated by Min Heo. Even by 9 a.m., you could tell that August 28 was going to be one of those suffocating, soupy New York City summer days. Business men sweat profusely through their suits, unwilling participants in the world\u2019s unsexiest wet t-shirt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-922961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=922961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/922962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=922961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=922961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=922961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}