MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Leila, you know I should know this because coffee is serious business around here.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
That's right.
MARTIN: But what's your go-to coffee order?
FADEL: Oh, oat milk latte for me. What's yours?
MARTIN: I hate to admit this, but y'all know this. Decaf. Decaf.
FADEL: I don't know how you stay awake.
MARTIN: Decaf flat right (ph). OK. But during this time of year, despite myself, I am tempted to get a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. It's back on the menu for fall.
FADEL: Well, you are definitely not alone. It's super popular, and we were wondering why. And we're told it's about storytelling through the senses. That's what Colleen Harmeling at Florida State University said.
COLLEEN HARMELING: This is sort of like the musical interlude of tastes and smells. You know, it alludes to these emotional and positive memories that we all have of Thanksgiving and Christmas. And so you're not just buying a cup of coffee. You're actually buying this trip down the nostalgic lane.
MARTIN: Harmeling is a professor of marketing, and she thinks making the drink seasonal helps lend it cult status.
HARMELING: It triggers our sensations of scarcity, so we want to get as much of it as we can before the season ends.
FADEL: Food scientist Kantha Shelke says marketing is just half of the success story. She says it's also about four key ingredients.
KANTHA SHELKE: These four compounds are also the same compounds that are found in Coca-Cola. So maybe that explains why, when you drink this, you get a feeling of nostalgia, satisfaction and the kind of pleasure that you don't get with other products.
MARTIN: Shelke agrees that nostalgia is why so many people love pumpkin spice.
SHELKE: People associate pumpkin spice flavors, that aroma of a pumpkin pie - everything from the fruit, the sugar, the butter, the baking aromas, all of that - with memories of holidays, with gathering with friends and family.
FADEL: It's also got all those calories. The largest-size Starbucks pumpkin spice latte has more calories than a McDonald's double cheeseburger.
MARTIN: And if you don't like PSLs, as they are known by some, pumpkin spice everything else is coming to a store near you soon.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPICE UP YOUR LIFE")
SPICE GIRLS: (Singing) Spice up your life. Spice up your life. Spice up your life. Ah, slam it to the left if you're having a good time. Shake it to the right if you know that you feel... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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