It seems like every time fall rolls around, pumpkin spice products are everywhere, but what even is pumpkin spice and why is it so popular? 

Pumpkin spice has been around for 3,500 years. People would use pumpkin spice to flavor pumpkin pie, which is why it’s called pumpkin spice. There are two pumpkin pie recipes from the 1700s that include a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves to make pumpkin spice. Then In the 1930s, spice companies started making premixed pumpkin spice for people to buy. 

It’s unknown whose idea it was to start putting pumpkin spice in coffee. Starbucks made its pumpkin spice latte in 2003. They tested the pumpkin spice to coffee ratio by taking bites of pumpkin pie and shots of espresso. Since then they have sold more than 424 million pumpkin spice lattes in the United States. This is what really made other companies want to start making other pumpkin spice-flavored products. 

Every year stores start filling their shelves with pumpkin spice items, but has the revolution of pumpkin spice gone too far? There are definitely some questionable items that people don’t seem to understand why they are pumpkin spice flavored. Items like Pumpkin spice flavored dental treats for dogs, spray-on pumpkin spice, pumpkin spice butter, marshmallows, coconut milk, salsa, chicken sausage, hommus, salmon, listerine, Gouda cheese, and many more questionable pumpkin spice products. A lot of people think that pumpkin spice has gone too far but will most likely continue to stay in stores because of its popularity.