Gary Brown: Signs of the season say 'pumpkin spice'
This is my annual semi-special autumn/holiday column, so these words are going to sound a lot like pumpkin spice.
I sense that everything smells or tastes or looks like pumpkin spice this time of year. Candles. Coffee. Cookies. Cupcakes. All those "C" things, plus plenty of stuff that begins with the rest of the letters in the alphabet.
Thomas makes pumpkin spice English muffins, which you can slather with Land O Lakes' seasonal Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter Spread. And Pop-Tarts has pumpkin spice toaster pastries.
According to a list of favorite pumpkin spice products published at tasteofhome.com, Planters has "limited edition" pumpkin spice almonds. Pop some into your mouth over the holidays.
The other day I was somewhere they must have been burning a pumpkin spice candle because it smelled like fall. They also were serving pumpkin spice creamer that you could put into your pumpkin spice coffee, for people like chef Emeril Lagasse who like to "kick it up a notch."
If you want to try it at home, I saw online that Starbucks sells both pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spice creamer.
"Bam!"
Sure it's a seasonal overload. It'll make you want to go rake leaves or buy Christmas presents.
When did it all start?
Starbucks is where the annual pumpkin spice craze apparently started, according to an article – "The History Of Pumpkin Spice (And Our Obsession With Putting It On Everything)" – posted in the online weekly newsletter "The Good Trade."
"Much of the 21st-century popularity can be attributed to – you guessed it – Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte," the article explained. "Although other coffee companies experimented with the fall flavors during the 1990s, Starbucks put the beverage on the map in 2003.
"Since the rise of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, the spice combination has found its way into every area of our lives, from desserts to dog food. If you look hard enough in the fall, there's a pumpkin spiced flavor, scent, or inspired decor everywhere you turn."
I just turned to my coffee. The cup pretty much just says "Caution HOT!" and "Precaución ICALIENTE!" And it tastes like ordinary eye-opening coffee. But, I'll cut The Good Trade people some slack. I will admit I had a cup of pumpkin spice java last week.
It permeates our lives
That flavored coffee probably is what got me thinking about pumpkin spice in the first place. And that's why you're reading these very seasonal words.
I don't believe I've ever written the words pumpkin spice this often in one set of sentences. I can almost smell the scent of pumpkin spice wafting from my computer keyboard.
I know I've never before looked at pictures of as many products that are manufactured with a pumpkin spice theme.
Did you know that you can get up and take a shower with pumpkin spice soap and pumpkin spice shampoo? Then you can spray on some pumpkin spice cologne.
Come down to breakfast and you can start your day off with a bowl of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios and a stack of pumpkin spice pancakes or waffles. You can wash it down with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee and grab a pumpkin spice cookie to go.
Later in the day you might want to try a pumpkin spice energy bar or a pumpkin spice candy bar with a cup of pumpkin spice hot tea.
Then you can ride home with a pumpkin spice thing dangling from your rear-view mirror freshening your air by adding in some autumn.
Sit down and sip on a cup of pumpkin spice tea as you scan these words.
You could call it a seasonal pumpkin spice essay.
It's readable for a limited time only.
Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com. On Twitter: @gbrownREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Gary Brown: Signs of the season say 'pumpkin spice'
