Call it caffeinated crack, call it a seasonal beverage that drives otherwise sane people to the brink of madness when they can no longer get it, but the Pumpkin Spiced Latte is a very popular item at Starbucks locations around the country every fall. So when stores run out of the syrup needed to concoct this beloved beverage, people are bound to be bummed/irate.

The drink is so popular that stores are reporting drained supplies across the country, according to the Wall Street Journal. And if anecdotal evidence is worth anything, my friend just told me she witnessed a moment of “Sorry, we’re out of that special sauce” at a Starbucks today and the subsequent sad face of the woman attempting to order the drink in turn made her sad.

Reactions to being turned away Pumpkin Spiced Latte-less are a bit hyperbolic, to say the least.

“I just left, depressed,” said one New York fan, while another tweeted, “My world almost ended this morning when the local Starbucks told me they were out of Pumpkin Spice Latte.”

Some baristas are even dashing to other stores to try and hunt down some of the stuff in order to avoid irate customers.

“They go crazy. The day we first found out we had a shortage, forget it,” said one barista, adding that her reaction to emotional outbursts is along the lines of, “You guys do know it’s just a drink, right?”

Starbucks corporate denies there’s no widespread scarcity, but some stores just might not get enough of the syrup in the first place because of infrequent deliveries.

“There is an opportunity, in a pumpkin emergency, for them to be able to place an [extra] order,” said spokeswoman Lisa Passé.

Did you read that? A PUMPKIN EMERGENCY.

Halloween Horror Story: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin Lattes [Wall Street Journal]

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