If you've ever wondered why Autumn just makes you want to rush to your nearest coffee shop and binge on pumpkin spice lattes - this is probably why.
As an avid fan of PSL, you'll probably know that real pumpkin has finally been added to the coffee's list of ingredients. However, an infographic designed by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) for Business Insider has revealed that there isn't enough pumpkin puree to change the drink's nutritional value at all.
The natural ingredients of the beverage, including actual cinnamon, ginger and allspice only make up 10% of the drinks flavouring. The rest of the 90% made up of synthetics and chemicals.
Pumpkin spice lattes will never be the same again
All those synthetic chemicals trick your brain into thinking they’re the real thing, as our flavour receptors can’t tell the difference between real ingredients and the fake ones.
Dr. Kantha Shelke from the IFT said: “The major and common ingredient in pumpkin spice lattes include: cinnamic aldehydes for cinnamon, eugenol for clove or allspice, terpenes such as sabinene for nutmeg, and zingiberene for ginger.
“They may also contain vanillin and cyclotene for the burnt butter or maple notes to round off the flavour.”
So in simple terms, all of that pumpkin spice goodness is just in our heads, and we’d probably all be better off drinking a regular latte.