Not that long ago, my friend Joe over at Shoffee.com asked me if I’d be interested in doing a head to head comparison of the 3 Seasonal Pumpkin varieties currently available in a K-Cup footprint.  Without too much thought about it, I agreed.  Of course, a few days later it dawned on me that not only did I have no idea how a head to head comparison would work, but I’m not really a fan of pumpkin pie – so maybe I’m not the best guy to do it. Nevertheless, I’m willing to take a shot at helping you figure out which Pumpkin K-Cup is the best.

Here’s the thing about pumpkin pie; why, when you have a myriad of other fruity pie fillings (lemon, cherry, blueberry, apple, etc. etc), equally appealing non-fruit options (chocolate cream springs to mind), would one ever want to eat a “pie” with a previously-masticated texture made from a freakin’ gord? Is anyone out there eating squash pie, or zucchini pie?  Quite frankly the Halloween/Thanksgiving double-whammy of tradition has  us eating pumpkin sludge when we could be enjoying real pie.

So with an honest disclosure about my feelings for pumpkin pie, and an equally honest acknowledgement that I have no idea what the hell I’m doing here, let’s get right to it
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PUMPKIN FIGHT!

Introduction

Before we get to the comparisons, there are a couple of things that hold true to all 3 varieties. First and foremost, in my opinion, it’s really not worth drinking any of the 3 varieties black. We’re talking about coffee modeled after a dessert. They crave sugar, and while you’re at it, add some cream too, you’ll be happier for it. In fact, none of the 3 offer all that much in the way of pumpkin flavor until they’re sweetened up a bit. For the most part, spices prevail until sugar coaxes out the pumpkin.

The differences between the 3 are as vast as the differences between pumpkin pie recipes. Each is unique, and which you find to be the best, may largely depend on which spices you like to taste in your pie.

Aroma

Timothy’s Perfect Pumpkin
There is, to be sure, an initial smack of nutmeg.  That said, once you move past that, you’re left with a fairly pleasant smelling cup of coffee.  While it’s not overly pumpkin like, it does offer the most traditional coffee-like aroma, and I like it.

Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice
There is an abundance of spice notes at work here.  As with Timothy’s, a pumpkin smell doesn’t really materialize, but cinnamon and nutmeg are both present.  From a purely aromatic perspective, this one tickles the nose more than the others.

Gloria Jean’s Pumpkin Spice
Aromatically, the spices are much more balanced than they are in the actual flavor.  The spices aren’t as overpowering as they are in Green Mountain’s, and there’s a bit more pumpkin in the mix.  I also detect some subtle citrus notes, which if nothing else, make the aroma slightly more interesting.

Winner: Gloria Jean’s

Drinking Them Black

As I said, I wouldn’t advocate drinking any of the 3 black, but, since that’s how we do…well, it’s what we’re going to do.

Timothy’s Perfect Pumpkin
If I was going to limit my thoughts to a single word, it would be NUTMEG. Fresh out of the brewer, the nutmeg flavor is almost overpowering. If you like nutmeg it’s great. Me, I’m not a nutmeg guy, in fact, I’ve been known to spit out my wife’s meatballs (no double entendre there) over too much nutmeg.

While I wasn’t impressed by the nutmeg flavor, there’s no arguing the solid medium roast body (and hint of actual coffee flavor).  As I’ll be saying with all of the others, there’s not much pumpkin flavor to be had here.  Did I mention the nutmeg?

Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice
For my money Green Mountain’s entry offers the most balanced flavor.  It’s not nutmeg heavy, nor is it cinnamon heavy.  That’s not to say I don’t taste both, along with perhaps just a hint of pumpkin.

In terms of body, it’s the only 1 of the 3 listed as a light roast (the other 2 are medium roasts).  I don’t notice any major differences in body between the 3, and the Green Mountain offering is certainly not the weakest of the 3.

Gloria Jean’s Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin perhaps, but there’s not a doubt in my mind, the spice they’re talking about is cinnamon.  At least that’s the first flavor sensation that hit my tongue.  Cinnamon followed by a bitter, nutmeggy finish, but mostly cinnamon.

As far as body is concerned, Gloria Jean’s is by far the lightest of the 3.  The same holds true for the flavor.  Apart from nose-tickling cinnamon spice, there’s really almost no flavor here.  My wife says it tastes like dirty water.  That might be a bit harsh, but a better question might be, why the hell is my wife drinking dirty water.

Winner: Green Mountain

With Cream and Sugar

Timothy’s Perfect Pumpkin
In my estimation, it’s still  more spice than pumpkin, but the cream and sugar help to cut what is otherwise an overpowering nutmeg flavor.  When all is said and done you’re left with the most coffee-like of the 3.  Perhaps the downside is that there still isn’t a ton of pumpkin to be had.  On the plus side, it actually tastes like coffee.

Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice

From a flavor perspective, it tastes as much like pumpkin pie as any liquid probably can (except for maybe a blender full of pumpkin pie).  There’s plenty of actual pumpkin pie flavor to go around without tipping the scales one way or another toward cinnamon or nutmeg.  Even though I’m most definitely not a pumpkin pie guy, in terms of how well it succeeds at its goal, this one is very well executed.

Gloria Jean’s Pumpkin Spice

Cinnamon is still the prevailing flavor, even after cream and sugar are added.  Perhaps there’s a bit more pumpkin flavor, but really, I’m still feeling the cinnamon.  What I do like about Gloria Jean’s (and this is admittedly abstract), there’s a texture to it that gives it somewhat of a pumpkin pie feel – and that’s really cool.  Unfortunately it’s also has the most bitter finish of the 3, and the decidedly not cool.

Winner: Green Mountain

Final Thoughts

With it’s well-balanced blend of spices, and accurate pumpkin flavor, it’s abundantly clear (to me anyway) that Green Mountains Pumpkin Spice is the runaway winner. Those of you looking for steaming hot pumpkin pie in a cup need look no further. Nobody (at least nobody with access to a K-Cup manufacturing plant) is doing Pumpkin any better.

As with anything else, there’s room for some personal preference here. While not my favorite of the 3, Gloria Jean’s might be a better fit for those who prefer their pumpkin pie a bit on the cinnamony side. In fact, throw out the pumpkin altogether, and it qualifies as a fine representation of cinnamon spice coffee (if you wanted to go that route).

Finally, the initially nutmeg-heavy Timothy’s Perfect Pumpkin offers the most muted flavor (after cream and sugar are added). That may sound like a bad thing, but there’s something to be said for making a pumpkin blend that tastes a bit more like, dare I say, coffee.  While it’s not the most well executed in terms of “pumpkin”, it’s the one I would drink if the K-Cup universe was limited to these 3 offerings.

Shameless Plug

QwowiCoffee’s Pumpkin fight was sponsored by the Web’s Favorite Coffee Shop, Shoffee.com.  Check out Shoffee for all of your K-Cup needs.  They offer a huge selection, and great prices.  They’re also fully stocked (as of this writing anyway), with all three of the varieties discussed here.  On a side note, you should also check out Shoffee’s Cup of the Week site for big discounts on a new variety of K-Cup each and every week.

While you’re here at QwowiCoffee, check out all of our reviews in the K-Cup Challenge.