The November Battleground: When Lattes Attack
by Ashley Degen
By the time November 1st rolls around, everyone is singing carols and busting out
the ugly sweaters. While many love the holiday season, there are Halloween lovers who
dread the advent of November because their beloved holiday is over. Will the holidays
fight to the death over the middle ground that is November? Or is there a happy
solution?
Fortunately, November is occupied by a holiday that is lesser-known, except to
the teenage female population. November is Pumpkin Spice Season.
Many people find this to be the worst season to be in a public school. Girls
dressed like Han Solo from Star Wars (vests, long sleeve shirts, leggings, knee high
boots, and leg warmers) flow in like a never-ending stream from Starbucks, the trusty
supplier for their addiction. With an origin story as old as some buying it, the Pumpkin
Spice Latte is the infamous drink of fall. The drink was developed and tested in 2003,
and afterwards was rolled out across the US in 2004. Ever since then, the latte has had a
mind of its own. It creeps into people's dreams at night. A caffeine addiction only adds
to the cravings of the spice. No one is safe.
Lots of companies have decided to take advantage of the nationwide addiction.
There are pumpkin spice Hershey kisses, pumpkin
spice-scented stickers, and the national meme:
pumpkin spice bleach. The obsession is out of control.
Everywhere you turn in November there is pumpkin
spice.
Despite the rampant popularity that the
Pumpkin Spice Latte has enjoyed, it has done so for a
reason. It's actually a really tasty drink that the nation
loves. For it to have become so popular, lots of people must really love the drink.
However, for the rest of us, it becomes obnoxious always to hear about ¨the drink of
fall.¨
November is not the battleground for holidays; it is the battleground for sanity.
You may hide the children if you like, but that will not stop the invasion of the pumpkin
spice. Nothing can stop it now, except maybe an apocalypse.
"Peter Dukes Shares the Story Behind Starbucks First
Pumpkin Spice Latte."Starbucks Newsroom. Starbucks, 08 Sept. 2015. Web.
04 Nov. 2016. <https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-first-pumpkin-spice-latte>