Cinnamon Roll Latte
If I finish this post, which by my requirements has to be 150 words (minimum), I get to break fast and make a latte! These are all rules I've set up for myself in an effort to establish new habits, so I guess right now I'm upping the word count of this particular post with an introduction to why I'm posting. Eventually, I'd love to do two days a week but honestly, well, let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Also, the latte is a helpful motivator because then Alex encourages me to do it. When I get a latte, he gets a latte.
We could actually just keep this simple and I'll tell you what I'm going to make when I finish writing 150 words. A cinnamon roll latte. I am something of an instant coffee barista. I would say the skill came from being a long-distance hiker, where the world of instant coffee isn't one of burnt disgusting horrible acrid convenience. Drinking instant coffee for ~6 months of the year while living on trail, plus my commitment to Slow Food, encouraged me to look into better for everyone instant coffee. That journey led me to falling in love with instant coffee.
Let me tell you. Instant coffee, plus a magic bullet (or similar blender), and you can make literally anything you can dream up. I'd add coconut cream powder to that list of the three essentials and an electric tea kettle if I could add a fourth. After that, the world of frothy lattes, frappes, and even mock draft coffee at home become possible and super fuckin easy. Frappes are the most challenging but, still. So easy.
After falling for instant coffee, it was the magic bullet that blew my mind and opened up this world to me. I don't actually use a magic bullet brand "cup mixer" (wth is the generic name for these things?), I use a "Ninja Fit". It was my mom's (is? she hasn't asked for it back yet...). I had (have) an excessive supply of freeze-dried kale-spinach that has been sitting in their basement since I hiked the PCT. I have slowly whittled away at the tubes of kale, from two bins of two-foot-long plastic zip bags I packed the bulk supply into. But after four thru-hikes and the packing of my resupply for the CDT, I was still sitting on more than 20 tubes of kale. Enter green smoothies, which take a third of a tube per smoothie. Enter mom's magic bullet (ninja), and some grapefruit juice, ginger, and cilantro. I still have 10 kale tubes, but I am making progress with my (new) daily green smoothie habit.
Ok, so that was when I started thinking...what ELSE could I use this magical blender for. And, lattes. Super frothy foamy gorgeous delicious amazing instant coffee lattes. I'm way over 150 words at this point so let's get down to business. Makes a 16 oz latte, need a bigger cup for the foam :)
Tools:
Magic bullet, Ninja fit or other 'cup' blender
Spoon (approximately tablespoon size but I use my camping spork so a small eating spoon definitely works)
Jigger or shot glass
~20 oz cup (smaller works, you'll just be drinking the extra from the blender)
Water boiler (some people call this a tea kettle, others use a saucepan. whatever. just make the water hot)
Ingredients:
one packet instant coffee (two if you want it to taste more coffee-ey, I use Swift Instant Coffee)
half a shot of maple syrup (honey works too)
five heaping spork scoops of coconut cream powder (I use Earth Circle Organics, that shit is magical and maybe my #1 pantry essential)
Half a spoon cinnamon
quarter shot vanilla extract
scoop of ghee or butter (not necessary, but makes it extra cinnamon roll-y
Instructions:
Add everything to the blender cup while the water is heating up
Once water is to a boil, pour it to the 'max fill' 16 oz line on the blender cup. You might use cooler water if you don't want to burn your mouth, but the act of blending will cool the mixture down just a little bit.
Screw the blender cap on REALLY FUCKING TIGHT. Trust me, it will spray EVERYWHERE or the lid will blow if you don't do this. Magic bullets literally say on the blender cup 'do not use with hot liquids'. You've been warned.
Blend until everything is mixed
SLOWLY unscrew the lid, letting the pressure of the hot water release. If you open it fast, again, it will spray EVERYWHERE.
Pour into your drinking cup, enjoy!
A note: I drink lattes almost exclusively for the foam. If you get halfway through the latte and it's not foamy anymore (happens with ALL lattes, from a coffee shop or not), just put it back in the blender cup, give it a buzz and you'll have renewed foam. Yusss. A warning that this will cool the drink down just a bit, so it's a bit of a tradeoff. For me, foam wins. Always.
If you try this I'd love to hear your feedback. Instant coffee + cup blender and you can literally do anything. Speaking of cinnamon roll lattes, this is definitely more than 150 words so I'm sending it out into the world and claiming my prize. Hot off the magic bullet :) xoxo