It’s fall, boys and girls; which means we’re in the midst of a season filled with flannels, boots and hot drinks at Starbucks. The days of early morning iced coffees are becoming a thing of the past, as students are fueling for a.m. classes with beverages that warm rather than cool.
With the return of hot drinks to the hands of students walking to class comes the reemergence of a coffee shop juggernaut: the pumpkin spice latte, or PSL as instagrammers are hashtagging it.
Everyone loves a #PSL on a cool fall day, right? The Torch thought so, but we’ve recently come to terms with the fact that the pumpkin spice revolution isn’t as strong as we once thought. As a matter of fact, there seems to be an anti-#PSL rebellion brewing on campus.
An unnamed male staff member was jeered for buying a “girly drink.”
Considering all of this, we must ask the question: does the #PSL live up to the hype?
First off, let’s examine its taste. The drink perfectly combines a seasonal pumpkin color with the food’s authentic flavor all wrapped up in a warmth that’s hard to be described and should simply be experienced. To top it all off, the whipped cream addition is a must.
But does any of that matter in the grand scheme of things? Coffee is meant to give you a friendly punch – a quick kick to wake you up on a morning when the last thing you want to do is get out of bed. Is the warming pumpkin flavor even necessary?
Coffee has always been presented as the type of beverage where the bitter flavor is welcomed. It’s an acquired taste – something coffee drinkers take pride in. They don’t want the seasonal, yet artificial flavors that come with a vente-sized #PSL, they want that traditional coffee taste.
The Torch conducted a poll amongst its staff to get to the bottom of the heated #PSL vs. regular coffee debate and the pumpkin spice lovers came out on top by one vote. And both sides collected votes from males and females.
But was the final poll a small victory for #teamPSL or a giant step for regular coffee folk?
As mentioned before, the Torch believed the only thing bigger than #PSL in the fall was Halloween. The staff was quite surprised when regular coffee put up a decent fight against the #PSL revolution. Maybe the results point toward the realization that college students need something stronger than a seasonal drink to wake up for class.
