It’s time to say goodbye to the hot summer breeze and say hello to the fall season. While my favorite part of the changing season is always having new coffees and lattes at Dunkin’, Blank Street, and other coffee shops, there is one part of fall I never really get excited about: pumpkin spice.
I know pumpkin spice is known as the “it” flavor for fall, but I never understood the hype. I tried pumpkin spice lattes and even a Pumpkin Spice Frosty from Wendy’s, but I never liked it at all. Recently, I’ve been noticing that more people on TikTok have been questioning whether pumpkin spice is actually worth the hype. I thought I was the only crazy person that didn’t like pumpkin spice, but it turns out, I’m not alone. It’s making me really start to question, why do people really like pumpkin spice? I have a theory about this, I may be right and I may be wrong, but I do think this needs to be talked about.
Why People Like It
Every year when fall approaches, everyone goes crazy about pumpkin spice — buying the creamer to make their coffee at home or going to many shops to buy their pumpkin spice drinks. But, what makes pumpkin spice so good? In my opinion, it tastes like a nasty type of medicine or some type of expired drink. Too many people praise the pumpkin spice drink too much.
What I think people really like about pumpkin spice is that it’s a trend. When seasonal drinks come out, that’s all you will see on social media for a while, and when people see the drinks, they are influenced and want to try it themselves. People want to be a part of the fall trend with drinks. But I’ve noticed that people on social media this year are not loving pumpkin spice as much as they used to.
Creator Suhani (@simply.suhani) made a video about her dislike of pumpkin spice where she shared how she feels about the popular flavor. “I will never understand the hype about pumpkin spice. It just tastes like sh*t to me,” she said in the video posted on September 7. Creator Kendra (@kendracreatesugc) also made a video about her problem with pumpkin spice, where she questions why pumpkin spice is such a big part of fall. “I really don’t understand when we decided that pumpkin spice was the official flavor of fall. What really gets to me is that everybody acts like everybody is supposed to love pumpkin spice because it’s fall… I don’t have to drink a pumpkin flavored beverage to participate in the fall activities,” she said in the video posted on September 10.
Some people think it tastes nasty, while others think it’s too overhyped or believe there are better fall flavors out there. So if some people never liked pumpkin spice, why are more people talking about it now? From what I understand, people are tired of seeing pumpkin spice being the main fall flavor every year and want to try something new. It’s giving when Starbucks brought back the Unicorn Frappuccino and people were just taking pictures with it and throwing it out.
Better Fall Drinks
I’m not saying people shouldn’t like pumpkin spice, but people shouldn’t feel like they have to like a drink just because everyone else is liking it. There are so many other fall drinks to choose from, so you don’t have to stick with pumpkin spice to get that fall feeling.
One of my new favorites has to be the Tiramisu Shakin’ Espresso from Dunkin’. It has a mixture of bold, smooth, creamy, and lightly sweet flavors, which is the kind of coffee I am always after. I didn’t think I was going to like it, but it truly gives cozy fall vibes.
Another drink that gives fall vibes that is kept on the Dunkin’ menu all year round is the Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso. It doesn’t just have the sweetness and creamy taste, but it has the spiced kick that people are looking for in a pumpkin spice latte.
The new Iced Cinnamon Bun Latte from Blank Street is another fall drink that doesn’t feature pumpkin. This drink has maple syrup and cream cheese frosting, which definitely screams fall. There are so many options to choose from when it comes to finding your “it” fall drink, you just have to look around and try and eventually, you will find it.
Don’t feel you have to like pumpkin spice or any other food or drink item because everyone else likes it. You don’t have to feel left out or feel like you’re not getting the true fall experience just because you don’t like the same drinks like everyone else. Enjoy whatever drink you like that gives you the fall feeling and you will automatically have a good fall season. Fall is about finding what makes you feel cozy, not following what everyone else says is the perfect and “it” fall drink.