Starbucks, Green Tea Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino

I am not a coffee drinker. I honestly don't even care for the smell of it. My wife on the other hand, loves coffee. When we are out and about, she often has, not wants - has, to stop in Starbucks. It's like a junkie on crack. The fact that, in my den, I have a four foot cabinet full of tea, tea covering a work table, and boxes of tea on the floor, is totally different. I can quit any time I want. Yeah right.

I have tried some of Starbucks non-coffee drinks and mostly I am not impressed. With their hot tea, I think it is because they over steep everything. Same with most of their iced teas. They are just too bitter.

The Green Tea Frappuccino is another thing all together. Made with matcha stirred into cold milk with their syrup and ice. Most people top it with whipped cream. It is delicious.

It is also jammed full of calories. I order mine with 2% milk, no whipped cream, and only half the usual pumps of syrup. The drink is still really sweet but not quite so bad for you.

Lately, I have grown a little bored with it. Besides, I make a similar breakfast drink with Chinese green tea powder, 2% milk, and a splash of vanilla and caramel sugar free syrups that I found on the coffee aisle at Walmart. I like mine better. It has only the calories of the milk. It is less sweet and still delicious - just different.

Yesterday, while shopping, my wife needed her fix. My son was with us. At first I said I didn't want anything. My son suggested a pumpkin spice latte. I reminded him I don't do coffee. He fired back that they can leave the coffee out. Well, that does sound better, but kind of boring.

That is when the idea popped into my head to combine a coffee-free pumpkin spice with my old standby green tea frappuccino. The Barista and my family flinched when I ordered it. What do they know? They're coffee people. So 2% milk and half the syrup - And just why don't they have sugar free syrup for diabetics and those of us who don't want a 600 calorie cup? But I digress yet again.

This creation isn't on the menu, as far as I am aware, but it should be. This was absolutely delicious. The matcha mixed seamlessly with the pumpkin spice to create a sensation like biting into an actual piece of cold pumpkin pie. I realize their are an endless variety of recipes for pumpkin pie, each tasting a little different. The drink is spot on with the family recipe I grew up eating. This is creamy and lightly spiced. It doesn't just taste of pie spice, it actually has a pumpkin taste. Very satisfying.

I didn't need a nap afterwards. I didn't need to loosen my belt. I think I may have found my new old standby at Starbucks. At least through November... I wonder how a candy cane matcha frappaccino will taste? Hmmm.