Being in the midst of Fall, pumpkin is everywhere. So is Chai. DAVIDsTEA decided to bank on the two beloved flavors at the same time when they combined the two in their Pumpkin Chai tea blend complete with cute little pumpkin sprinkles. This tea has been a fan favorite for years which has led to it being incorporated in several recipes on the DAVIDsTEA blog. One of the recipes, the Pumpkin Chai Maple Latte, caught my eye.
The recipe includes the following ingredients:
1 Perfect Spoonful of Pumpkin Chai tea
1½ cups 95°C/200°F water
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 cup canned coconut milk (coconut milk from a carton will make the latte thinner)
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup or to taste
It is a fairly simple recipe. The steps are as follows:
1. Add water, tea and spices to a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil.
2. Lower heat and simmer for 8 min.
3. Add coconut milk, pumpkin puree and maple syrup, and let simmer for another 3-5 min.
4. Strain into mug(s) and enjoy!
One thing I will note is that the last step, straining the mix, is not easy if you don’t have the right utensils. I tried my gravity steeper but that almost immediately got clogged. I think I had to use about 4 strainers from my nordic/perfect tea mugs and slowly let the tea drain out as I stirred the mix in the strainer to push it through. In the end, I got about 12-16 ounces out of the pot and the rest was stuck in the steeper and strainers.
So with that in mind, is it worth the straining disaster? Well, that depends…do you like pumpkin? This is like a rich, creamy, sweet pumpkin soup – a little touch of spice from the cinnamon and ginger and a lot of sweet from the brown sugar and maple. It is very thick which is what is making me think soup as opposed to a beverage, which means it is also very filling. If I am being honest, I’ve never had pumpkin pie, but if someone took the filling, slightly liquefied it and added some ginger to make it a touch more savory, this is what I imagine the result would be. Except with some caramel maple syrup drizzled on top.
For me, this is a little bit weird. I think the slight hint of the pumpkin puree texture that still remains is making me feel like I am trying to drink something that I should be eating with a spoon. It also has a disconnect between the sweet and spice. At first, I get the pumpkin’s natural sweetness with spice but then caramel and maple pop out at the end of the sip and though they are nice flavors, they don’t blend smoothly.
For me, this is likely a recipe I won’t repeat. I have never been a HUGE pumpkin lover and this was too much work (after all the cleaning especially) for something I didn’t love. It was certainly fun to try though.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
The forever fall must-have. This rich premium black tea is the perfect way to kick off the season. It’s got all the warmth of cinnamon and cloves, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy. For a truly unforgettable pumpkin chai latte experience, top it up with steamed milk and stir in a spoonful of brown sugar.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chai/Laughing Tree Tea
As a tea addict I am constantly on the hunt for tea. I mean literally every store, event or venue I go to I check to see if tea is present anywhere. I suppose some folks shop for clothes, others for gadgets and gizmos but I shop for tea. So when I was at the Freight House Farmer’s Market in Davenport I of course went in search for tea. I was surprised that there were several stands selling everything from kombucha to matcha to loose leaf. Tea was well represented here!
After walking around a bit I stumbled upon Laughing Tree Tea’s vendor stand. I must admit the free sample of peach green tea got me. I am a sucker for samples. But the sample was very nice so I decided to scope out the offerings. There were a lot of teas to smell and different sizes of tea to purchase. I do appreciate when companies offer sample packs of tea because honestly I am drowning in tea reserves. I often times want to sample a tea but don’t want to commit to a whole 2 ounces. Plus my husband tells me I might have to rent a storage pod if I continue to add to my collection. At any rate i purchased 4 samples to try.
Like a kid in a candy store I ripped open the first sample as soon as I got home! The first one I have tried and am reviewing today is Pumpkin Chai.
Laughing Tree Tea (try saying that 3 times fast) is a hand blended and locally sourced company that sells their tea in their cafe in Waterloo, IA but also at various farmer’s markets in the area. I smelled the sample of Pumpkin Chai in the vendor stall and immediately loved it! The scent is spicy, sweet and a bit nutty. I steeped my sample up at 212 degrees for 3 minutes. I felt that the tea could actually benefit for a slightly longer steep time so I let it steep an additional 2 minutes after my first sip. The base of this tea is black tea with rooibos. I enjoyed the mix of teas as the rooibos lends a nutty and sweet dimension to the blend. The traditional chai spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and black pepper are present as is coriander. I absolutely love coriander, it gives such a warm distinct flavor to blends. Also, almond, orange, flower petals and nut oil are added.
I really loved this tea. The spices blend so well together without being too spicy. There is a slight hint of pumpkin so I am suspecting that is contained in the natural flavors that are added. I loved this tea on its own but did find that adding a bit of soy milk enhanced the flavor. I suspect this will make an amazing latte.
This is an excellent blend and I have high hopes for the other 3 tea samples that I picked up. It seems that so often we hear about the large tea companies out there but the smaller companies like Laughing Tree Tea are doing some amazing things with tea that deserve to get noticed!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Laughing Tree Tea
Description
Warm up with this with this pumpkin flavored chai. If you like pumpkin this is your chai. Offered seasonally be sure to pick up your brew. Chai is traditionally served sweetened and this fun tea is pre-sweetened with ghost and pumpkin candies.
Ingredients: Tea, Cinnamon, Apple & Rosehip pieces, Ginger, Cardamom, Black & White pepper, Candy, Hibiscus & Calendula & Sunflower petals, Clove, Nutmeg, and Natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chai/Davids Tea. . . . .
