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Pumpkin Chai Latte Made the Chaiwala Way, with Whole Spices and Real Pumpkin

Pumpkin Chai Latte

This is masala chai decocted properly — cardamom, ginger and cinnamon boiled hard with Assam tea — then married to real pumpkin purée and maple syrup. No syrup pumps, no pie filling. The pumpkin adds body and a soft earthiness that whole spices climb right over. Pour it between two pitchers for that street-stall froth and drink it scalding.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2 Mugs
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Calories: 210
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 cups water
  • 6 pods green cardamom pods bruised open
  • 1 inch fresh ginger sliced thin, skin on
  • 1 stick cinnamon stick 3 inch, cracked
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 6 whole black peppercorns lightly crushed
  • 3 tbsp pure pumpkin purée not pumpkin pie filling
  • 0.75 tsp pumpkin pie spice plus more for dusting
  • 2.5 tsp loose black tea Assam CTC or other strong black tea
  • 1.5 cups whole milk or oat, almond, soy or coconut
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or sugar, to taste
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 1 Small saucepan 2 quart
  • 1 mortar and pestle or the flat of a heavy knife
  • 1 fine mesh strainer
  • 1 Whisk or a small blender
  • 2 heatproof pitchers for pouring and frothing

Method
 

  1. Crush the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves and peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or under the flat of a heavy knife. You want them cracked open, not powdered — broken spices release their oils into boiling water far faster than whole ones.
  2. Combine the water, crushed spices and sliced ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat, then lower to a steady simmer and cook for 5 minutes. The water should turn pale gold and smell sharply of cardamom.
  3. Whisk in the pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie spice. Simmer another 5 minutes, whisking now and then, until the liquid thickens slightly and the raw vegetal edge of the pumpkin cooks off. This is the step most people skip, and it is the difference between spiced and merely sweet.
  4. Add the loose black tea. Simmer for 6 minutes without stirring much. The brew will go deep russet brown. Do not rush this — the tea needs to stand up to the milk that follows.
  5. Pour in the milk and the maple syrup. Bring the pot back to a boil over medium-high heat, watching closely. When the surface climbs toward the rim, pull the pan off the heat and let it settle. Return it to the heat and let it rise a second time, then take it off for good.
  6. Stir in the vanilla extract. Strain the chai through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof pitcher, pressing the spices and pumpkin solids with the back of a spoon to get every bit of liquid.
  7. Froth it the chaiwala way: pour the hot chai from one pitcher into another from as high as you dare, back and forth four or five times, until a tan foam builds on top. A quick 10-second blitz in a blender does the same job if you prefer.
  8. Divide between two warmed mugs, dust the foam with pumpkin pie spice, and drink it hot.

Notes

  • Use pure pumpkin purée, never pumpkin pie filling — the filling is pre-sweetened and pre-spiced and will throw the balance off completely.
  • Assam CTC gives the malty backbone that stands up to milk. A strong English breakfast works in a pinch, but avoid delicate teas.
  • For a dirty chai, pull a shot of espresso into the mug before pouring.
  • Iced version: chill the strained chai, pour over ice, top with cold milk and a dusting of pumpkin pie spice.
  • The concentrate keeps 4 days refrigerated — strain it before chilling and reheat with milk to order.
  • A spiked holiday pour takes 1 oz spiced rum or bourbon per mug.