Grandma's Pumpkin Pie

In the aftermath of tropical cyclone Sandy (no problems here, thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers), what could be more comforting than Grandma’s pumpkin pie? Okay so my grandmother never made pumpkin pie, but it sure sounds good. =)

The little pumpkin candies in this tea are very cute. I was tempted to try one, but then I forgot about it. It smells very, very autumnal, a combination of all the warmth and spices that generally go into pumpkin pie and other seasonal desserts. I didn’t get a pumpkin feel from it, but to be honest, I’d have to open a can of pumpkin pie filling and stick my nose in it to remember the fragrance. The brew is a little lighter in colour than I anticipated for a black tea, but it does kind of look like liquified pumpkin pie.

I’m torn on the taste (and therefore the rating). This is a really nice pumpkin pie spice tea. A pumpkin pie tea, not so much. It’s warm and yummy and comforting and smells really great, but I’m still not getting any pumpkin from it. Next time, I think I’m going to try sweetening it with just a touch of condensed milk.

Tea amount: 1 level tsp
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: None at first, then about ½ tsp demerara sugar.
Dry mouth factor: 2/10 (really low for a black tea, in my experience—awesome)

It’s turned out to be a gross rainy day, so I came home and opened up my package of this. And added vanilla coconut milk creamer. Because it’s delicious and comforting and I’m cold and I kinda just wanna go to bed but I can’t because I need to (finally) (maybe) do my taxes.

Umm.

Be sure to use enough leaves as there are candies and candies only lend sweetness, not teaness.

Additional notes: Sipping this favorite. The magic of this one is what is like pumpkin pie filling in the blend. I’m not sure if it’s still made that way (my pouch is older), but describing it as “pumpkin spice” does not do it justice! That just sounds like the spices that go in pumpkin pie, but those are there too. Canned pumpkin filling!! It’s not in the description and you can’t really see it in the picture. The tea just tastes a little squashy/pumpkin. So good.

I received this one as a surprise second batch of samples from Della Terra Teas in their snazzy new packaging. The new pouches are a thicker black plastic which eliminate the smell contamination I experienced with the old ones. Thumbs up!

Unfortunately, one of my picky tea tastes is that I don’t like pumpkin. Actually, i don’t like pumpkin ever. I will carve it for jack o lanterns, but that’s about it. No pie, no seeds, nadda! So, I got the beau to drink it, and the following is his review:

“The tea was good, it is much better then the David’s tea pumpkin chai! The cinnamon was subtle so it did not overpower and it actually tasted like pumpkin pie. I only steeped it for like four mins for fear of over powering cinnamon so it was a little weak in flavour but the next time I think I will steep it a little longer to see if the taste is stronger and/or better. I would give it a 88 out of 100 and I boiled the water for it since it is black.”

There you have it, folks!

This is one of the best Della Terra black teas that I have tried.

It’s a very nice blend of pumpkin and spice and a nice overall sweetness. It certainly reminds me of pumpkin pie filling, but I’m not getting much crust. Or whipped cream.

This is much tastier than DavidsTea’s Pumpkin Chai, but still does not compare to Butiki’s Pumpkin Creme Brulee. GAH.

EDIT: As it cools, I am definitely getting more of a pastry-like crust flavor… so the name is fitting! Although I do prefer my pumpkin pie with generous amounts of whipped cream. I could try a splash of almond milk, but I don’t want to ruin my cup. Also, I’m lazy.

I’m sad to say it, but I think I am about pumpkined out for this year. I’m happy that I’ve found a lot of delicious pumpkin teas, though. I still love pumpkin flavored things, but there’s so many of them in the fall that it’s a little overwhelming after awhile, and I’ve reached that point.

This one is delicious, though! It has a nice fresh pumpkin flavor with just the right amount of sweet spices to compliment the tea. I could drink this one all day (even though I’m tired of pumpkin – it’s that good!) Very glad I ordered this one with my Black Friday order.

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with pieces of spices, citrus peel and small orange pumpkin sprinkles.
-Dry leaves smell richly of spices, cinnamon and sugar. Tea liquor aroma is of warm cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange brown color.
-Light fresh pumpkin flavor with a sweet spice finish. Faint pumpkin pie aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A creamy cup of fresh pumpkin flavor with a compliment of sweet spices.

Comforting tea time. I just watch the pianist (by netflix suggestion) and am feeling pretty terrible, shook up.. Can’t believe the horrors. Just awful. So this is my tea now, doctored with milk and brown sugar. Hope to feel better soon.

ETA – darn it, this is the first time logging this tea. Sorry for such a terrible note. But the team is really good, without additives too, I’ve had it a few times and am at a toss up between this and davidstea pumpkin chai for top pumpkin tea.

I get to try this courtesy of Dexter3657 . Thank you!

The dry leaf smells so good that it was the first one I’m having out of all the other ziploc bags I got. It smells sweet, not just spice. It tastes quite close to what you’d think it should taste like after smelling the leaf. That is always nice since you’re choosing tea based on its smell sometimes and it’s quite the disappointment when the brewed tea tastes NOTHING like the dry.

I added brown sugar but no dairy (or dairy substitutes). I had a cup at work this morning and am finishing off the sample tonight because it is good enough to have more than once in a day.

Happy New Year!

This tea is another sipdown. I brewed it overleafed today to use up the last little bit and added a dash of 2% milk. Yum! I am sad that it will be gone, but also glad that I can buy it again this year before Fall when I am having a craving (unlike with David’s Pumpkin Chai). Also good to clear a tiny bit more space in the cupboard, which is currently overflowing.

I haven’t posted reviews yet, but I also tried both of Butiki’s pumpkin blends over the past week and so far I still like this one better. I am going to play with the steeping parameters and additions though before I post about ’em and see if I can find the magic that must be lurking within those lovely leaves.

Really had a craving for this one today but wanted to pair it with what I had made for lunch so I decided to try it iced instead of hot. Delicious! Didn’t do anything special at all to it, just a bit of sugar as always and threw it over some ice. I was just as pleased with it iced as I was in my previous note.