As cooler weather settles in, it seems as if every single store in America begins to take out their boxes of pumpkin spice and somehow incorporates it in all of their products. Pumpkin spice can take many forms: lattes, candles, cookies, pancakes, gum, etc. It’s an easy way to get your fall fix.

This makes me wonder why this popular fall flavor was created in the first place. It was as first used as a substitute for actual pumpkin, but it has morphed into an easily recognizable and overused flavor. People can’t get enough of it. Cafes and bakeries crank out hundreds of pumpkin spice flavored delicacies a day during this fall season.

Pumpkin spice has become the staple scent of fall. Its association with autumn led to candle and perfume companies to concoct their strongest pumpkin smelling products. Every store I enter begins to reek of pumpkin spice as October starts. The smell wasn’t that bad when I was younger, but the overwhelming scent of sharp cinnamon and squash now feels like a slap in the face.

Because of the popularity of pumpkin spice, I think it is overrated and overused. Pumpkin spice is sold almost everywhere in a variety of products; it feels like pumpkin spice is its own brand. A pumpkin coated heavily with cinnamon is the most artificial tasting flavor I know besides eating plastic. Although pumpkin spice is now considered a classic flavor, it won’t stop people from running to the nearest cafe to order the first pumpkin spice latte of the season.