Anything But Basic… Introducing Pumpkin Spice Latte
For some, the end of summer signals that it’s time to trade in our beloved frozen treats and instead reach for a warm cup of hot chocolate or hot tea to satisfy our sweet flavor desires. And one flavor above all others seems to dominate public demand – namely, Pumpkin Spice. Every year thousands, no, millions of people flock to their chosen coffee establishments and wait and wait and wait for their chance to savor this highly coveted (un)official flavor of fall. From Ugg-sporting college coeds to wing-tipped white-collar businesspeople, pumpkin spiced treats are here to stay for the next few months and we couldn’t be more excited.
But why should hot foods get to have all the fun? Why can’t ice cream be the perfect vehicle to deliver your necessary dose of pumpkin spice? Being the flavor innovators that we naturally are, we decided to turn to the R&D labs and see if we couldn’t develop a flavor that’ll have you skipping the coffee house lines in favor of our scoop shops.
Thanks to the newest addition to the Clementine’s Creamery R&D family, Erica Parker, formerly the lead flavor developer at the Comfy Cow in Louisville, Kentucky and Ice Cream Grand Champion at the 2015 World Dairy Expo Championship, we’ve definitely accomplished our goal!
Parker, with all of her experience and expertise, blended our creamy pumpkin base and single origin Malawi black tea from our friends at the St. Louis-based Big Heart Tea Co. with her own chai spice blend using ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, coriander and clove. The result: a delightful dessert is anything but basic. Initially you taste a heat from the ginger, cardamom and black pepper that then yields to slightly savory flavors, ultimately melting into milky pumpkin sweet notes and a clean finish. It is a flavor for a sophisticated palate but one that is sure to please all pumpkin spice devotees. Come get your ‘Pumpkin Chai Latte’ fix today, because, as our fearless leader, Tamara Keefe, always says, “Ice cream knows no season.”