The Recipe
Ingredients:
2 Cinnamon Sticks
2 Teaspoons Cloves
2 Teaspoons Allspice
2 Teaspoons Cardamom
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (or any form of sugar)
1-2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Sweetener (or any form of sugar)
1 Cup Water
*all of the spices are in their whole form*
Directions:
Boil together until reduced by about half. Take off of heat and let cool together until room temperature; aka walk away for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain out the spices and store, covered, in the refrigerator for about a week. Use your senses, if it looks or smells off it’s always a good idea to dump it. Mine doesn’t tend to stick around for much more than 3 to 5 days since I have a tendency to use it liberally.
If you want a version that can last up to 3 months in cold storage then make a 2 to 1 simple syrup that is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water along with the rest of those spices; just test out to see if it needs a reduction. Dip a spoon in it to see how thick the syrup is and count on it getting thicker once chilled. If you want me to actually make a simple syrup for an alcoholic adaptation let me know in the comments.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Tea/Coffee
Ingredients:
1-2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Spice Syrup
1-2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Spice Cream (or plain creamer … I’m just a basic bitch that’s excited about fall)
12oz liquid of choice (tea or coffee – you probably already have a way you like to prepare yours, but I’ll leave how I do it in the directions)
Directions:
I usually use at least 1 tablespoon of tea. If you don’t want caffeine use red tea. Steep the tea leaves in boiled water for about 5 minutes. Technically you could leave the red tea in indefinitely since it doesn’t have a bunch of tannins. If you want a caffeinated cup use your favorite black tea and steep it in boiled water for 2 to 3 minutes or however you like to take yours. I usually set my timer for two minutes because I’ll usually have poured the cup and faffed around a bit before getting around to setting the timer. I’ve also tried this with earl grey which also works – it’s very different, but the citrus of the bergamot plays well with the spices. Stir in as much pumpkin spice flavored things as you like. I just eyeball mine, or on days when I have a migraine and can barely see I just pour, stir, and sniff until it smells right.
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