Anabel Eats: Pumpkin spice overload: What’s all the hype?

Sydney Dyke

Three weeks before halloween, Anabel Prince brought three different pumpkin spice flavored items for the whole newspaper staff to try. This included; yogurt, oreos, poptarts, and candy-corn flavored popcorn as a bonus. “The Poptarts didn’t really have a pumpkin spice flavor, and just tasted like dough, but the Oreos had a cinnamon or pumpkin flavor which made them my favorite,” staff writer Arsheen Kour said.

Kayley Rapp

Anabel Prince, Reporter
October 28, 2014

As Autumn emerges from its yearly slumber, and the weather changes to fit the season, pumpkin spice products become highly anticipated by fall fanatics. The phenomenon began when Starbucks introduced the popular pumpkin spice latte in 2004. After the flavored coffee’s noticeable success, several companies started adding pumpkin spice to their wide array of flavors.

Since the beginning of fall, stores loaded their shelves with several pumpkin spice products as pumpkin spice is the flavor of the season. Pumpkin spice comes in many products such as the shown yogurt, tray of oreos, and box of poptarts.
Since the beginning of fall, stores loaded their shelves with several pumpkin spice products as pumpkin spice is the flavor of the season. Pumpkin spice comes in many products such as the shown yogurt, tray of oreos, and box of poptarts.

These products define fall, prompting the question: Are companies jumping on the pumpkin spice bandwagon strictly for profit, or do these foods actually provide a unique taste of the season? In my pursuit to discover the best pumpkin spice product, I tested some of the most popular offerings.

The Infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte:

I purchased a 12-ounce taste of this cult favorite, which cost me a whopping $4.00, and the pumpkin flavor overwhelmed me. Luckily, a delightful and familiar flavor of coffee followed and served as a nice aftertaste. As I grew accustomed to the beverage, the remaining sips became less pungent. If one has $4-5 to spend and enjoys pumpkins and coffee, this product proves worthy of trying.

Pumpkin Spice Oreos:

Considering the fact that I love regular Oreos, I decided that these just taste wrong. The creme lacks pumpkin flavor and ultimately tastes like a cinnamon Teddy Graham; however, if someone craves both Teddy Grahams and Oreos, I recommend these. Otherwise, stick to regular Oreos.

Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts:

Continuing with the trend stated above, Pumpkin Pie PopTarts seem to forget their objective: actually tasting like pumpkin. They taste like sweet dough filled with sweet paste. If that’s your thing, by all means, go ahead.

Chobani Pumpkin Spice Greek Yogurt:

As I teared off the lid to this questionable product, my staff members and I collectively cringed. After taking one bite, I was done. It tasted sour, sweet, milky, and tangy all at the same time. In my opinion, it would be in Chobani’s best interests to cease all production of this revolting snack. I 10/10 do not recommend. Look at our video coverage of the taste testing for a bonus reaction video featuring The Chant’s lovely staff.

BONUS: Angie’s Candy Corn Kettle Corn:

As a Halloween treat, I decided to bring these along with me for taste testing.  I once again found disappointment in the snack. The kettle corn taste was present but immediately ruined by the overly sweet icing drizzle on top. Some might prefer this, but nevertheless, I find it a bit of an overkill.

Seeing as most of the products above lacked the taste of pumpkin, I would skip the pumpkin spice products all together. If you’re desperate to get into the fall spirit, just spend $5 on a pumpkin spice latte.

The Chant‘s rating: D-