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Everyone knows about the Pumpkin Spice Latte now (if you haven’t, you must be living under a rock)—but have you heard about its espresso-free and black-tea-based counterpart, the Pumpkin Chai Latte?
Loaded with pumpkin puree, warming spices like cinnamon and cloves, and lower-sugar chai mix, this iced pumpkin chai tea latte is the perfect fall drink—especially at the time of year when the midday temperatures are still warm enough to make you ditch the jacket.
While this recipe is for an iced pumpkin chai, you can also easily make it hot with a few simple tweaks—let’s show you how it’s done.
Instead of popping into your neighborhood Starbucks for their Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte, we’re going to make a healthier homemade version.
If you ordered a Grande (16oz) Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte, here’s how much it would set you back:
Our homemade pumpkin chai is a healthier option, with just 135 calories and 16.5 grams of sugar per serving—a much better choice if you don’t want to be on a blood sugar roller coaster all day.
We also went the dairy-free and vegan route, using Extra Creamy Planet Oat Milk instead of cow’s milk. While we prefer oat for this recipe, feel free to use any milk option you like—just know it won’t be as creamy.
All you’ll need to do to make this homemade pumpkin chai is blend up the pumpkin puree, vanilla, chai mix, and sugar-free hazelnut syrup, then pour it over a glass that contains ice, oat milk, and pumpkin pie spice.
If you don’t have a blender, a handheld milk frother (like this one) is a worthwhile tool to have in your kitchen. It won’t work quite as well as a blender, but it will get the job done in this scenario.
If you want to make this into a hot pumpkin spice chai latte, simply add the blended mix (pumpkin puree, vanilla, chai mix, and hazelnut syrup), oat milk, and pumpkin pie spices to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Whisk it all together well and pour into a mug, topping with an additional sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can add a dollop of whipped cream on top—a coconut milk-based whipped cream will keep this recipe vegan.
The Starbucks Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte contains the following ingredients:
• Milk
• Ice
• Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam [Vanilla Sweet Cream (Cream (Cream, Mono And Diglycerides, Carageenan), Milk, Vanilla Syrup (Sugar, Water, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid)), Pumpkin Spice Sauce (Sugar, Condensed Skim Milk, Pumpkin Puree, Contains 2% Or Less Of Fruit And Vegetable Juice For Color, Natural Flavors, Annatto, Salt, Potassium Sorbate)]
• Chai Tea Concentrate [An Infusion Of (Water, Black Tea, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves, Natural Flavors, Star Anise), Sugar, Honey, Ginger Juice, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Citric Acid]
• Pumpkin Spice Topping [Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, And Cloves]
Rather than using 100% pumpkin puree, Starbucks uses a pumpkin spice sauce that contains sugar and condensed milk before you even see the pumpkin—plus, it adds natural flavors and coloring.
The pumpkin cold foam is also not just pumpkin and cream—it’s made of cream, carrageenan, milk, vanilla syrup, and the pumpkin sauce containing sweetened condensed milk.
The short answer is no: the Starbucks Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte is not healthy. A Grande size of this drink contains:
• 460 calories
• 17g of fat
• 68g of carbs
• 66g of sugar
• 10g of protein
A 16oz hot version of this drink (the Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte) contains:
• 310 calories
• 4.5g of fat
• 60g of carbs
• 58g of sugar
• 9g of protein
Yes, pumpkin chai lattes have some caffeine because they are made with black tea. However, black tea contains slightly less caffeine than coffee or espresso.
At Starbucks, a Grande-size hot Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte contains 70 milligrams of caffeine, while the Grande Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte has 95 milligrams of caffeine.
For reference, a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte contains 150 milligrams of caffeine.
A pumpkin spice chai latte has many health benefits—as long as it’s not loaded with sugar. In our homemade version, you can find many nutritious ingredients, like real pumpkin puree, black tea, and pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene (the precursor to vitamin A), which is beneficial for immune function, vision, and skin health. Black tea contains antioxidants, including flavonoids, catechins, and theaflavins, which are thought to lower unhealthy cholesterol, support healthy body weight, and improve heart health. Cinnamon is known to lower blood sugar and improve insulin responses, while ginger is a root with potent anti-inflammatory properties.
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