Pumpkin Spice Chai

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.

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).

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

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!

The aroma is awesome – perfectly pumpkin pie, and the first few sips were delicious! As the cup went on, though, the pumpkin flavor became a little too much. It almost tasted lemony, strangely. But, I only added a tiny bit of soy milk and no sugar, and I might have steeped it a bit too long – probably more than 5 minutes. I’ll give this another try, for sure. I think it would be best with a good splash of milk and a spoonful (or more) of sugar, but we shall see!

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.

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.

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

This is drinkable, but there’s not much else to say about it. Bland, thin, watery pumpkin pie in a cup. The “pumpkin” (highly doubtful that there’s any actual pumpkin flavor here) spices come through, but there’s barely a hint of black tea taste to be found. It’s not horrible, it’s not offensive, it’s not much of anything. Just a steaming cup of “eh.”

Rather tasty. Not quite as spicy as the Ultra Spice Chai, but definitely a nice, light pumpkin flavor to it. I like it for the seasonal aspect. Good stuff.

I LOVE this tea. For those of you that say it taste awful, maybe you haven’t seasoned it right? I love mine with 2 stevia packets or (3 teaspoons sugar) and half water/half milk. Its so perfect for fall. It smells amazing and it’s just wonderful. I’ve never been one for pumpkin flavors but this sold me. It tastes kind of like pumpkin pie and chai. It’s not over powering. You just have to try it! (:

I also leave my teabag in my mug for the duration of me drinking it:)

Ehhh, it was alright, I’ve definitely had a better chai before.

eh, another blah Twinings tea. And this one was supposed to be chai and pumpkin! I didn’t find much of a pumpkin flavor here. This seemed like a mainly cinnamon flavor, but there was something off about the cinnamon too.