Has anyone else noticed how chilly the mornings and evenings have become? It’s to be expected considering it is mid-October, but we never seem to be prepared for the seasonal temperature shift. One of our favorite ways to ease into colder weather is to stock up on warm, fall-inspired drinks. Stopping at your favorite coffee shop for a pumpkin latte or an apple-spiced tea is a viable option, but for at-home, soul-warming drinks, we decided to turn to our friends at The Spice & Tea Exchange in Ocean City. Fall flavors at the moment include their limited-time-only Fall FesTEAvities, which with just one whiff can put just about anyone in a festive fall mood. We stocked up on Caramel Apple Delight Herbal Tea, Pumpkin Caramel Creme Tea, and Pumpkin Chai Latte Tea, each offering unique flavors and each hand-blended at the Ocean City location:
Caramel Apple Delight: Orchard-fresh apple flavor blends with rich, creamy caramel for a caffeine- and sugar-free fall treat. Composed of honeybush, apple pieces, cocoa nibs, natural candy apple flavoring, cinnamon bark, safflower petals, and natural caramel flavoring. We envision this one paired perfectly with one of the sinfully delicious, fresh apple dumplings that we devoured over the weekend at the Apple Scrapple Festival.
Pumpkin Caramel Creme Tea: Touted as a smooth, full-bodied tea, this one packs a lot of flavor, with Indian black tea and caramelized accents. More of a morning tea in our opinion, it’s perfect for those notably darker early mornings we are experiencing. Sip on a cup with a breakfast pastry and the early morning blues will wash away (hopefully).
Pumpkin Chai Latte Tea: Basic or not, fall is synonymous with Pumpkin Spice these days, so we would be remiss if we didn’t include a pumpkin chai latte in the mix. Composed of organic black tea, pumpkin pieces, organic cinnamon, organic cocoa shells, organic maple crystals, organic roasted dandelion root, natural pumpkin pie, whipped cream, and caramel flavorings.
Recipe Bonus: Frothy Pumpkin Chai Latte:
Ingredients – Teaspoon of Pumpkin Chai Latte Tea; 3/4 cup hot water; 2 cups of milk of choice; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp honey; dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
Directions – Steep tea bags for five minutes in hot water. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat milk, vanilla extract, and honey until boiling. Add to tea and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg for taste, or add a cinnamon stick for flavor and aesthetics.
Steep, sip, and enjoy!
