Move over coffee, these new healthy hot beverages are delighting the senses and attracting the wellness crowd. Healthy latte, herbal chai and hot raw cacao made with fresh nut or coconut mylks are gracing café menus.
What’s hot right now?
- Dandelion Chai Latte
- Rooibos Chai Latte
- Matcha Latte
- Turmeric or Ginger Root Latte
- Roasted Dandelion Moch
- Mexican Hot Cocoa made from raw cacao and hot spices
Let’s break it down…..
Mylk is the new term for non-dairy milks, made from nuts, seeds, coconut or grains. They came about with the rise in lactose and casein intolerances. They taste clean, creamy and nutty, with hints of savoury and sweet flavours and delicious as they are. Those made from scratch are the best. For a nut or seed mylk, soak nuts and seeds in filtered or Spring water with a pinch of natural salt and a squeeze of lemon juice overnight or up to 2 days. Drain and rinse. Combine with water in a blender. Ratio – 1 cup of nuts and seeds to 2 cups of filtered or Spring water. Blend at the highest speed for 2 minutes. Use as is or for a fine mylk, press out the meal in a nut bag. To make a coconut mylk, simply scoop out the flesh and water from a young coconut and blend. Dried coconut flakes can also be used. Simply follow the nut mylk recipe.
Roasted dandelion root is the new “coffee”. Tastes like coffee but with out the caffeine hint. What’s the point, right? Well, it’s good for those wanting a caffeine free alternative hot drink, those individuals on cleanses or with high blood pressure. Check out my previous blog on caffeinated drinks. Dandelion root also happens to offer some amazing health benefits. It is a bitter digestive and liver tonic, helps to stimulate bile flow, which means can emulsify the fats that you eat and is a bowel cleanser. Roasted dandelion root coffee forms the base of many new “healthy hot” drinks such as dandelion latte, dandelion chai (roasted dandelion root replaces black tea and is combined with delicious, aromatic spices – not the fake sweet powdered stuff) or combined with raw cacao to make a mocha.
Rooibos, another caffeine free, coffee or tea substitute, is rich in antioxidants. It also happens to be an anti-inflammatory, a general cleanser and is rich in minerals. When brewed long, it forms a great base for a latte and chai. Red rooibos is best.
Matcha, sounds like the new kid on the block but this is simply a powdered down green tea. When you drink matcha you ingest the entire leaf and receive 100% of the nutrients of the leaf. Matcha tea has been touted to have 137 times more antioxidants than regularly brewed green tea. One cup of matcha equals ten cups of regularly brewed green tea in terms of nutritional content. Like regular green tea , this one contains caffeine.
Turmeric and ginger root are commonly used as spices in cooking and found in herbal teas. They are also appearing as an alternative base for a healthy latte. Turmeric root is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and is indicated for digestive weakness, eczema, psoriasis, and pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, menstrual irregularities, or skin disease. Ginger root is also an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and a metabolic stimulant. It is indicated for intestinal colic, nausea, motion sickness, fever, arthritis, endometriosis and migraine headaches.
Raw cacao powder is made from un-roasted cacao beans and it contains up to twice the amount of antioxidants of traditional cocoa powder made from roasted beans. It is a chocolaty, healthy base for a mocha and hot chocolate. Like all chocolate, it is naturally caffeinated.
Tip: Make sure your ingredients are organic for a chemical free and healthy hot drink.
Recipe: Sweet Turmeric & Spice Latte
Combine half a cup of water with one teaspoon of turmeric root powder, half a teaspoon of cinnamon bark powder and half a teaspoon ginger root powder, some freshly cracked black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and 1 teaspoon of raw honey. Simmer for 7 minutes. Stir in one cup of your favourite mylk. Serve in a large mug with cinnamon sprinkles.