When I was in University, my roommate and I used to like to host themed potlucks. Something about putting a theme on it encouraged people to really go all out. One of our potluck was fantasy-themed. We encouraged our friends to bring foods inspired by their favorite books, TV shows, movies, etc. Harry Potter was definitely a popular inspiration for many. Personally, I made Butterbeer while others brought Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. One friend even brought cupcakes decorated as the Golden Snitch, complete with wings. Pumpkin juice didn’t make an appearance though so this is the first time I am trying a real life interpretation of this Harry Potter drink…
Now that I am drinking it, I can see where 52 Teas was coming from when they created this flavor. It is light but still tastes like pumpkin. Not just pumpkin spice but actual pumpkin, sweet and smooth. Though, pumpkin spice does trickle in nearing the end of the sip, ginger lingering in the aftertaste. The pineapple, however, is the key. It provides some much needed sweetness and brightness to elevate this to a “juice”. That to me is what sets this apart.
When this tea sample arrived from CuppaGeek, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I don’t know if this is exactly what I pictured when reading about pumpkin juice in the books, although I don’t think it was ever described so much as just mentioned throughout the series which means it is open to interpretation.
With that said, it is certainly a tasty tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!
Having never actually tasted pumpkin juice, I googled “pumpkin juice” for some ideas on recipes for it. There are a few different recipes online for pumpkin juice and each of them were a little different. Some were a combination of orange juice and pumpkin juice – which sounded interesting! Another included dried apricots instead of the orange juice – also interesting! Others were made with peach or pear juice. But the recipe that appealed to me most was one that combined pumpkin, apple juice, pineapple juice and spices. I thought that the apple would add some pleasant sweetness to the savory quality of the pumpkin and the pineapple juice would add some brightness to the overall flavor.
I started with a base of fair-trade, rainforest alliance certified Satemwa estate green teas (OP1 & Zomba Steamed) and added chunks of dried pumpkin, freeze-dried apples and pineapple, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and touch of freshly shaved nutmeg. The fruits do soften the flavor of the pumpkin somewhat however, the overall flavor is quite autumn-y and delicious.
Taster size is approximately 15g.
ingredients: fair trade green teas and pumpkin.
organic ingredients: apples, pineapple, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Salty Caramel Pumpkin Black Tea from Simpson and Vail. . . . #allthingspumpkin
I had to brew this tea three times before I actually started to enjoy it. I don’t know what happened, but I usually brew my black teas for 4-5 minutes. Don’t brew this one for that long, it gets way too bitter and both the salted caramel and pumpkin flavors will be overpowered. This tea needs to brew for only 2-3 minutes in order to be enjoyable!
Aside from the brewing issue, this tea is delicious! I love pumpkin everything- pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, and even pumpkin soup. So, naturally, pumpkin tea is going to be something that I have to try. I also really like salted caramel. The combination of pumpkin and salted caramel makes my mouth water. It sounds so good! I was really bummed the first two times I brewed this one because I though that the black tea was just way too overpowering and way too bitter. Thankfully I finally went to their website and saw that this blend is only meant to be steeped for 3 minutes. Once I steeped it properly I was in heaven. Yum!
This blend filled my kitchen with smells of creamy salted caramel and pumpkin. On taste, salted caramel was in the forefront with pumpkin and black tea trailing behind. Even properly steeped, the black tea is still dominant in the blend. My only critique would be for them to maybe use a less bold black tea next time because the flavors of pumpkin and salted caramel would have popped just a little bit more. Otherwise, this tea is really really good! I’m now wondering if they make a salted caramel pumpkin ice cream flavor because the combination is heavenly! Even though pumpkin season is basically over, this blend is still worth a try because it is really good. I will look forward to it next fall!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Fall in a cup! The aroma of caramel and pumpkin will delight your olfactory sense with the promise of a warm, tasty brew. The amber colored cup offers pumpkin on the front end with the delicious salty caramel taste at the back. These flavors are the perfect marriage in that they complement each other without competing.
Ingredients: black teas, marigold petals and pumpkin and salty caramal flavorings.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Pie Tea from Tupelo Honey Teas. . . .
Disclaimer: I did not add pumpkin puree to my tea. While I found the thought of doing so very intriguing, I simply did not have the time to run out and get some. However, I did add pumpkin flavored agave. So I am crossing my fingers and crossing my toes that I enjoy this blend without the recommended-by-the-company pumpkin puree! I will say that I was a little annoyed with the fact that there was no pumpkin flavor in this tea, but that you had to add pumpkin puree. I do find it creative, but not everyone has a chance to run out and get that and I wish that there had been some pumpkin flavoring in there or pumpkin pieces or something else other than relying on the customer to go out and get pumpkin puree.
That said, the smell of this tea was pumpkin pie spice. I could totally pick out that there were all those spices in there. I have made pumpkin pie a lot in my life (pumpkin is one of my favorites) and I can pick out the spice blend from a mile away. The steeped liquid- as soon as I smelled it its almost like I was transported back to my childhood on Thanksgiving morning. My mom baking pumpkin pie and apple pie, my childish excitement over the day ahead. Just yum!
