The Amazing History Of Pumpkin Spice

If you thought the pumpkin spice craze has built over the past 20 years or so, you are about 3500 years late to the party.

It turns out pumpkin spice was not the genius invention of a clever coffee company or a crafty baker. It turns out pumpkin spice was being loved thousands of years ago, so sorry pumpkin spice Spam, you're not as groundbreaking as you think.

According to history.com, pumpkin spice is a delicious mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves, and archeologists have found nutmeg residue on 3500 year old pottery on Pulau Ay, one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia, and no, the pottery did not have the Starbucks logo on it.

You can read all about the very earliest days of pumpkin spice at history.com, but don't be surprised. The article does not include the phrases "drive-thru", "Spam", or "pumpkin spice cereal".

I'm going on a limb here, and I have no data to prove it, but I really think the Jersey Shore could compete with any other area as the pumpkin spice capital of the world. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Three items you never thought you'd see pumpkin spice in:

(1) Tea (Twinnings Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea)

(2) Canned ham (Spam Pumpkin Spice)

(3) English Muffins (Thomas' Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice English Muffins)

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