If you’ve gone out for a cup of joe at any point within the last 10 years, you’ll have noticed something. Coffee shops tend to cycle out flavor additives to their coffee and snack offerings.

In September and October, you get the iconic pumpkin spice flavor. It’s not just coffee chains, either. You can often find many foods with this flavoring! Coffee, tea, baked goods – even things that have no business being pumpkin spiced. The worst offender I’ve found is macaroni and cheese (yes, this gimmick actually exists).

By now, pumpkin spice should be in hibernation for another year, making way for other holiday seasonal flavors. Mainstays like gingerbread, eggnog and peppermint roll on in to claim their share of the market until the new year. But what happens when the new year arrives? What does the new year taste like?

With no true holidays or special events coming until Easter, coffee chains will often simplify their offerings. Think warm and cozy, evoking the picturesque scene of sitting in front of the fire in your pajamas, with a hot cup of whatever they’re selling.

Before you know it, summer will come again and we’re given s’mores and tropical variations in our drinks. Things that make us want to get up and seize that summer day (in any other year but 2020, anyway).

And then, like a wave crashing down on us, fall returns and with it, pumpkin spice. Hopefully this time without ruining our beloved macaroni and cheese.

Flavor trends change like the wind, but you know what doesn’t? Financial advice. Give us a call at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or go online today and book a quick chat to get started on our kind of year-round financial planning!

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®