On the overarching question, standard coffee in the US was mostly weak drip and unsophisticated instant stuff, and I don't think most took coffee "seriously". Kids drinking it from teacher's room or not.
Starbucks and others gave it a more hip position with more variety and consideration, while still being something considerably different from "serious" coffee made by small independant shops for instance.
And now the author's complaining that coffee's image has changed again because Starbucks isn't the miracle company anymore. Does it matter much?
If anything the coffee culture that grew in parallel to these Pumpking Spice days is probably there to stay and "serious" coffee is probably stronger than it ever was considering the starting point.
I'm waiting for the next analysis on how the toast culture lost its lusture as avocado toasts are on the fall.