How Pumpkin Spice Became the Smell of Fall
There are some smells that immediately remind us of a certain time of year, or a particular place.
You might smell sunscreen and think of a hot summer holiday, or get a whiff of some flowers and think of spring.
And for many Americans, there's nothing that smells more like fall than pumpkin spice.
In fact, people in the US are said to spend more than $500 million on pumpkin spice products every year.
Fall in America is the time of Halloween and Thanksgiving. And according to researchers, pumpkin spice reminds people of warm, happy feelings associated with this time of year: cozy evenings, family meals, and the red, orange and brown leaves falling from the trees.
But here's the thing about pumpkin spice: most of the time it doesn't actually contain any pumpkin!
It usually contains a number of different spices, including cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. It's also known as "pumpkin pie spice," because it's those spices that are often used to make pumpkin pies so delicious.
But pumpkin spice wasn't always such a big deal. It's thought that Starbucks helped make it popular when it began selling pumpkin spice lattes in the early 2000s. Customers loved it, and it has been selling well ever since.
Starbucks does actually use pumpkin puree in its lattes, along with some of those other spices. The drink is now available in its stores around the world.
People can also now buy pumpkin spice candles, alcoholic drinks made with pumpkin spice, and even trash bags that smell like pumpkin spice!
Because with pumpkin spice, it's all about the smell.
