Pumpkin Spice Latte

There is one thing missing in my kitchen - a household essential in America, but almost impossible to find in Australia. When I was in Boston, one of the first things my roommates bought was a hot pink coffee percolator. The only other time I’ve ever seen such an apparatus was in a fancy hotel room. 

So this thing basically sucks up water, heats it until it’s almost boiling then releases it into a container fitted with a controlled drip nozzle. The container is lined with a sheet of filter paper over which, ground coffee is added. The end result: A jug full of hot diluted coffee – a bit like a long black.

For the first two months, I absolutely hated the stuff. So whenever I wanted to grab a cup of coffee (at least once a day), I had to walk all the way to the nearest Starbucks (which, in America is never really that far). Starbucks in America is quite different to Australian branches. For one, their drinks menu is constantly changing. 

It was mid-September when my roommate first introduced me to her favorite “Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte”. Pumpkin is really common in fall/autumn, and this drink is based on an American classic - pumpkin pies. Being an Australian, this was a novelty I just had to try. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly keen on ordering anything other than my usual “small cap one sugar” and I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, but was an exception. 

From that day on, every time I went to Starbucks, I either had a Pumpkin Spice Latte, or tried one of their new flavors hoping that it would be just as good.

Sadly as my semester abroad ended, so did my love affair with this drink.

But surely, it’s not impossible to replicate.

I looked everywhere for canned pumpkin puree, and didn’t give up until the manager at my local woollies actually told me off “Pumpkins don’t come in cans, we’re not in America”.  So I had no choice but to make everything from scratch.

Ingredients:

1 C Pumpkin cubed

½ C Heavy cream

1 C Milk

1 Tbs Brown sugar

¼ tsp Ground ginger

¼ tsp Ground cloves

¼ tsp All spice

¼ tsp Ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

2 Tbs Good quality freshly ground coffee beans

½ C Boiling water

1.       In a pot, simmer the pumpkin with the heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt and spices until pumpkin is soft and falls apart.

2.       Cool the pumpkin mixture and blend until smooth. Push mixture through a fine sieve.

3.       Add the ground coffee and boiling water to a coffee plunger and allow it to brew for up to 5 minutes.

4.       Plunge the coffee.

5.       Reheat the sieved pumpkin mixture until frothy and foamy.

6.       Pour half of the coffee and half of the pumpkin mixture into a mug; serve with whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Serves 2.