Seasonal creep is something we’re all used to these days. Whether we like it or not, stores start stocking fall decor closer to Independence Day than Halloween. Candles that smell of apple crisp and table decorations for Thanksgiving are set out before Labor Day. And already, our local breweries are starting to release their pumpkin-flavored beers.
But in Phoenix, where summer temperatures are nowhere near close to cooling off, Pumpkin Spice Lattes in August feels especially cruel. This year marks the earliest release of the Starbucks fall menu ever. It hit stores on Aug. 24 last year and waited until the more respectable date of Aug. 30 in 2022.
Don't get us wrong, we’d love for fall to arrive. In some other parts of the country, summer starts to wind down this time of year, making fall flavors feel appropriate. Cooler mornings give way to crunchy leaves and flannel shirts. Heck, people might even order their PSLs hot.
But in Phoenix, a hot latte sounds like torture, and it probably will right up until Halloween. By the time we’re ready for flannel, Starbucks will have released its red Christmas cups.
The National Weather Service shared its fall forecast, and the “Climate Prediction Center predicts hotter-than-average temperatures and below-normal precipitation across Arizona in September, October and November,” we recently reported.
Hooray. To be fair, we live in Phoenix. We know it’s hot here. But can we at least get through Labor Day weekend, a holiday that was once regarded as the unofficial end to summer, before pumpkin season sets in? Apparently not.
Starbucks' new fall drink this year is the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai Tea Latte.
Starbucks
Starbucks releases 2024 fall drinks
Each year, along with the famed PSL, Starbucks releases a whole menu of fall-flavored sips.Fan favorites returning to the menu this year are the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai, the Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso and the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato.
A new addition to the lineup is the Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai. This drink features “warm spice flavors of chai combined with creamy oatmilk and topped with apple crisp nondairy cold foam.” At least it’s designed to be served cold.
Maybe we're borrowing a technique from the marketing teams behind seasonal creep by using a phrase associated with Christmas. But to pumpkin-flavored everything in August? We say, "Bah humbug!"
