Pumpkin Spice Chai

I wanted to like this. I really did. I love pumpkin spice, and it smells wonderful. It remind me of pumpkin bread, all toasty and warm and full of spices.

Sadly, the pleasant smell is as far as it goes. The base is way too strong and astringent, overpowering all of the spices. You get all the nice pumpkin spice flavor, but pushing it’s way front and center is the bitter, astringent base, so it’s hard to enjoy it. Steeping it for three minutes or less tones down the astringency, but at the expense of the spices as well.

And pumpkin? Forget it, it’s not even there.

This is my very first pumpkin flavored tea. hehe (Thank you Cameron B.!) and I seriously over-steeped it… Like by an hour. lol

It’s good though. I saw some poor reviews but it tastes like pumpkin to me. I also picked up cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg notes. Typical spices that pumpkin coffee, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies… Etc. have in it. Some other spices, maybe pepper… And it’s creamy. I only began trying flavored teas a month or so ago, and I think with flavored teas, I favor those that have “latte” or cream taste. I think if it wasn’t creamy, I wouldn’t have liked it so much. It really added to it.

Note: I ‘m staying away from bitter-astringent talking point since I over-steeped it and I didn’t ding it for that either because of it.

Home – 6:00 PM

Another one from The Tea Spot. This must have been the one I placed the order for, as I have a full 100g or so of it. I really love that they use whole allspice in this blend, it’s unusual and it looks gorgeous in the dry leaf.

Yum, this is definitely the best pumpkin spice black tea I’ve had. It actually tastes pumpkin-y and has a slight creaminess to it. The spices meld together very well, but I think I can pick out cinnamon, clove, ginger, and perhaps nutmeg. Looking at the ingredients, there is no nutmeg, so perhaps it’s the allspice I’m tasting. The base tea is a bit brisk – I think this would perhaps be better with a Chinese black tea base. Next time I’ll try to remember to steep this one a little shorter or at a slightly cooler temperature, as it did come out a touch bitter and astringent.

I added a drizzle of maple agave and a splash of soy milk to the rest of the pot after drinking the first cup plain. Delish.

I’m not a great lover or chai or pumpkin spice, but this here is a good ’un.

In general, I prefer my tea unadorned, but like all chai’s, I don’t care much for it unless I add a little maple syrup and some form of creamer/milk (in my case, coconut milk. It’s not pretty, but it tastes good). With these additions, this tea is mighty tasty, and definitely has an authentic pumpkin taste & enough spice to make it a chai. Some Chai’s have one overpowering spice or another, but this is a nicely balanced cup, maybe just a little heavy on the cinnamon, but I like that.

I don’t drink chai often, because I have a reaction to some of the spices: my cheeks turn red & blotchy, and my face gets a burning sensation, and if I drink too much it irritates my guts… Sadly, I have the same problem with curry, which is a real bummer, because I love a good curry! I feel that reaction coming on, So this is going into the box for Sil, and there is plenty to share with the Canadian Crew! Enjoy!

This was undrinkable for me. I usually don’t like pumpkin spice anyway so maybe that was it but had to throw it down the sink.

I don’t think I like pumpkin chai at all, I have tried Davids Tea pumpkin chai and wasn’t impressed and I tried this one last night and it actually makes me feel sick. Don’t get me wrong I love chai and I love pumpkin but put this together and something wrong happens, I get sickly rotten pumpkin smell. Sorry really didn’t enjoy this one at all!

Today is Pumpkin carving day! I shall make the gourds smile!
So really this was my only option for the day. I steeped it less then I usually do, and that helped with the somewhat overpowering bitterness that can come on the tail end of the sip. It did help!

So…
It’s been too long since my last REALLY GREAT Pumpkin Chai and this Pumpkin Spice Chai from The Tea Spot is just what I was looking for! Sure the ingredients include black tea, ginger root, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, black pepper, pumpkin flavoring…but it’s much more than that. The flavors meshed well together.

Full Review
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/08/08/pumpkin-spice-chai-from-the-tea-spot-2/

Backlog:

This past year, I tried a lot of different “Pumpkin Spice” chai teas … and I think of all that I tried, this one was my favorite. This one was really OUTSTANDING among the many pumpkin-y chai teas. In fact, as I proclaim in my full-length review of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/12/25/pumpkin-spice-chai-from-the-tea-spot/ it’s the best pumpkin chai tea I’ve ever had.

The pumpkin is prominent in both the aroma and the flavor. It really smells and tastes like pumpkin. Like real pumpkin. It tastes like someone scooped out the filling of a pumpkin pie, liquefied it and poured it into a cup of Assam tea and added some spices. It tastes very true to the squash.

The spices are flavorful and strong without becoming overly spicy. Sure, I love a bold, spicy chai but when there’s another flavor involved – in this case, obviously, pumpkin – you don’t want the spices so powerful that they overthrow the pumpkin flavor. The Tea Spot has achieved the perfect balance between spice and pumpkin-y flavor, and neither of these elements overpowers the Assam tea base which is rich and malty.

A really delightful pumpkin chai!