October 29, 2025
Let’s start with the truth: pumpkin spice is a lie. There’s no pumpkin in pumpkin spice. None. Zero. It’s a marketing trick wrapped in cinnamon and nostalgia. The “pumpkin” is just an innocent bystander while nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon steal the spotlight and your wallet.
Here’s the thing though, I get it. Every fall, people lose their collective minds for that first Pumpkin Spice Latte. The same people who’ve spent all summer saying, “It’s too early to decorate for Halloween” are suddenly wearing scarves in 70-degree weather and shouting, “It’s PSL season!”
Me? I’m neutral. I don’t hate it, but I’m not counting down the days for it either. I’ll have one, maybe two, pumpkin spice-flavored things a year, usually a coffee creamer in late October when the mornings start to bite and I want my cup to smell like a cinnamon candle. Beyond that, I’m good.
The funny thing about pumpkin spice isn’t the flavor. It’s the feeling. It’s the taste of fall, of cozy routines, of slowing down. It’s a seasonal permission slip to feel a little softer. And maybe that’s why we keep coming back to it, not because it tastes like pumpkin (because it doesn’t), but because it tastes like a pause in the middle of our rush.
So maybe pumpkin spice isn’t fake at all. Maybe it’s the most honest thing we’ve got, a flavor that shows up every year to remind us to breathe, sip, and settle into the season.
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💬 Your Turn
So… what are your feelings on “Pumpkin” Spice?
Is it your seasonal soulmate or your annual headache?
Share your answer in the comments or on social — your weird little truth might be someone else’s comfort zone.
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