By JOSEPH HONG
Staff Writer
‘Tis the holiday season, and therefore a time of eating foods with the word “caramel” or “apple spice” in their names – or so you may think. During this holiday season, restaurants have been known to use flavors such as pumpkin, apple, and cinnamon in order to follow the holiday trend. Restaurants attempt to include traditional holiday ingredients such as pumpkin and cinnamon in every conceivable way without degrading the quality or taste of their products. Although the fall flavors are seasonal, as implied by their name, they recur over the years without any changes since they bring in extra revenue for the holiday season. Thanksgiving itself does not evolve due to its roots and for a good reason; however, over the years, Thanksgiving has been reinvented by corporations to include new foods and flavors such as “caramel” or “apple spice.”
This trend has been picked up by many major sellers and is incorporated in drinks such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and in edibles such as Starbucks pumpkin scones and pumpkin cream cheese muffins or Baskin-Robbins pumpkin cheesecake ice cream, Eggo pumpkin waffles, and even Purina dog food.
Not all are in favor of fall flavors.  Aneesah Akbar (So.) said she becomes easily bored of them “by the end of fall…because they were everywhere.” The same goes for Danielle Hasaan (So.), who said, “Fall flavors are the worst for me. Everything and anything possible is turned to pumpkin spice and all these other flavors in fall, and for someone who doesn’t like it, it’s super annoying.” These two people clearly demonstrate that there is a portion of those at University High School (UHS) who believe that fall-themed foods are repetitive. Thankfully, for those who do not like seasonal flavors, these flavors will cycle out  by the end of the season.
Others appreciate fall flavors for their merit. Kathy Guo (Jr.) said, “It is a quaint idea, it adheres to consumer wants and is really quite clever and the pumpkin spice latte is yummy.” Ethan Fridley (Jr.) agreed and said, “I think themed drinks are a good idea. They should make the Pumpkin Spice Latte available year round at an extra cost because I really like it.” Appreciation of fall flavors all depends individual tastes.
Some UHS students believe that fall flavors may be a bit overdone while others believe that fall flavors give the customers new delicious items to try. Although these fall flavors were not originally part of the holiday culture, they are indisputably a part of the fall season culture now.