Pumpkin Spice Oolong

This tea is basically a chai with an oolong base, which I don’t think I’ve personally seen before (and feel should be done more often!) The base oolong is a darker variety with lots of roasted, earthy, and nutty notes, which I think is really complimentary with the spices. The spices are gently warming, with the cinnamon coming out a bit more on the front of the sip with the ginger and clove lingering pleasantly afterwards. The tea says it includes “pumpkin spice flavoring” rather than “pumpkin pie” flavoring, so there are no notes of pumpkin or vanilla. I think the closest tea I’ve had to this one is a houjicha chai, though this doesn’t have the woodiness the houjicha chai had. It’s a very enjoyable cold weather tea! I’m not sure if it would hold up to a latte the way a traditional black tea-based chai would (I haven’t tried it yet!) but it makes a perfectly fine plain cuppa with cozy roasty notes and warming spices for a winter day.

I was hoping to love this more than I did, but I found the base oolong to be a bit unremarkable, which took away from the overall tea experience. It’s a nice and spicy, not really pumpkin.

One of the teas in my gifted subscription box this month…

To be honest, I’ve really seen very little pumpkin oolong blends out there and I think it’s a shame because the more roasty, mineral, and nutty flavours of the more oxidized oolong used here really compliment the deeper warming spices. The clove in particular is just excellent. Pumpkin Spice teas very rarely actually taste of pumpkin and that’s true of this one too, but the spice combo is just pleasant. I think trying it with milk might be my next step. I’m really loving exploring some of the more seasonal inspired flavours in this month’s box. I think this is the first time I’ve not heavily taken advantage of the customization feature..

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVBDP69g0d5/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQeQ9LYQeR4&ab_channel=YenStrangeVEVO