Iced Mango Matcha Latte

I've been making myself this drink all the time lately!

Three reasons why I love it:
1) It requires only 3 ingredients
2) The matcha gives me an energy boost
3) It's dairy and gluten-free

Apart from these reasons, it's also relatively good for you! Matcha boosts concentration,  burns calories, and is full of antioxidants.

Iced Mango Matcha Latte 

For one person.... 

1 cup almond milk (any kind! I prefer Silk unsweetened)

1/2 cup mango juice (you can also use any kind- the sweeter the better)

1 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder (use less if you want less caffeine) 

Blend all ingredients in blender until mixture becomes frothy. Pour over ice and enjoy!

If you want this drink a little sweeter, consider using coconut sugar for a healthy option. 

Iced Strawberry Mocha

After picking some fresh strawberries last week, I have been dying to create some delicious strawberry recipes. This week I experimented with strawberries and coffee. Here's the delicious result!

Iced Strawberry Mocha Recipe

(Serves two)

2 cups cold coffee

1 cup milk

1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup frozen/fresh strawberries

Ice cubes 

1) Brew 2 cups of coffee and chill in fridge

2) Heat your strawberries on the stove or in the microwave

 3) Strain the strawberry juice into a sauce pan

 4) Add the sugar 

 5) Add the milk

 6) Add the cocoa and vanilla

 7) Heat the mixture in sauce pan until steaming. Transfer to container and chill

 8) Prepare glass with ice 

 9) Fill glass 3/4 full with iced coffee

 10) Fill rest of glass with chilled strawberry/milk mixture 

Enjoy!

Caramel Coffee Ice Cream

A few days back, when the summer heat was pretty unbearable, I made this wonderful coffee ice cream. It's so refreshing!

I followed this recipe: http://www.indochinekitchen.com/recipes/coffee-ice-cream/
I ended up adding caramel syrup to the recipe and it was a great combo.

Hazelnut Chai Mocha

Most people think mixing tea and coffee would be disastrous. I'm pretty sure this drink proves all the critics wrong. The rich, spicy chai and bitter coffee blend beautifully in this hazelnut chai mocha! If you are lover of coffee AND tea then this is a must-try!

Hazelnut Chai Mocha

1 mug of coffee (about 1 cup)
2 cups of milk
2 T sugar
1 1/2 T cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt
2 T hazelnut chai tea
whipped cream (homemade or store bought)
hazelnut chocolate the shave on top (optional)

 (I used Argo Hazelnut Chai Tea. This tea isn't available online but you can buy other amazing chai teas here: http://mychaidiaries.com )

1) Brew a mug of coffee

2) Heat the coffee and milk in a sauce pan until it steams 

(medium heat)

3) Measure out the chai into a tea infuser

 4) Mix in the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and salt. Stir until these ingredients dissolve.

5) Put the tea infuser (containing the tea) into the sauce pan. Let it steep in the milk for about five minutes. Strain the mocha mixture into cups/mugs. 

6) Add whipped cream and shave the chocolate on top

Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino

So how did I make such an elaborate drink with only a kitchen full of ingredients and my imagination to guide me? It all started with a really bad ice cream craving. For almost 3 whole years, when I was younger, I would order the exact same thing from any ice cream parlor we entered. If they had it, I would routinely order coffee and dark chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries mixed in. I decided that I wanted to take this favorite and turn it into a drink. A fancy drink. After an hour or two of being a total mad scientist in the kitchen, I created this lovely concoction. This drink makes me wish I had a time machine so I could go back and drink it again. And again. And again. 

Are you up to the challenge of making it? Trust me, it's worth it. 

Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino 

Step 1) To start off, you are going to need to make my Simple Iced Coffee. You will need to do this either the day before or a few hours before you plan to enjoy your frappe. 