So, I steeped this for about 4 minutes and added pumpkin flavored agave and a splash of milk. This tea really was a nice treat! It had quite an interesting flavor to it. Im now curious to use pumpkin puree. I did, however, enjoy the pumpkin agave although I may have added a little too much because it was slightly over-sweet, but that made it all the more like a dessert. The pumpkin pie spices were really delicious and the black tea was smooth and creamy. I think I was close to drinking pumpkin pie in a glass and if I had listened to the company’s recommendation of pumpkin puree and whipped cream it honestly would have been pie in a glass! This would be a wonderful fall treat. Definitely recommend!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tupelo Honey Teas
Description
This tea doesn’t appear to be current available but click below for blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Harry Potter Fans-Check this out! Pumpkin Juice Green Tea from 52Teas
The thing I was originally going to write about this was “this tastes like the Hogwarts library.” I was going to talk about the vegetal green taste with the rich old spices, like herbology books being read by Neville Longbottom after a long day of academia. I had a variety of very interesting, seemingly novel ideas.
(NOVEL IDEAS? GET IT?)
Then I went to 52Teas’ own description which — I do not jest — literally says: “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!”
I don’t remember the words “pumpkin juice” being used in the Potterverse, but apparently the association was subliminal, because there I was, browsing the Hogwarts library’s forbidden section and trying not to get bitten by books with the best of them.
The tea itself tastes like pumpkin, pineapple, and spices. It’s a cool mix!
I’ve tried a bunch of Pumpkin Spice beverages this autumn, and this one stands out as the most original. It’s the only one that features green tea (!) and pineapples (!).
I suppose if you are a pumpkin spice classicist, you can drink your black pumpkin tea in your mundane Muggle life.
I, on the other hand, will be sharing this cup with Hagrid and Fang
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Flavored Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and have been for a lot of years so this year as my Halloween offering, I decided I wanted to celebrate my favorite books with a tribute to one of the wizarding world’s favorite juices: Pumpkin Juice!
Having never actually tasted pumpkin juice, I googled “pumpkin juice” for some ideas on recipes for it. There are a few different recipes online for pumpkin juice and each of them were a little different. Some were a combination of orange juice and pumpkin juice – which sounded interesting! Another included dried apricots instead of the orange juice – also interesting! Others were made with peach or pear juice. But the recipe that appealed to me most was one that combined pumpkin, apple juice, pineapple juice and spices. I thought that the apple would add some pleasant sweetness to the savory quality of the pumpkin and the pineapple juice would add some brightness to the overall flavor.
I started with a base of fair-trade, rainforest alliance certified Satemwa estate green teas (OP1 & Zomba Steamed) and added chunks of dried pumpkin, freeze-dried apples and pineapple, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and touch of freshly shaved nutmeg. The fruits do soften the flavor of the pumpkin somewhat however, the overall flavor is quite autumn-y and delicious.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Holiday Blend Alert! Spiced Pumpkin Pie from Bluebird Tea Co.
In my family, the holidays mean nothing without our traditions. Buy Christmas PJs together the day after Thanksgiving? Check. (Even as adults. Yup, this is a real thing, you guys.) Go to the orchard every autumn and come home with enough apples to keep us flush with homemade applesauce until the cows come home? Check. (Still eating that applesauce, btw). Surprise each other with new books on Christmas Eve and spend all day cozied up (in our Christmas PJs, naturally) and reading? Check. (That’s one of my faves).
But no Thanksgiving tradition runs as deep in our family as pumpkin pie. My grandma used to make the MOST delicious pumpkin pie yearly, only for Thanksgiving, and my plethora of cousins and I would duke it out for the biggest slice year after year. Even now after she’s gone, my mom and aunts carry on her tradition at our family gatherings. I’ve tried to play with her recipe a few times, tweaking it to be grain- and dairy-free– and while I’ve gotten it close, nothing tops the memory I have of the sweet, creamy, spicy, toothsome (and hard-won) pie of my childhood.
That said, if a tea is going to claim to taste not just like pumpkin, but pumpkin PIE? I’m going to hold it to some high standards. This black tea blend from Bluebird Tea Co hits many marks– not every mark, but enough that I can definitely give it my pie-stamp of approval. A bagged black tea with visible chunks (pumpkin sprinkles? maybe dried sweet potato?), it definitely delivers on the pie flavors I’ve come to know and love– sweet, creamy, almost vanilla crust-like notes, complimented by a heart dose of squash and spice. This tea takes cream and sweet well, and my dash of added maple syrup only likely elevated these flavors.
The only downfall I found was that when hot, this tea has a bit of a bitter aftertaste that I didn’t care for. When my cup cooled down, this bitter-ish flash all but disappeared, and the rest of the cup was a sweet delight. This might not be my grandma’s pie, but it’s close. Sipping on cups of this in November just might be a new addition to my autumn traditions!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
This tea is no longer available but these holiday teas are!
