Alice was sure she was lost in the forest, but the Cheshire Cat told her that this was the right way to get to a party. Suddenly, she heard an outburst of intense laughter that simultaneously reminded her of a wild dog and a squeaking mouse. When the source of the noise came into view, she discovered a mouse, a rabbit, and a man with a very large hat. She assumed the man to be "The Mad Hatter," and the rabbit to be "The Mad Hare," but no one had mentioned the giant mouse. It did not seem very important at the moment, considering he was asleep.
She waited for a lull in the laughter to politely ask if she may take a seat at the table, but the cackling remained constant. Finally, she decided to sit down and talk over the laughter, saying "Hello, how do you do? May I join your tea party?" Much to her surprise, the laughter quickly came to a halt and the hatter stared at her with a surprised look in his eye. Just as quickly as the laughter had stopped, it started again. Alice could not help but chuckle a little herself, being in such an odd situation.
"My dear," said the hatter, "this is not a tea party. No no no no no, this is so much more than just tea! This is a Starbucks, and we have every drink imaginable and there are endless combinations to the extras you can put into your drink!" Alice just looked at the man, knowing that his nickname had been know joke and that he was indeed quite mad. "But what else is there to drink, sir?" asked Alice so very politely. "WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? this young woman must be educated! Hare, go get the specialty!" The hatter yelled out some more orders to the hare, but Alice did not understand a single word of it.
After a presentation on the different categories of drinks that the hatter could make, including cappuccinos, lattes, coffees, iced coffees, frappuccinos, espressos, and about ten types of tea, he asked Alice what she would like to drink. She hesitated and responded, "hmm, I believe I will just have some plain, English tea, sir." Quickly, the hatter snapped back at her, "Nope. See, I have spent all my days trying to find the perfect drink for girls like you, and I have finally perfected it. HARE, bring in the orangey gooey one!"
The hare quickly ran over to Alice with a large cup filled with a frothy liquid that had an odd, orange tint but a very sweet smell. With the hatter watching intently, she took a sip. Then, she took another sip, and a gulp, and another and another until the entire cup was gone. "Wow!" proclaimed Alice, "that was the best drink I have ever tasted! What do you call it?"
The Mad Hatter leaned over to the hare and then said, "well, we were debating on the final name, but we have decided to call it 'The Pumpkin Spice Latte.'"
Official Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks website. Info here.
Author's Note: This is clearly based off of the Mad Tea Party section of Alice in Wonderland, but I decided that if Alice heard the hatter and the hare talking about all the different things on a Starbucks menu, she would assume it was gibberish and that they were crazy. The pumpkin spice latte also needed an origin story. Bibliography: Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. "The Mad Tea-Party." 1865.
Read the original.
Hi JD!
ReplyDeleteI love the story of Alice and Wonderland so I got really excited when I started reading your story for this week! The Origin of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, that was brilliant! I feel like you incorporated a bit of the white girl stereotype...all white girls love pumpkin spice lattes..haha I fit that stereotype for sure. This was such an awesome read and I loved the insanity that the crazies exhumed! Keep up the good work!
JD, I love that you've essentially compared an experience at Starbucks to a ridiculous tea party! There are "mad" elements at work in Starbucks to be sure - the insane prices, the whimsical menu, the possessive hold it clearly has on my life (I am, in fact, typing this comment to your from a Starbucks) - so I thought it was super clever that you made the whole experience into a giant hyperbole. I also love that you gave the PSL an origin - I love a good etiology! Great work!
ReplyDeleteHi JD, what great imagination you have in actually telling the story using the Starbucks menu. That picture you have chosen to use for your image. Is perfect for the time of year. I actually don’t mind have a pumpkin spice latte now. I would have never thought to write the story as you have. Great job! I hope the rest of the semester treats you well.
ReplyDeleteHello JD,
ReplyDeleteYour story was so creative and the picture you should look delicious! I never read the story of Alice and Wonderland, but I think you do a good job in your Author's note on explaining everything. I liked how you gave the Pumpkin Spice its own background story. I mean it is the best drink from Starbucks.
This was a really clever take on the original story. I feel like you are correct in the fact that if Alice heard a menu from Starbucks she would have no idea what anything meant. I am also a huge fan of the Pumpkin Spice latte drink. It is unfortunate that It is only a seasonal drink. I would definitely drink it year around.
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