Tis the season for pumpkin everything! Personally, autumn is synonymous with pumpkin-flavored goodness, but I’ve learned quite well that not all pumpkin-flavored things are alike.
Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte? Oh yeah, that’s a delectable, albeit painfully overpriced, treat.
Pumpkin Pie M&M’s or the Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat’s? Nope. Hard pass.
Pumpkin Cheerios and Pumpkin Special K Cereals? Surprising wins.
Pumpkin Spice coffee? …Umm… Oof. Usually a sad, watery, non-Pumpkin-y disappointment.
Until now.
I know I’m becoming a little cheerleader for Fresh Roasted Coffee lately, but I have to earnestly say, their Pumpkin Spice Coffee is absolutely the best Pumpkin-flavored drip coffee I’ve ever tasted. Hands down; no contest.
I’ve tried many flavors over the years from various different brands, but they’ve never had enough of that “Pumpkin Pie” flavor. My mom still makes the absolute best pumpkin pie I’ve ever tasted – I believe it uses 5 spices (And here’s the recipe so you can also enjoy its greatness) – but Pumpkin Spice coffee usually seems to lean way too heavily into the “Spice” and not enough into the “Pumpkin.” And, personally, I just don’t like spicy coffee.
I like to make my coffee strong, so when I brew FRC’s “Pumpkin Spice” medium roast coffee, I do 3 hearty spoonfuls of grounds to 12 oz of water. And, guys — it’s good. Like… really good. It’s got that “fall-in-a-cup” flavor and captures a bit more of the pumpkin pie flavor I want in this kind of coffee. Honestly? I feel like it’s the closest thing to a “Pumpkin Spice Latte” that I’ve ever tasted in a straight drip coffee.
Now, the one caveat I must share is that, because the flavor is stronger than most pumpkin-flavored coffees I’ve tried, this one tends to stain the drip coffee basket of my coffee maker and influence other coffee flavors brewed with it. So I’ve found I need to use some soap and water on the basket after each brewing to make sure the flavor doesn’t linger into my next cup (Which, these days is usually FRC’s “Saturday Morning Cereal” or their decaf “Blueberry Crisp”).
To accompany FRC’s fall flavors, they also have a “Maple Crème” and “Apple Crumb Cake.” Both have a strong flavor, but I found the “Maple Crème” to be a bit too intense. In fact, my house smelled like “Maple Crème” for a full day after I brewed it. I mean… I like maple, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t really want my house smelling like maple syrup all the time. The flavor was good, but I think the “Crème” aspect of it adds a different note to the maple flavor that just didn’t connect with my taste buds. The “Apple Crumb Cake” has a bit of the spice you find in the “Pumpkin Spice,” but less of the “Apple” I would want from a flavor like that. In fact, I’d say it’s more of a spiced crumb cake flavor — maybe cinnamon-y — with a subtle note of apple. I have come back to this one a few times, but it’s not a favorite. I’d love if it had a bit more of an obvious apple taste.
Also joining the “Pumpkin Spice” coffee for the fall is FRC’s “Organic Pumpkin Spice Loose Leaf Tea,” which also comes in K-cup and tea bag form. Ooo. This one is good. I’m new to dealing with loose tea leaves, so I felt like a complete noob trying to figure out the proper ratio of leaves to water. Sadly, I didn’t notice right away that the front of the bag actually has the proper serving suggestion and steeping time. So my first cup? Too strong. Way too strong. But subsequent ones have favored much better. You really don’t need many leaves at all, and you don’t need to steep it very long to get a real nice pumpkin-y, fall flavor. Also, it has a nice potpourri kind of aroma to it – dry or as a brewed tea. This one is delightful. It is caffeinated, though, and has a bit of a kick (especially if you make it on the strong side), so those who gravitate toward decaf teas will be out of luck for this one.
If you want to get into steeping your own loose leaf teas, FRC also offers its own branded Stainless Steel Brew Basket with Lid. It’s nice and I love how it sits in any standard-sized mug nicely. A friend got me this ridiculous silicone “Koala-tea” loose leaf tea infuser several years ago that I finally got to try with these leaves, and it seemed to offer a pretty good serving size measurement for the loose leaves. (Plus it’s adorable.)
Lastly, if you’re one for putting syrups and such in your coffee, FRC offers the Hollander Pumpkin Pie Café Sauce. It’s largely organic, gluten free, and has no artificial flavors or colors. I try not to put sugar and flavors in my coffee these days, but I gave it a shot in a cup of straight FRC coffee (I used one of the envipods from their previous mailing) and I kept adjusting it till it tasted just right. I’d say it does a pretty good job turning any cup of coffee into a pumpkin spice blend, with maybe a bit more sweetness than just a straight pumpkin-flavored brew. And the sauce could be used with other things like ice cream or shakes if you wanted to.
So, with it being autumn and October now, and with us all being into full pumpkin-spice mode, Fresh Roasted Coffee doesn’t disappoint when it comes to helping this season taste just right. If you’re looking for a pumpkin spice coffee or tea that doesn’t just taste like spicy sad water, FRC delivers the goods.
Again, they have a Refer a Friend program, so if you want $20 toward your first order of $50+, use this link! (And I’ll get $20 off, too, so it’s like buying each other a couple cups of coffee!)