Pumpkin Spice Chai

I gave this another try, and I guess I’m just not a fan. The pumpkin flavor is just too odd on the first steep. I’m not sure how to describe it except lemony. I only steeped 3 minutes this time. Oh well. I definitely prefer Bigelow’s pumpkin spice.

My parents got this as a free sample, so I nicked it from the cupboard after Sunday dinner. My first impression of this tea is not good. I sniffed the bag and could barely smell any spices. Uh oh. Also, the pumpkin flavor smelled strangely cardboard-like. But I’m still willing to give it a chance, out of love for chai.

Granted, the actual brewed tea smells better. Fragrant cinnamon and ginger, with something sort of like if you boiled pumpkin pie filling. Stewed is the word, I guess. I can also smell pie crust, which is interesting. I added a very conservative splash of 1% milk and a little sweetener. The flavor isn’t exactly what I expected. This doesn’t taste much like chai. Instead, it’s basically a pumpkin spice dessert tea. Most of the chai spices, except the ginger, are hidden under the heavy layers of cinnamon and whatever they used to make “pumpkin”.

Overall, this isn’t bad, but it’s also not what I was hoping it would be. It does make me think of Thanksgiving and Christmas at my Dad’s, though, which is oddly comforting. I would drink this again, yes, but I don’t think I’d purchase it.

I can’t believe I never reviewed this one. It isn’t my favorite, but it is a passable chai. It’s full-bodied, robust, and has a lot of spicy notes to it. Will definitely do in a pinch.

I had this, this morning for work. Mm mm mmmmmmm mm mm! This is definitely a chai. I can taste all the spices! It smelled like a rooibos tho how weird. You can actually taste the pumpkin! Finally! A pumpkin tea with pumokin!

This doesn’t seem to have much love on Steepster, but I like it a lot. It’s different. Instead of the usual cinnamon/cardamom/ginger chai domination, this one employs the spices used to make pumpkin pie. No, I don’t detect pumpkin either, but the spices are very similar to the pie’s flavors.

I have made this before using a T. of honey, and it was very good. Last night I decided to open a can of sweetened condensed milk, and added a T. of that instead. It was spectacular. (I am trying to replace a 140 calorie/can Coke habit … anything that comes to about half of that is acceptable, which this qualifies for) : ) Sweetened condensed milk is 65 calories per T. (honey 60, sugar 50).

Cup five of tea bag sipdown day. This one is the first of the day I actually bought myself, on a whim one day at Denningers in Hamilton, Ontario. The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg was strong and fresh enough to escape the saran around the box, and since it made my tummy rumble, it had to come home with me.

Like the other reviewers, I don’t get pumpkin from this one. Which since I don’t like pumpkin itself, but love the spices surrounding it, means it’s kinda perfect for me. There is cinnamon and nutmeg and maybe a dash of allspice here, all blending in with a heavy clove. If you aren’t a clove fan, avoid this one.

The spices are strong, but the tea itself is weak. If you aren’t a fan of herbals, and want your black teas to taste like tea, again, avoid this one. But if you are just looking for a spiced hot cup of something, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Am tempted to see what it does as a latte . . . maybe later today!

Got a box of this at my local fruit market, they have a fair tea section…(Which includes Republic of Tea! Woot!

LOL. Anyways….

1st smell: spicy, warmth
1st taste: same. This is a tea that I would definitely have after an hour or so of shoveling snow. I love pumpkin pie, and so the spices remind me alot of that, though have to admit that I am missing the heavy pumpkin taste. But not a problem really. Be nice to try this as a latte

I just got this tea today and even though it’s getting late in the day and I already had quite a bit of black tea today (Those following will notice this is my 3rd tasting note of the day, 6th cup of black tea altogether, I won’t sleep tonight) I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.

Steeped it 6 minutes, added a little sugar, a little milk. It’s pretty good, not as spicy as I expected it to be, not spicy at all for a chai. I do detect something that tastes like pumpkin. It gets sweeter as it cools so I think next time I will be adding less sugar.

I like it. Next time I think I’ll try steeping it with a cinnamon stick to spice it up a little.

My son brewed a cup for me. He didn’t really prepare this correctly. He used the microwave, which I am opposed to using for tea. The water was not boiling. I added a splash of milk and some artificial sweetner. I am certain this would be better under more controlled preparation. Even so, this was quite tasty. The spices were balanced and pleasant. I only want a pumpkin tea a couple times a year. I am glad my son sprung this one on me.

False advertising! My nose feels betrayed! This tea smells amazing. You can clearly smell the pumpkin spice and the chai, and my mouth started to water because I thought I was in for a treat. Sadly, no. It tastes awful.

Wait, that’s not entirely fair. Let me clarify: like some of the other bagged teas I’ve tried, it’s really not that bad, if you ignore its name. As a hot, spiced beverage, it’s okay. Unfortunately, its name and fragrance are its downfall. They create an expectation of a particular kind of yummy, and those expectations never get met. =(

I’ve got a whole box of this stuff, so I might try Frankensteining it like I have some other bagged teas to make them more palatable. In one recent case1, especially, I enjoyed great success; maybe I’ll get lucky again. =)

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/126299