Not Quite Natural: The Science Behind Pumpkin Spice

It probably won’t surprise you that there isn’t any pumpkin or any spice in your pumpkin spice latte -- or pumpkin spice Greek yogurt, pumpkin spice M&Ms or pumpkin spice vodka.

Instead of the nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla you'll find in a pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice has something more synthetic.

NPR’s food and agriculture correspondent Dan Charles talks to Here & Now’s Robin Young about that pre-peppermint seasonal zeitgeist, pumpkin spice.