It may not be fall quite yet, but pumpkin spice season is officially upon us. First up in the flavor’s seasonal domination: Starbucks’ new Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte, available for a limited time. The drink appears to be a chai latte jazzed up with the brand’s famous (infamous?) pumpkin spice syrup.
The beverage chain casually announced this news today, the day after Labor Day, like we weren’t recovering from a three-day weekend and had possession of the mental faculties to process it. It even interviewed Peter Dukes, the man who led the development of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. “Nobody knew back then what it would grow to be. It’s taken on a life of its own,” he said. No, Peter, nobody could have known. Thank you and also you’ve doomed us all.
It seems like just yesterday (because it was) that we were throwing back Olivia Pope–size wineglasses full of rosé, and now we have to make a hard transition into pumpkin spice season. Can rosé and pumpkin spice even exist on the same plane? The weather outside says pink wine but Starbucks is saying pumpkin spice. Our allegiances are torn.
