The newest tea addition to Starbucks’ fall menu for 2023 is the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte – and it tastes exactly as delicious as it sounds! The beverage combines the classic Iced Chai Tea Latte, with the creamy goodness of pumpkin cold foam, and a hint of pumpkin spice. If there was ever a fall beverage that combined just about everything we love about fall – this drink would be it!
What Makes This Drink So Special
We all know and love the Iced Chai Latte for its warm, spicy, sweet, and earthy notes. The ‘chai’ in a chai latte is made with a standard set of masala chai spices – these include: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Ginger, Nutmeg, Star Anise, Black Pepper, and Cloves.
Pumpkin and Chai Spices: The Power-Duo
Now, pumpkin, for its mildly sweet, earthy, and squash-like taste, is usually elevated and prepared into delicious dishes using these spices. Pumpkin Pie is the most famous! Pumpkin Pie Spice – or Pumpkin Spice for short – is the key ingredient that gives the pie its signature taste, when whipped together with condensed milk and pumpkin puree. As it turns out, pumpkin spice is just a powdered combination of all the chai spices mentioned before, barring the cardamom!
The Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte capitalizes on this exact iconic flavor combination – with the pumpkin-cold cream blending deliciously with the chai spices. The addition of cardamom in the Iced Chai Latte gives the drink a sweet, licorice-y note that sets it apart from pumpkin something like a pumpkin spice latte!
A Note on Chai Concentrates
Starbucks uses a highly concentrated chai concentrate. While chai concentrates do make life easier when preparing an iced chai latte, they aren’t always 100% natural, and often are extremely sweet – which can increase the calorie count of the drink. With a few extra steps, you can make your own chai concentrate at home – controlling for sweetness, spiciness, and the overall strength of your concentrate. Follow along to see how you can make a quick homemade chai concentrate!
Recipe
Let’s get right into the recipe, then!
We’ll split this recipe into the pumpkin cold foam and the iced chai tea latte.
Pumpkin Cold Foam Recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 Cup Heavy, Chilled Cream. Use coconut milk for a vegan option.
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Puree (Canned or Fresh)
1/8 Teaspoon Pumpkin Spice Powder (or a Pinch)
2 Teaspoons Maple Syrup or sweetener of choice
1/2 Tablespoon Milk
Steps:
- Combine the heavy cream (or coconut milk), pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice powder, sweetener, and milk in a bowl using a hand mixer or frother.
- To make the sweet cream foamy, airy, and light, hold the whisk or frother at an angle (slightly bent towards the left or right) while you whip together the ingredients. Try and beat as much air as you can into the cream!
- Pour the cold foam into a small jar, and keep in the fridge to cool while you prepare the Iced Chai Latte!
Iced Chai Tea Latte Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. Black Tea
1 Cup Water
1 ½ - 2 Tablespoons of Sugar, Honey, or any Sweetener of Your Choice
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Star Anise
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
2 Cups Chilled Milk (Starbucks uses 2% - but you can use any alternative milk as well!)
8-10 Ice Cubes
Alternatively, you could prepare the Iced Chai Latte with a 100% Natural Masala Chai Blend that is made with all of these spices and premium Indian Black Tea. Our 11 Spices Blend has been carefully curated to prepare an authentic, full-bodied cup of masala chai within minutes – perfect for this recipe!
Steps:
- Add the water to a saucepan and place on high heat.
- Once the water is boiling, add in the black tea, ginger powder, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom. This will make essentially a mini-chai concentrate.
- After boiling for about 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat.
You can vary this recipe by using our 11 Spices Masala Chai Tea Bags. With our tea bags, you’ll just need to boil some water in a saucepan or kettle, and steep the tea bags for about 5 minutes. Then, you can continue with the next steps, without straining the spices and tea!
- Add the sweetener and stir to ensure it is fully dissolved in the masala chai.
- Cover the saucepan with a lid and let the tea and spices steep and cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the ice cubes into a tall glass. Then, using a strainer, pour the masala chai concentrate onto the ice cubes.
- Next, pour the milk onto the ice cubes.
The Final Step!
Gently top the iced chai latte with 4-5 spoons of the delicious pumpkin cold foam. Then, dust the drink off with a pinch of pumpkin spice – and you now have your very own Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte!