Pumpkin Spice: Love It Or Leave It?

Maple and poplar trees show the slightest changes in color. Some mornings start with a chill in the air. Kids return to school. Tired of the heat and humidity of summer, I’m already embracing my favorite season even if autumn has not officially started.

And with the start of fall, the marketing blitz of pumpkin spice is upon us.

Personally, I love a good pumpkin roll. A tasty pumpkin cake wrapped around a cream cheese filling with a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top. The mix of pumpkin spice—cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and ginger—perfectly flavors it.

But my coffee? Don’t add anything to it. No cream. No sugar. And certainly no spice.

I was curious what you thought and asked in last month’s survey. Your options were:

• Love it—Give me pumpkin spice everything!
• Like it—In the right things
• Hate it—Leave it out
• Huh? What’s pumpkin spice?

Let’s simply say I touched a nerve. Responses poured in making this one of the most popular surveys ever. And, yes, there is a big contingent who hates pumpkin spice:

As always, the comments are my favorite part. Here are some examples from each group:

Haters

As the comments show, it’s not so much that people hate pumpkin spice itself, but the strong marketing efforts.

It just gets to be too much. It gets to be in everything from body lotion, candles, air freshener to food. It takes over the fall.

Pumpkin spice should be for pumpkin pie only. Who wants coffee that tastes like pumpkin pie?

I’ve never understood the pumpkin spice craze, but my family never ate pumpkin pie. I had it once but prefer chess or pecan. I do enjoy the smell, as in a candle, but that’s about it.

What’s pumpkin spice?

As the responses show, it’s not so much that 5% of my audience doesn’t know what it is, but I didn’t really give an option for ambivalence.

I don’t hate it but don’t buy anything with pumpkin spice. Just not a flavor I go to for anything.

I know what pumpkin spice is but you did not give me the option to say “do not use it”.

Like

Let’s move to the people who like the spice, just not in everything.

Pumpkin spice baked goods are great. Coffee, not so much.

In the Fall, I love the aroma of pumpkin spice – in coffee, desserts, even hand and body lotion. By the time Thanksgiving has come and gone, I am ready for new and different scents.

Sure, I like pumpkin and pumpkin spice. But, c’mon, this fall craze is just an excuse to eat/drink something sweet,

I do crave “pumpkin roll” in the fall (actual pumpkin cake with the standard spices and cream cheese frosting, jelly roll style).

Love

Let’s end our pumpkin spice fanatics. it is there time of year, after all, so they should celebrate.

You had me at pumpkin spice.

Mmmmm pumpkin spice. Great, now I’m craving that.

My favorite is pumpkin spice pancakes, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bars with yummy cream cheese frosting!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry now. I need to go have a slice of pumpkin roll.

Join the conversation and add your own comments below. And go take the current survey here.