Tay Tea offers some of the finest loose tea blends we’ve had. And they’re having a “fall sale” on their chai teas, through November 5th.

Tay Tea invites you to “steep, sip, and settle into fall.”

The options include two black tea-based chai blends and two caffeine-free rooibos blends. Each is custom-blended by master tea blender Nini Ordoubadi (photo #2).

Check out Tay Tea’s four chai blends in the chart below.

Then, head to TayTea.com and use the code FALLCHAI2022 at checkout (applicable to online sales only).

But before we leave, we have a bit of Food 101 and a masala chai recipe for you:
 
 
CHAI VS. MASALA CHAI: THE DIFFERENCE

In India, the word for tea is chai. That simple word refers to a cup of black tea, usually taken with milk.

Masala chai takes the flavor up a notch, with the addition of spices.

In the U.S., chai fans have referred to this Indian-spiced* tea with milk as “chai tea” or “chai latte.”
 
There are many variations of spices in a masala chai mix (as in any spice blend). The typical array includes allspice, black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg, and star anise.

Every home cook, restaurant, and spice seller has a mix tailored to their (or their customers’) palates.
 
 
RECIPE: MASALA CHAI, CHAI LATTE, OR WHATEVER NAME APPEALS TO YOU

Here’s a recipe to blend your own chai spices from scratch.

Then brew the tea of your choice, infused with spices (use a spice ball/tea ball).

The garnishes suggested (milk froth, spices) are American additions.

Ingredients Per Mug

 
Preparation

1. ADD the tea and milk to a mug and stir to combine.

2. TOP with a heaping spoonful of milk froth (we use a frother, currently this one).

Don’t hesitate to vary the spices to your tastes. Personally, we love adding black peppercorns and star anise, which many people omit.
 
 
CHECK OUT:

> Chai recipes: food and beverages.

> The history of masala chai.

> The history of tea.

[1] There are many different chai blends (photos #1, #2, and #4 © Tay Tea).

[2] Master tea blender Nini Ordoubadi, founder of Tay Tea.

[3] A blend of black masala chai (photo © Steven Smith Teamaker).

*Other countries make spiced tea, but India’s blends are more complex.
 
 

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[1] Best overall beer in America: Heady Topper (photo © Alchemist Brewery).

[2] Best IPA: Brouwerij West Picnic Lightning IPA (photo © Tavour).

[3] Best lager: Notch Session Pils Czech Pale Lager (photo © Notch Brewing).

[4] Best pilsner: Allagash Truepenny Pilsner (photo © Crystal City Wine).

October 27th is American Beer Day. It’s one of the 40+ international beer holidays celebrated in the U.S. (see all the American-beer-specific holidays belowthe history of beer, which began before written history, in the area around Mesopotamia.

Here are recommendations for “The 13 Best American Beers to Drink in 2022,” compiled by Liquor.com. You can read the full article here, including tasting notes.

These beers are available on Drizly, so here’s a great party idea: Get a few of your favorite beer-loving friends for a “best of America” beer tasting. Assume 4 people per 12-ounce bottle.
 
 
AND NOW, THE GREAT AMERICAN BEERS

 
Beer styles that originated in the U.S. include

 
Here’s more about them.
 
And who knows what’s forthcoming next from the creative minds of America’s craft brewers.
 
Hats off to these beer artisans. Long may they malt, mill, mash, and ferment†.
 
 
> Check out the different types of beer in our photo glossary.

> 100 different ways to say “beer.”

 
 
THE YEAR’S 14 AMERICAN-BEER-SPECIFIC BEER HOLIDAYS

*American Beer Holidays: National Beer Day is April 27th. American Craft Beer Week is the third week in May. National IPA Day is the first Thursday in August. International Beer Day is the first Friday in August. American Beer Day is October 27th.

**National Rotate Your Beer Day on May 1st encourages people to drink fresh beer (most beer taste better when freshly made) and to promote the variety of beer styles. Created by Superior Beverage Group in 2019, the day is a reminder for consumers to check the freshness of their beer. It’s a good opportunity to organize your beers so you’ll drink older beers first, and explore new or diverse flavors.

Beer was drunk freshly-brewed for millennia, until Louis Pasteur’s work on pasteurization culminating in 1876 gave brewers the way to extend shelf life by heating beer to kill microorganisms. This was transformative for commercial brewing. Combined with refrigeration technology, it marked the time when beer became a reliably shelf-stable product that could be stored for many months or years. However, with the exception of certain styles made to age, beer loses its optimal flavor over time, becoming flat and stale with off-flavors like cardboard due to oxidation. The quality is affected by factors like heat, light, and oxygen exposure over time.

†There’s more to brewing, of course. Check out all the other stages of brewing.

‡A wild ale is a sour beer made with wild yeast or some other kind of uncontrolled or atypical microflora. Here’s more about it.

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This seasonal approach to mashed potatoes, a Pumpkin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes recipe, is a special delight from the fall harvest through Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Not to mention October 27th, National Potato Day.

The orange color and pumpkin flavor, plus the delicious cheesiness, are a great combination.

The recipe was created by Carla Cardello of Chocolate Moosey for the Idaho Potato Commission. You can find many more inventive potato recipes on their website, IdahoPotato.com.
 
> The history of potatoes.

> The history of pumpkin.

> The history of Cheddar cheese.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHEDDAR MASHED POTATOES

If you’re not a rosemary fan, you can substitute sage or thyme.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BRING a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add the potatoes and garlic cloves. Cook until soft but not overdone, roughly 12-15 minutes. Drain.

