This was the summer that I finally surrendered to the ever-lengthening pumpkin spice creep. Since debuting in the fall of 2003, Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte has arrived progressively earlier each year ("creeping," one might say), moving back a few days at a time and then, eventually, a few weeks at a time until the cult-favorite beverage is now rumored to be releasing on August 29 of this year.
My local coffee shop — a houseplant-forested storefront which trades in juicy-sounding specialty lattes with flavors like toasted banana sundae and spicy mango — isn't, however, burdened by the hitches and hurdles associated with an international seasonal beverage roll-out, so they offer their version of the PSL all year long. And I had one, on ice, as soon as there was a slight break in the sweltering heat of July, which went down as the hottest month on Earth on record.
