ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – It’s an American tradition, as soon as the leaves start falling, the pumpkin spice lattes start pouring. The flavor seeped into the public consciousness in 2003, when Starbucks realized no one had tapped into the world of pumpkin. The company thought it would be the perfect addition for its fall collection, and they were right.
“I don’t know why, but people go crazy for it,” said Sam Lopez, Manager of The Velvet Robot Coffee Lab.
However, is this autumn squash slowly losing its magic?
“We were like man, you know, we don’t enjoy pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin spice in general as much as everyone else seems to, so there’s gotta be other people who feel that way, so when we did our little study that’s exactly what we found out,” said Jason Patton, Vice President of Fire Department Coffee in Rockford.
Patton and his team conducted a survey where they interviewed 500 Americans about the signature spice. Here are some of the results:
– Only 26% said they prefer pumpkin spice over other flavors.
– 10% say they’ve had at least one argument with a friend or family member over differing pumpkin spice opinions.
-11% said they’d consider breaking up with a partner over differing pumpkin spice opinion.
As a result, Patton think there’s new fall coffee flavors on the horizon.
“People love crème brulee, so I’m gonna play with crème brulee, make it like a salted caramel brulee,” said Pete DuFoe, who owns Inzombia Coffee.
“When we created our vanilla bean bourbon infused coffee for home, bean or whole ground, that was our highest seller immediately,” Patton said.
As we move into winter, peppermint and cinnamon will take center stage.
Copyright 2022 WIFR. All rights reserved.
