Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

I suspect it may be impossible to walk into any type of coffee shop and NOT see a pumpkin beverage on the menu. Even the supermarkets carry pumpkin coffee creamer. This gourd is everywhere!

My problem is while I am a huge pumpkin fan, I am not the biggest coffee fan. I do enjoy tea, though. And during these warmer autumn days, it's nice to have something cool to drink. So as part of my list of 25 things to do this fall, I decided to take the original Thai Iced Tea recipe I make during the summer months, and swap out some ingredients so it would be perfect for the season.

Iced Pumpkin Chai Latte

A Country Cooking Original Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 whole star anise pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 chai tea bags (I use Celestial Seasonings decaf India Spice)
• 3 pumpkin tea bags (I use Celestial Seasonings Sweet Harvest Pumpkin)
• 6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• whipped cream to your heart's content
• a sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat bring water, sugar, star anise pods, and cinnamon stick to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add tea bags. Allow to steep for 1 hour.
2. Discard anise, cinnamon, and tea bags. Whisk in sweetened condensed milk. Pour into container and chill for at least one hour.
3. Top with whipped cream before serving, if desired.

Just some notes:

1. I like to make this the night before and let it chill overnight in the fridge.
2. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup sugar, but I cut that in half because I found it to be too sweet.
3. In the summer, I use 4 chai tea bags, omit the cinnamon, and when I add the tea bags I also add fresh mint to steep. Better than any Starbucks drink!