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We can't believe when Vancouverites say they start drinking pumpkin spice lattes

Are you for real?
Allie Turner
Allie Turner
pumpkin spice latte
We asked Vancouver when is the right time to order a pumpkin spice latte and most of you are wrong.bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images Plus

I usually have a hard Oct. 1 rule before I order my first pumpkin spice latte of the season.

I don't care if it's basic I am a PSL stan (always half sweet and always with an extra shot of espresso), it's a ritual I partake in every year. But this year I caved and ordered one before the end of September despite the unseasonably warm weather and distinct lack of browning crunchy leaves.

I think it was the randomly grey morning that did me in and lulled me into a false sense of security that fall had indeed arrived. Meteorologically speaking, it has. But my sunburned face and the forecasted high of 26 C this weekend beg to differ.

We polled our local V.I.A readers and asked them when they start drinking their pumpkin spice-themed drinks, whether that's a PSL from Starbucks or an indulgent concoction for an Indie Vancouver coffee bar. 

I was startled by the results.

Surely, this can't be right.

Almost 67 per cent of you said you never order them. Are you okay?

Of the remaining 33 per cent who do order pumpkin spice drinks, eight per cent order them as soon as they become available (psychos, who is drinking pumpkin spice in August?), 3 per cent wait until September (reasonable), almost five per cent wait until the leaves turn brown which I think is lovely and poetic, and the remaining 12 per cent are correct and wait until October.

See the full breakdown of numbers below and happy pumpkin spice season! 🎃

Vancouver Is Awesome polled 832 Vancouver Is Awesome readers and asked the question: When do you start drinking pumpkin spice drinks?

The poll ran from 8/30/2022 to 9/4/2022. Of the 832 votes, we can determine that 402 are from within the community. The full results are as follows:

As soon as possible 8.21 % local, 8.53 % total    
Not until September starts 3.23 % local, 3.97 % total    
Once the leaves start to turn 4.98 % local, 4.09 % total    
Not until October 12.19 % local, 11.90 % total    
Once it's cold in the morning 4.73 % local, 5.05 % total    
Never 66.67 % local, 66.47 % total    
  Local   Total

Results are based on an online study of adult Vancouver Is Awesome readers that are located in Vancouver. The margin of error - which measures sample variability - is +/- 3.4%, 19 times out of 20.

Vancouver Is Awesome uses a variety of techniques to capture data, detect and prevent fraudulent votes, detect and prevent robots, and filter out non-local and duplicate votes.