Review: Art of Tea Pumpkin Spice Chai
As you all know, November is #pumpkinchaimonth and last week we got my favorite pumpkin chai inspired recipes (you can read that here if you haven’t already). This month we got new posts every week so buckle up…
Of course, we can’t have a pumpkin chai month without a pumpkin chai review. That’s what I’m going to talk about today: a review of the Pumpkin Spice Chai from The Art of Tea.
Let me first say that I haven’t found a pumpkin chai that I love so far. Past experiences with pumpkin chai have been overly sweet and almost unbearable.
I was looking for good pumpkin chai to purchase and went ahead and bought from The Art of Tea. This is a store that specializes in tea and with a name like theirs I figured this would be a good option.
Starting with the ordering process, I bought a smaller size pouch (just to taste and review) which is 4 oz. It is a little bit pricey after shipping but came in pretty quickly (6 days).
The packaging isn’t anything special. It simply comes in a black pouch and has a simple label. The instructions are very vague. There is no information as to whether or not to include a sweetener. Also, I personally prefer to know whether the milk/water should be boiling or the general state it should be at. The package only gave me a temperature of 206 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also while talking about the instructions, it says to use 1 tsp of the chai, which isn’t much especially when you’re using 1 cup of liquid.
The steeping time is 3 to 5 minutes which is pretty typical. Again, unlike other chai blends there is only a temperature to go by so it can be a bit tricky to keep your milk at that temp (without it boiling over).
As soon as you open the package, you can smell the pumpkin. I hope that the pumpkin taste comes through as strongly as the smell.
Initial Tasting
The taste to me was very weak. It was not spicy at all, and the pumpkin is very hidden. In this initial taste test, there was not much sweetness which had me questioning if I was supposed to add sugar. This goes back to the unclear instructions. I did not enjoy this. In the next round I will add sugar and double the amount of chai.
Second Tasting
After adding the sugar and using 2 teaspoons of chai, it has improved the taste. The pumpkin flavor is still definitely muted, but some people like that. I was hoping with the smell of pumpkin being so present that it would taste more like pumpkin. This is not a spicy chai. There aren’t many flavors coming through, so overall very muted.
Concluding thoughts:
I was really hoping for more of a pumpkin tasting pumpkin chai. This was very muted and I could barely notice the pumpkin. If you order this remember that you need to add your own sugar/sweetener, the instructions don’t call for it but it is not a sweetened mix. There is no spice in this chai, and is very tame. I won't be purchasing again.
Overall Ratings: Tame Coffee Shop Chai Lover
Sweetener Needed? : YES
Spice Level: none.
Will I Purchase Again?: No
So my search for a great pumpkin chai continues… do you have one you swear by? Drop it in the comments below or fill out the requests form! I’d be more than happy to try it out.
See you next week!