2. BEAT in a large mixing bowl the cooked potatoes and garlic until mashed and smooth (do not overbeat—you’ll get sticky, not fluffy, mashed potatoes). You can also mash them by hand with a potato masher.

3. BEAT in the butter and salt until completely incorporated. Then slowly beat in the milk. Finally…

4. BEAT in the pumpkin, cheese, and rosemary.

5. TOP with pats of butter and serve.
 
 
WHAT ARE THE BEST POTATOES TO USE FOR MASHED POTATOES

Here’s the 411 from the Idaho Potato Commission’s Dr. Potato column:

Idaho’s climate and rich, volcanic soil consistently yield potatoes with a high solids content (more potato and less water), which is ideal for making mashed potatoes.

It is most likely that you’ll see two different varieties of russets coming from Idaho, a Russet Norkotah, which is typically a lower-moisture russet (better for mashing), and the traditional Russet Burbank variety popularly used for baked potatoes.

Yellow flesh varieties tend to have higher solids or starch and less water content and can be used for mashing as well.

Red potatoes usually have a waxy texture and can be mashed, but are not as well suited for this as they are for boiling or roasting.

> The different types of potatoes.

[1] Just in time for Halloween: Pumpkin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (photo © Chocolate Moosey | Idaho Potato Commission) .

[3] Pumpkin puree is different from pumpkin pie filling. The latter is sweetened and spiced (photo © Jessica Gavin).

[4] Cheddar makes wonderfully cheesy mashed potatoes (photo © Szakaly | Panther Media).

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[1] Do delicious, and a limited-time flavor (photo © Fix & Fogg).

[2] Blend the peanut butter into ice cream (photo © Häagen-Dazs).

[3] Add verve to a PB&J or PB & Banana sandwich (photo © Wolferman’s).

As a Halloween or Thanksgiving party favor, as a stocking stuffer, and for yourself as a delicious treat, Fix & Fogg Pumpkin Pie Nut Butter is a seasonal delight.

The Pumpkin Pie Butter is a blend of roasted cashews, peanuts, pecans, warm spices, and real pumpkin purée.

It’s creamy, sweet, and totally spoonable—we’ve been having a couple of spoonfuls every morning with our coffee.

Nuts are also very nutritious, a good source of protein and vitamins and minerals, and heart-healthy fats.

Check out the “Magnificent 7” healthy nuts.
 
 
BEYOND THE JAR

Enjoy Fix & Fogg straight from the jar, of course; but also on toast and PB sandwiches, as a topping on oatmeal, and a spread onto apple slices.

Oe of our favorite hacks:

Spooning PB (or other nut butter) on top of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or blending it into softened ice cream, to create a special peanut butter/nut butter ice cream experience.

Pumpkin Pie Butter also makes a superior-tasting Asian peanut noodles recipe, with lovely flavor nuances.

If you’re feeling particularly creative, spread it on brownies and cookies.

And no doubt, you have your own favorite uses for nut butters.
 
> The history of peanut butter.

> The history of peanuts.
 
 
GET YOUR PUMPKIN PIE PB

For your own pantry, and for delicious gifts and stocking stuffers:

Head to FixAndFogg.com.

We are huge fans of every nut butter made by this company from New Zealand, which wins awards worldwide for their artisan nut butters—almond, cashew, hazelnut, and peanut.

The brand is a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

Check out:

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October 26th is National Pumpkin Day, sandwiched between National Pumpkin Spice Day (October 1st), National Carve A Pumpkin Day (October 31st), and National Pumpkin Pie Day (December 25th).

This “bread” is a loaf cake recipe. As with other loaf cakes, you can enjoy it plain, with ice cream, or with whipped cream.

Thanks to Colavita for this recipe, which uses heart-healthy olive oil instead of butter.

> Here are more pumpkin dessert recipes.

> The history of pumpkins.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE SWIRL BREAD

Prep time is 15 minutes, and bake time is 45 minutes.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the pumpkin, maple syrup, milk, olive oil, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a large bowl and mix until the sugar is well combined.

2. USE another bowl to mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. Once mixed…

3. ADD these to the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir until combined. The batter should be thick. Divide the batter into equal parts into two separate bowls.

4. MIX in a small bowl the turmeric and 1 teaspoon water until you get a golden liquid. Add this to one of the batter bowls and stir until combined. In another small bowl…

5. COMBINE the cocoa powder, vanilla, and 3 teaspoons water and mix until a chocolate paste forms. Add this to the other batter bowl (the one without turmeric) and mix until well combined.

6. LINE the loaf pans with parchment paper. Spoon some of the orange-colored batter into the bottom of the pan. Spoon the chocolate batter on top and continue in this fashion until you reach the top. Finish with mini chocolate chips.

7. BAKE at 375°F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out almost clean. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy immediately after cooling, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
 
 
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[1] Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Bread, one of our many delicious pumpkin dessert recipes (photo © Colavita Recipes).

[2] You want pumpkin puree, not pumpkin spice filling, which is already sweetened and spiced (photo © The Kitchn).

[3] In addition to a cocoa batter, there are mini chocolate chips embedded on top (photo © Lauryn Cohen | Bella Baker).

[4] Turmeric may seem an unusual spice in a cake, but it enhances the flavor of the pumpkin, as do the conventional pumpkin pie spices. This photo shows the whole turmeric root and the ground root (photo © Silk Road Spices).