All day, every day, right at home! This Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte is easy to make and much healthier than the Starbucks version, made with real pumpkin and maple syrup. You can make them as sweet or spicy as you desire! This is a concentrate, so it makes multiple lattes.
‘Tis the season! Not for Christmas, quite yet. Pumpkin Spice season is upon us, apparently! I actually thought it was a bit early, but I went to Starbucks last week, and according to them, Pumpkin Spice season is in full force. I may have passed some judgement on them for being overly commercialized, but then I did order a pumpkin spice late (haha!) so the jokes on me. Fall officially started yesterday, and I’m sure my pumpkin spice everything cravings will follow very shortly. I’m well aware that’s probably already happened for many people… actually I think normally mine would have started already, but we’ve had a fall with uncharacteristically hot summer temperatures! PSL’s one of the only flavoured drinks I buy at Starbucks, but I know how ram jammed with sugar their specialty drinks are, so I set out to make a recipe for a PSL that was actually healthy. It took several tries, but I’ve finally nailed it to what I consider perfect!
Even when I order this from Starbucks, I get it half sweet. I just find the fully sweetened version to be too much for me… I like it spicy! I realize everyone has a personal preference with this drink. Ryan likes to add about 2tsp more maple syrup to his, but I like this just as is. The great thing about this recipe is that you can completely personalize it. I’ll put some notes at the bottom of the recipe, so you can personalize it just as you like.
My morning workout is always my hard one. If I’m doing a double day, the afternoon session is usually the easy one. I finish my morning session, hop in the shower, and then sit and recover while I eat lunch and get some work done. I rely on caffeine to bring me back to life at this point, especially if I have an afternoon training session coming up. I mix up this PSL concentrate when the fall flavour cravings comes on, and it lasts in the fridge for a few weeks. It’s super simple to make, makes quite a bit, and I just add about 2tbsp to my latte.
If you don’t have an espresso maker, I have made this with instant espresso powder. You can heat milk in the microwave, and these little handheld milk frothers are excellent! Even with an espresso machine, I use it to froth milk for tea and match all the time because it’s so easy!
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte concentrate
Servings: 12 servings
Prep time: 6 minutes
Steep time: 4 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 tea bag of spiced chai (can be decaf. I’ve used David’s Tea Pumpkin Chai before, which was delicious!)
1 cup water
4 tablespoons real pumpkin purée
3 tablespoon real maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon cloves, 1/8 teaspoon allspice)
Tiny dash of salt
Optional: Add some cinnamon sugar or a cinnamon stick on top as a garnish!
DIRECTIONS
Mix everything in a saucepan and bring to a near boil. Let it steep for 4 mins, then strain through a fine sieve to get any pumpkin puree chunks out. I think we all want a smooth latte! Make sure to squeeze all the juices out at the end after straining, there’s tons of flavour in there!
Remember, this is to be used as a concentrate. If you taste it in the saucepan, it’s going to taste really strong! Spoon 2 tablespoons of the concentrate in your mug when you’re ready to make a latte. Pull your shot of espresso in to the mug over the concentrate. Steam or froth your milk, and pour over the espresso!
Save in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Personal variations
For extra spicy, steep longer with the tea bag in the saucepan
For extra pumpkin flavour: Use a pumpkin chai tea bag, add an additional tablespoon of pumpkin puree, or an extra ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
For additional sweetness: Add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of maple syrup to your concentrate mixture, or in to each latte as you make them
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