Page 14 - 2020-Fall-OnWealth-DIGITAL_Neat

A
BR
I E F

HI
S
TOR
Y
or many people, fall is a season OF
F full of familiar change. Children
have returned to school after a long PU
summer, the leaves are dressed in MP
their finest colors, and a comforting K
scent is wafting in the air. Can you I N
guess what it is? No, it’s not autumnal SP
woodsmoke or the smell of fall’s first AN ANCIENT PEDIGREE IC
frost dancing on the wind, although Humans have been using elements of E
those are great, too. We’re talking this same pumpkin-friendly blend for
about pumpkin spice. thousands of years. For example, on
Pulau Ay, one of the Banda Islands in “pumpkin” and “coffee”).
Every year, retailers stock their shelves Indonesia, archaeologists discovered But it wasn’t long before
with pumpkin spice-flavored products. ancient nutmeg, cinnamon, and Starbucks proved just how
Right now, you can find pumpkin spice other spice residues on ceramic popular this peculiar pairing
pies, pumpkin spice candy, pumpkin pottery shards, which they estimated would be. 3
spice candles, and the ever-popular to be 3,500 years old. During the
pumpkin spice latte (also known as the Renaissance era (1300-1600 BCE),
PSL) just about everywhere. But where many of the same spices were viewed So, this fall, whether you’re
exactly did the signature spice of the as valuable commodities, and people baking a pie or just enjoying
season get its start? It seems humans all over the world used them for both a delicious, frothy PSL,
have been “fall-ing” for this blend of culinary and medicinal purposes. be proud of your pumpkin-
spices for longer than many realize. At one point, in the 1300s, when tariffs spiced everything. With every
sip of that latte, you’re not just
were at their highest, a pound of nutmeg
being trendy–you’re taking part
GORGEOUS, GOURDLESS SPICE in Europe cost seven fattened oxen and
in an ancient tradition.
Pumpkin spice is actually a delicious was even more valuable than gold! 2
blend of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves,
and sometimes ginger. So, why is it THE RISE OF THE PSL
called “pumpkin spice” if there isn’t There’s no way we could explore
any pumpkin in it? The answer can be pumpkin spice without mentioning the
found in 1934 when McCormick Spices now-ubiquitous fall drink: the Pumpkin
started selling the first “Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte (PSL). In 2003, Peter
Spice” as a premixed, bottled blend. Dukes was asked to help the coffee
1. Blog.Newspapers.com,
Before this, bakers had to buy all behemoth Starbucks invent a new September 4, 2019
the spices necessary for pumpkin seasonal drink that would complement 2. History.com,
pie separately. When McCormick the fall menu. One idea Dukes and October 4, 2018
debuted its all-in-one solution, his team came up with was pumpkin 3. BuisnessInsider.com,
popularity soared. It wasn’t long before pie-inspired coffee. Strangely enough, September 1, 2018
McCormick’s “Pumpkin Pie Spice” the drink was originally expected
blend was shortened to “Pumpkin to underperform (based on how
Spice,” as we call it today. 1 consumers initially rated the pairing of

14 | 2020 FALL MAGAZINE