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    "id": 1070291,
    "title": "Pumpkin spice tea and pumpkin chai: what is actually in them?",
    "slug": "pumpkin-spice-tea",
    "type": "page",
    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/pumpkin-spice-tea/",
    "modified": "2026-09-18T00:45:35+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Pumpkin spice is a spice mix, not a vegetable: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. What is really in pumpkin spice tea and pumpkin chai, and how to make it.",
    "content_text": "There is almost never any pumpkin in it. \"Pumpkin spice\" is the spice mix used to season pumpkin pie \u2014 cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, sometimes with allspice or mace. It is named after the pie, not after the vegetable, and spice makers sell it as exactly that. McCormick pumpkin pie spice\r\nSo a pumpkin spice tea is a spiced tea. If you want actual pumpkin, you have to cook it.\r\nFour products with similar names\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat it says\r\nWhat is usually in it\r\nCaffeine?\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPumpkin spice tea\r\nBlack or rooibos tea with warm spices and flavouring\r\nYes, if the base is tea\r\n\r\n\r\nPumpkin chai\r\nA masala chai profile leaning on cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg\r\nYes\r\n\r\n\r\nPumpkin spice latte powder\r\nSugar, milk powder, spices, flavouring; sometimes a little tea or coffee\r\nDepends on the base\r\n\r\n\r\nPumpkin spice syrup\r\nSugar syrup with flavouring, for adding to drinks\r\nNo\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTwo questions sort them out: is there tea in the ingredients (that is your caffeine answer), and is it a powder (that is usually your sugar and milk answer).\r\nPumpkin spice versus chai: they are not the same mix\r\nThey share cinnamon, ginger and cloves, but the emphasis differs.\r\n\r\nPumpkin spice leans sweet and baked: cinnamon and nutmeg forward, aimed at pastry and cream.\r\nMasala chai leans aromatic and warming: cardamom and black pepper carry it, with ginger and cinnamon behind. Cardamom is what makes chai taste like chai, and it is rarely in a pumpkin mix.\r\n\r\nThat is why a pumpkin chai tastes like a sweeter, rounder chai rather than a different drink entirely. Our chai vs chai latte guide covers the rest of that family.\r\nMake it yourself in two minutes\r\nYou do not need a seasonal box.\r\nPumpkin spice tea: brew a strong mug of black tea or masala chai, stir in \u00bc teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon plus a pinch of nutmeg), add milk and a little maple syrup or brown sugar.\r\nA proper pumpkin version: whisk a tablespoon of pumpkin pur\u00e9e into warm milk with the spices before adding it to strong chai. That is the version that actually tastes of pumpkin, because it contains some.\r\nWant it caffeine-free? Use a rooibos base and the same spices.\r\nFor baking, our roasted pumpkin chai baked oats uses real roasted pumpkin and a strong chai brew, and there is an existing pumpkin spice tea latte in the recipe collection.\r\nReading the box before you buy\r\n\r\nIngredients, not the picture. A pumpkin on the front is decoration.\r\n\"Natural flavouring\" is a flavouring ingredient, not fruit or vegetable pieces. See what natural flavouring means.\r\nCheck the base if caffeine matters: black tea, rooibos or none.\r\nWatch the sugar in latte powders and syrups: they are often mostly sugar.\r\n\r\nCommon questions\r\nDoes pumpkin spice tea taste of pumpkin?\r\nNo. It tastes of the spices that go into pumpkin pie. Pumpkin itself is mild and savoury.\r\nIs pumpkin spice tea caffeine-free?\r\nOnly if the base is rooibos or a herbal blend. Read the ingredients.\r\nWhat spices are in pumpkin spice?\r\nCinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, sometimes with allspice or mace.\r\nCan I use pumpkin pie spice in chai?\r\nYes, though chai wants cardamom and black pepper too. Add a crushed cardamom pod for a more chai-like result.",
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