YES, IT’S ALREADY PUMPKIN SPICE SEASON 

🎃I know exactly what you’re thinking. Isn’t August too early for fall flavors, considering the actual first day of fall isn’t until Sept. 23?

As it turns out, bringing back pumpkin spice in August isn’t a new thing. In 2022, Starbucks introduced fall flavors on Aug. 30.

 We like to think Christmas ads and deals begin too early, but let me point out that Pumpkin Spice Lattes also launch way sooner than they used to. Already, 7-Eleven is pushing a PSL. On its website, 7-Eleven says: “Too soon? Too late. We’re taking the lead in manifesting cooler days. Sorry ‘bout it.” Dunkin’ Donuts will begin selling PSLs in a few days, and Starbucks is kicking off PSL season in about two weeks.

Perhaps the feeling that it’s too early for pumpkin spice can be attributed to the fact that Arizona absolutely does not feel like fall, thanks to a record-breaking heat wave for most of July. 

Personally, I welcome pumpkin spice in August with open arms, solely because of what it represents: a ray of hope promising brighter days ahead. Or rather, cooler and cloudier days ahead, filled with all my favorite things like football, Halloween and our own version of “sweater weather.”

An exact date hasn’t been announced for the start of the 2023 PSL season, but worry not. Fans can expect to see their favorite seasonal drink back on the menu sooner rather than later, along with new seasonal fall drink flavors and baked goods.