Chain coffee stores have begun rolling out their pumpkin spice menu items, while local coffee shops are preparing to unveil their special fall offerings.
As the leaves begin to change colour, StrathmoreNow ran a poll asking coffee drinkers where they get their pumpkin spice latte fix.
With a total of 31 votes, here are the results:
- I don't drink pumpkin spice lattes – 61.29 per cent (19 votes)
- From a big brand (Starbucks, Tim Hortons) – 19.35 per cent (6 votes)
- From a local coffee shop – 9.68 per cent (3 votes)
- I make my own at home – 9.68 per cent (3 votes)
Prairie Grounds Coffee House, a Langdon-based coffee shop, has yet to release its seasonal drinks.
"Some other places have released it already in August," said Haylee Wilson, a barista for more than four years. "We're not going to release it until the official first day of fall kind of thing."
With the pumpkin spice craze already in full swing at Starbucks and Tim Hortons, Wilson reflected on the enduring popularity of the seasonal latte.
"I don't know why it's gotten so trendy," she said, adding that she believes Starbucks' marketing helped launch the drink into widespread popularity.
The local coffee shop Wilson works at makes its own homemade pumpkin spice syrup.
"It is considered our top-secret recipe," Wilson revealed, explaining that homemade syrups made without artificial ingredients often set local drinks apart from those at big-name chains.
Although the local coffee shop option tied for last place with those who make their lattes at home, Wilson said the demand is still strong.
"We've already gotten questions about it from the last week of August," she said. "When October comes, we go through so much of them."
A new poll is available on the StrathmoreNow website.