Step 2) Time to make Raspberry Chocolate Cream

1 cup of frozen raspberries

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar (optional, but definitely adds flavor and is highly recommend)

3 cups of milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Put the frozen raspberries in a glass bowl and microwave until thawed

2. Strain the raspberry juice into a sauce pan (just throw away the left over seeds)

3. Add the sugar and vinaigrette to the raspberry juice

4. Stir on medium heat until the sugar dissolves and it becomes like a syrup

5. Stir in the milk, vanilla, salt, cocoa powder

6. Continue to stir on medium heat until mixture becomes just like raspberry hot chocolate

7. Pour most of the hot mixture into a pitcher and stick in the fridge to cool

8. Pour the rest of the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze (about 15 cubes)

 Step 3) Now to make the Raspberry Chocolate Syrup

1 cup of frozen raspberries

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons raspberry balsamic vinegar 

25 gram bar of DARK chocolate (The darker the richer! I used 85% dark)

1. Put the frozen raspberries in a glass bowl and microwave until thawed

2. Strain the raspberry juice from the seeds into a sauce pan

3. Add the sugar and raspberry vinegar to the raspberry juice

4. Stir on medium heat until the sugar dissolved and it becomes like a syrup

5. Add the bar of chocolate and stir until it melts 

6. Leave the chocolate syrup out on the counter to use later 

Step 4) Once the coffee is cooled, the raspberry chocolate cream is cooled, and the ice cubes are frozen, you may begin the Raspberry Chocolate Whipped Cream

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon  sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 big Tablespoon of the raspberry chocolate syrup

1. Put all the ingredients into a mixer and mix on highest setting until the cream becomes just like whipped cream. 

Step 5) Here's the very last step! Excited? Since you can't really make 7 frappuccinos all at once in one blender, I'll tell you how much to put in for just 1 or 2 frappes at a time. 

1. Pour a little less than 1/2 a cup of the Raspberry Chocolate Cream into the blender

2. Pour 1/4 cup of chilled coffee into the blender

3. Put 3 raspberry chocolate cream ice cubes and 3 coffee ice cubes in the blender

4. Put a spoonful of Raspberry Chocolate Syrup into the blender

5. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream (This is optional. It just makes it creamier) 

6. Blend away until mixture is smooth and creamy

7. Pour into glasses and spoon a generous amount of Raspberry Chocolate Whipped Cream on top. 

8. Drizzle the Raspberry Chocolate Syrup onto the top (Warning: if you're as generous as I am, you may run out quickly) 

Your masterpiece is now complete! Sit down and enjoy your frappe. I hope you feel fancy. 

Iced Nutella Mocha

Here's my Iced Nutella Mocha Recipe 

1 1/2 cups iced coffee
2 cups milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 spoonful Nutella
1 to 2 handfuls of ice (depending on how icy you want it!)
1 or two scoops of ice cream (Optional)

1) To start off make coffee ice cubes with 1/2 cup of your coffee (this is optional)

2) Combine the milk, vanilla, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan. Stir on medium heat until mixture is hot and everything is dissolved in. Let cool and then place in the fridge. (if you're in a hurry, place it in the freezer for a bit to make it chill faster)

3) Once everything is chilled, put the coffee, milk mixture, ice cubes, and Nutella in a blender (leave out coffee ice cubes). Pulse until everything is mixed. If you decided to add ice cream, then pulse this in with everything else. Before you enjoy your mocha, add your coffee ice cubes to keep your drink nice and cool.
                             (This should make enough for about 2 or 3 people.)

Caramel Apple Latte

I've been wanting to create this delicious drink ever since the idea entered my mind 2 weeks ago. I've made it one of my goals to create a fancy drink once a month with the teas I receive (from my tea reviewing job). This latte turned out amazing and is now one of my favorite fall drinks! 

For this latte, I used tea. The tea gave my latte the spicy, caramel apple flavor. I used NecessiTeas Caramel Dipped Apple Tea. You can purchase this tea here: http://www.thenecessiteas.com

You could also use any other caramel apple (or just apple) tea you find in a grocery store or other tea company. 

Caramel Apple Latte Recipe

(1 serving) 

Without Coffee                                                                     With Coffee

1/2 Tablespoon sugar                                                           1/2 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract                                                     1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 small spoonful of caramel                                                 1 small spoonful of caramel

1 cup milk (a mug-full)                                                        3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoon Caramel Dipped Apple Tea                     1/4 cup coffee

                                                                                            1 1/2 teaspoon Caramel Dipped Apple Tea

1) Put your tea leaves into a tea steeper and set aside

2) Put the sugar, vanilla, and caramel into a small sauce pan. Add the milk (or milk & coffee) and put on medium heat. Stir until the sugar and caramel have melted and completely mixed into the milk. Stir the milk fast to create bubbles on top (like a latte!) 

3) Put the tea into the milk mixture and let it steep for a few minutes

4) Pour latte into a mug and drizzle caramel on top

5) Enjoy!