MNN - Mother Nature Network

Have you ever noticed a comment on Twitter where someone used the hashtag #1stworldproblems. People use it when they’re complaining about something incredibly petty, usually when some incredible convenience is disrupted. Here’s an example.

 

So frustrated. It’s taking like five whole second for pages to load on my computer today. #1stworldproblems.

 

Get the gist? Well, there’s an immense #1stworldproblem happening at some Starbucks right now. The Wall Street Journal reports on what it's calling a “Halloween Horror Story.” At some stores, Starbucks has a shortage of the sauce that is used to make the limited-time-only customer favorite, Pumpkin Spice Latte. The company says “there is no widespread scarcity of the sauce used to make the drink, though they acknowledge shortages at some stores due to infrequent deliveries.”

 

Silly as it may be, this is big enough news for the Wall Street Journal and other major news outlets to give prominent coverage to, so I figure there’s a need here. I wonder if people realize that they can make their own pumpkin spice latte at home. There are lots of recipes floating around on the Internet, and some of them even contain pumpkin. The Starbucks’ version does not contain any actual pumpkin. This video from yumsugar shows how to make pumpkin spice lattes.

 

 

Earlier this week, I wrote about why we sometimes think that cooking is so hard. After watching that video, do you think making your own pumpkin spice latte will be difficult? It will take less time than getting your car, heading to Starbucks, waiting in line, and buying one from the coffee shop.

 

You can also control the ingredients that go into your latte. Think about it: if Starbucks isn’t putting pumpkin into its pumpkin spice latte, what are they putting in it? You can use organic coffee, organic milk, your own pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spices that you make yourself, and homemade whipped cream. You may never want one that’s store-made again.