Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew + Review of Trader Joe’s New Instant Cold Brew Coffee

‘Tis the season of pumpkin spice and admittedly while not PSL fans, we have been curious about Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. With Trader Joe’s recent release of its Instant Cold Brew Coffee and the fact that we made it to Friday and therefore deserve a treat, we decided to make Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew at home.

While we love the Magical Cold Brew Coffee recipe we published here, we were intrigued by the concept of Trader Joe’s new reverse engineered instant cold brew that is freeze dried into crystals designed to be rehydrated. Cold brew that does not require 12+ hours of prep time?!?! I.e., cold brew on demand, sign me up! We were game to try it especially for only $3.99 for a 3.5 oz. jar. Unfortunately, however, Trader Joe’s Instant Cold Brew Coffee did not live up to the hype.

With a suggested serving ratio of 1 heaping teaspoon of cold brew coffee granules to 12 oz. of cold water, I figured this coffee must really be potent. But, just the opposite, it’s not. And while I admittedly like to drink my coffee strong, the ratio of 1 teaspoon to 12 oz. is just simply off. The result mimicked lightly flavored coffee water. You could tell by just looking at the cup that the color was not right for cold brew. I ended up adding about three times the amount of suggested coffee to my 12 oz. of cold water and still could have made it stronger. Will not buy again.

And, while not impressed by Trader Joe’s Instant Cold Brew Coffee, we love the pumpkin cream recipe we came up with to add to our own Magical Cold Brew Coffee recipe. Not too sweet but just right for pumpkin season. This pumpkin cream transforms our Magical Cold Brew Coffee from summers on the lake to crisp autumn mornings. We recommend you try it immediately for your own pumpkin spice fix.

PUMPKIN CREAM COLD BREW

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cold milk (Choose whatever milk product you like, non-dairy works too. I was partial to half-and-half but oat milk was really good too!)
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (plus a sprinkle for garnish on top)
• small pinch of fine salt

Directions

1. Make your cold brew coffee (highly recommend our Magical Cold Brew recipe linked here) or buy it premade.
2. Make the pumpkin cream: In a measuring cup or milk frothing pitcher, combine the cold milk, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Using your milk frother, froth the milk until it reaches your desired consistency. If you, like me, do not own a milk frother, you can: (1) borrow your sister’s milk frother who just happens to live across the street; or, in the alternative, (2) use your blender or electric mixer to froth your pumpkin cream. The above recipe makes enough pumpkin cream for one cold brew. Feel free to double (or quadruple). Pumpkin cream can be prepped beforehand and refrigerated in a sealed container until you are ready to froth it up later.
3. Pour cold brew into a glass filled with ice. Top with desired amount of pumpkin cream. Sprinkle with pumpkin spice and enjoy!

Recipe inspiration from Fox and Briar and Gimme Some Oven.

Please let us know if you try our Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew recipe. We would love to hear from you! Cheers to you and pumpkin spice season.