#PSL

I have a couple of annoyances with this year's launch of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, and I decided that, since I have a public medium to voice my opinions, I would jump on my soapbox.

NYC ca. 2009

Let it be known that I have no more affiliation with Starbucks than the average caffeine-loving consumer. And my preference is for the red-cup Gingerbread Latte anyway.

My first annoyance is with the early release of Starbucks' star beverage. I mean, they make a ton of money all the time, but I'm also pretty sure that the PSL is a cash cow for them. People love them. They go crazy for all things pumpkin. I don't blame Starbucks for their business decision to make a ton of money a bit early this year -- all buzz is good buzz, right?!? But what happened to waiting for a good thing? Self-control is an important trait to master for reasons so numerous that I could write a self-help book. Suffice to say, I think practicing self-control is important. And I think letting things happen in their appropriate season is just as important. Pumpkin = fall = after Labor Day. I mean, there's a good argument that Sept. 2 isn't really "fall" as it is.

My second annoyance is with Food Babe. I don't have a personal issue with her. I am not 100% on board with her crusade, but that's not really my beef. I generally just ignore her. But thanks to social media, I've seen her anti-PSL info-graphic pop up on my Facebook feed a couple of times. In particular, there are two things about it that bother me. The first is the inclusion of non-organic coffee beans on the graphic. If using only organic beans is important to whomever, they already know that Starbucks does not use all organic beans and should not/would not be getting their coffee there. At the very minimum, is it a separate issue. Second is the plain lack of common sense from people who are surprised to learn that a mass-produced substance that is pumped into their cup by an employee of a massive corporation contains some less than stellar ingredients.

TL;DR -- I'm going to wait until next week to get my non-red cup of chemicals and non-organic coffee.