Pumpkin Chai with Real Pumpkin and Black Tea
Two tablespoons of pumpkin puree give these October chai mugs a little body without making them thick enough to eat with a spoon. Black tea, cinnamon, and ginger provide the main flavor. Use plain canned pumpkin, not sweetened pie filling, so you can adjust the sweetness and spice independently.
For two mugs
- 1 cup water and 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick and 3 thin slices fresh ginger
- 2 plain black tea bags, such as Assam or English breakfast
- 2 tablespoons plain pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, plus more to taste
- 1 small pinch fine salt
Start with the spices
Put the water, cinnamon, and ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 3 minutes. Lift out the bags, cinnamon, and ginger. The tea should taste fairly strong at this stage because the milk will soften it.
Whisk the pumpkin smooth
In a bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, and salt with 2 tablespoons of the milk until smooth. Whisk that mixture into the pan along with the remaining milk. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring along the bottom, until the chai steams. Take it off the heat before it boils. Pour into two mugs and stir once more before drinking, since the pumpkin can settle.
Decide what the next mug needs
If there are orange clumps, pass the chai through a fine sieve. Next time, make sure the pumpkin mixture is smooth before it goes into the pan. If the drink tastes bitter, shorten the tea steep by 30 seconds or change to a milder black tea. If it tastes thin, add an extra tea bag next time rather than more pumpkin: extra puree mainly changes the texture.
For a spicier mug, add another slice of ginger to the water at the beginning, or steep the cinnamon longer before adding the tea. For a lighter drink, use 2 percent milk. Refrigerate leftover puree in a covered container and use it within four days, or freeze it in tablespoon portions for another batch.
