Can you get a real pumpkin spice latte in London?
“Excuse me,” I said to the girl in the coffee bar on the Strand. “Do you have anything with pumpkin spice?” The signboard over the espresso machine was noticeably pumpkin free, though autumn was betokened both by the calendar and – come to think of it – the sudden coolness in the air. “I’m on a mission,” I added quickly, to save face. “Sorry, no,” she said with thinly veiled contempt and added brightly, waving me out the door, “Starbucks is just across the road!” I slunk out, chastised. But I didn’t go to Starbucks – not yet. Rumor had it the PSL, having turned the North American continent a seasonal orange, was flooding London, and it had fallen to me to find out the truth.
