The fall season is approaching, and everyone’s cravings are shifting from tropical fruits to pumpkin spice. But is pumpkin spice worth the hype? Is it just another trend that comes every year to numb the end-of-summer pain? Or do we all just collectively love the cinnamony, gingery deliciousness of these spices? In search of an answer, we asked our older generations what they thought about the pumpkin spice craze.
Interestingly, most of the responses were positive. Hailey, an Australian now living in America, remarked, “definitely a yay on pumpkin spice. It’s not that great taste-wise, but it reminds me of America.” Josh, an American father, shouted “I love pumpkin spice, it tastes like fall.” So is pumpkin spice dependent on a matter of taste or more of an idea linked to our memories of places and times?
We landed on a consensus. Yes, some people do not like the taste of pumpkin and avoid it altogether, but others connect it to something deeper than the seasoning. Whether it be fall or a memory one cherishes, pumpkin spice means more to people than you might think. And it’s not only pumpkin spice that tastes nostalgic—other foods can have the same effect. For some, the smell of freshly baked cookies reminds them of their grandma. For others, the taste of homemade pasta reminds them of their hometown in Italy. Testing if pumpkin spice holds the same similar emotional reminiscence for all, we continued our investigation.
Contrary to our assumptions, students generally gave us the opposite answers from the adults. “I don’t know girl, I’m not a big fan,” said Form III student Samantha Wechter. Similarly, another Form III student Kai Levine remarked how he doesn’t “mess with it.” Noah Wechter, also Form III, states, “I don’t like the taste.” So is this a trend that is just getting old? Did the millennials before us milk the pumpkin spice season a little too hard to the point where pumpkin spice lattes were uncool? And are the feelings and memories of pumpkin spice not a part of our modern-day generation?
Gen Z has adapted to their lives and the world around them in various ways. We are seen as a generation that spends their time on their phones. A generation with their childhoods ripped away from them; first from Covid-19 and now from social media. To some, maybe pumpkin spice isn’t a big deal. But pumpkin spice shows something that is so clearly missing in our generation: tradition. While we are focused on moving forward and paving our paths, we rarely recognize the valuable parts of the past that can form lifelong traditions.
So pumpkin spice: yay or nay? For students here at ECFS, mostly nay, but for the older part of our world- yay. This fall, we encourage you to pick up a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks or sprinkle some cinnamon spice in your hot cocoa and taste fall. We hope that when this season rolls around again, you will do the same thing each year and further understand the beauty of traditions.
