My tea came in today, and I realized that I now have 3 different pumpkin teas. Well… obviously that means that it’s time for… a PUMPKIN CHAI-OFF!
May the best chai win.
So, ladies and gentlemen, the three contenders tonight are the Spiced Pumpkin Pie from Bluebird Teas (SPP), Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie from Della Terra (GPP), and Pumpkin Chai from DAVIDsTEA (PC). Who will win?
All three teas had a perfect teaspoon carefully measured out, placed in a color-coded bubble tea cup, and steeped for 4 minutes with 6oz of boiled water. No tea leaves were lost in the steeping of these teas.
After careful sniffing and sipping, these are the final results:
First prize goes to Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie! This was the immediate favourite after the first few sips, and the other two could not compare. It’s a comforting mix of pumpkin spices, with the perfect accent of cloves and cinnamon. Sweet caramel notes dance through each sip.
Second prize goes to the Pumpkin Chai. I brewed this stronger than I usually do and found that the cinnamon and squash notes are easier to distinguish. This blend isn’t as strong as the GPP, but it’s likely the closest to actual pumpkin now that I’ve noticed the squash.
And Bluebird’s SPP takes third. Sorry, SPP. Perhaps I shouldn’t have brewed it for 4 minutes as I found that it tasted strongly of carmalized/burnt squash. The cloves and ginger helped add to this overpowering concoction. I’m not ready to rate this yet though as it was only my first cup and a bit of tweaking might be all that I need to balance it out.
So there you have it folks. Three teas, but only one winner. That is of course, until I get my hands on Butiki’s two pumpkin offerings!
(img here: http://oi41.tinypic.com/33412xi.jpg)
Yes! I’ve been wanting a pumpkin chai off type review! Thanks!
Thank you for this! :)