Recently I was teaching my brother’s girlfriend how to bake. We might have gotten a little excited though because we ended up making 5 different types of cookies and some walnut fudge. As a result of the fudge, we were left with just a small amount of sweetened condensed milk hanging out in the fridge. Since I’m not quite sure what anyone would have done with it, I thought I’d experiment a bit and try using it in tea…particularly a chai tea and with the recent release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Chai is what immediately came to mind. I planned on using the 52 Teas version of Pumpkin Chai but since I haven’t had it before, I didn’t want to use majority of the packet I had (if not the whole packet) for something that might not turn out. So that’s why I landed on using this Pumpkin Chai tea by DAVIDsTEA instead, a tea that I have actually blogged about before on SororiTea Sisters.
When I looked up recipes for incorporating condensed milk into tea, none were really clear and a lot suggested using it in an iced tea. I decided to go with the iced tea plan and then sort of just winged it. I used 3 perfect teaspoons of leaf in 6 oz of water, steeped per company directions. I filled an 8 oz glass 2/3 of the way with ice. I then put a giant teaspoonful of sweetened condensed milk. When I poured the tea over it, the ice melted but the milk sort of just went to the bottom so I stirred the crap out of it, and since it didn’t quite fill the glass, I topped it with some whipped cream, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
So, since DAVIDsTEA Pumpkin Chai is caramelly, and condensed milk is sweet, and whipped cream is sweet, this was one sweet drink. Not cloying like one would expect but definitely not for those who don’t like sugar. As for me, I’m not bothered by it. The caramel is really boosted here, it’s like drinking liquid caramel actually, with a nice pop of the spices, especially the cinnamon and clove, at the end of the sip. It’s actually quite good but I can’t help but feel this would be even better as a hot tea. Something tells me that would bring out the spices more, creating a richer drink with more contrast between the tea and the condensed milk. Hot, and perhaps a more traditional Chai that doesn’t highlight a caramel sweetness.
So all in all, this experiment worked out quite well I’d say. And since I still have condensed milk left, I’ll probably continue experimenting and try to perfect a recipe.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
Let’s face it, the best thing about fall is the return of pumpkin spiced lattes. And this rich black tea is the perfect way to kick off the season. It’s got all the warmth of cinnamon and cloves, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy. For a true autumn treat, top it up with steamed milk and stir in a spoonful of brown sugar. It’ll make you wish it were fall year round.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
A Unique Pumpkin Chai from Love Tea
As soon as the weather turns a little cooler, or when I just get tired of summer, I decide that it’s pumpkin season and start looking for all things pumpkin spice. I love the warming cinnamon and ginger, the herbal clove, cardamom, and allspice, and the general sweet juiciness of pumpkin puree. Each pumpkin spice product has its own blend of sweet and spicy, which makes it all the more fun to try them all.
This time, I tried Pumpkin Chai from Love Tea. I got a chance to try this company’s more summery blends earlier in the year, and really enjoyed what they had to offer, so I thought I’d try their version of my favorite fall flavor. This Pumpkin Chai really stands out from other teas and coffees with the same name. Love Tea’s blend has lots of chai spice and pumpkin flavor, but it also has prominent citrus flavors.
In addition to the crisp black tea base and warm spices, this blend has hibiscus, orange, rosehips, and lemongrass. These ingredients set this apart from other pumpkin blends, and it offers a great change of pace to have the tart kiss of citrus alongside the usual herbs and spices. The hibiscus bring enough tart red fruit flavor, that this almost feels more like a mulled wine-flavored tea. The oranges and cloves together make for a delicious cold-weather flavor combination that often pops up in winter-themed candles and baked goods as the season goes on.
If you think you have tried every pumpkin spice that the world has to offer, try Pumpkin Chai from Love Tea. Even beyond the Halloween, the orange and spice flavors will warmly guide you into the winter season.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Love Tea
Description:
Our 2016 Brillliant Winter Blends started with this one. Put your Pumpkin Chai Latte on notice! This is all the flavor without the coffee. A black tea blend with Izmir Chai Spice all rolled into the perfect winter warmer. Serve this with a splash of milk (or flavored creamer) and a dash of sugar and your friends will never believe you are drinking tea. Start your holiday shopping now and get in the spirit with us.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chai from David’s Tea
When seasons collide! Today I brewed up DAVIDsTEA’s Pumpkin Chai as an eggnog latte, combining a Fall favorite with a beloved holiday classic. The end result? Perfection!
Pumpkin Chai is one of the blends that people wait for each fall as it brings together both the Fall flavors of Pumpkin Spice and Chai. Add to that some caramel and you have a winner that people will buy year after year.
Brewed up as an eggnog latte, the sweet gooey caramel really shines. Underlying that is the creaminess of the eggnog that plays off the spices in the tea making for a decadent sugar and spice treat. Imagine a spiced bread pudding with a creamy vanilla-caramel icing. Awesome!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Description
Let’s face it, the best thing about fall is pumpkin pie. And this spiced black tea is arguably just as delicious. It’s got all the warmth of cinnamon and cloves, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy. For a true autumn treat, top it up with steamed milk and stir in a spoonful of brown sugar. It’ll make you wish it were fall all year round.
ingredients
Black tea, cinnamon, cloves, caramel (milk, sugar, glucose s yrup, butter, sorbitol, mono and diglycerides), carrot, lemon peel, pumpkin candies (sugar, rice flour, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, corn starch, gum arabic, cellulose gum, yellow 6, confectioner