Almond Milk Dirty Chai

Almond milk dirty chai! THE BEST KIND OF CHAI! I'm all about good ol' chai — I slurp it down at amazing rates every time I go out for Indian food, and then wonder why I can't sleep — but you guys KNOW I love my coffee. Love love my coffee. The first thing I bought, upon returning to the USA in March, was an aeropress. Mine was still in storage in Montana and I was like "UM GIMME THAT AEROPRESSED ROASTED BEAN LIQUID ELIXIR GOODNESS." Too much? I swear I haven't even had any coffee yet this morning. Fo reals.

So not only is this the best of both worlds [chai + coffee], it's also full of NUT MILKY YUM. You guys remember when I started making my own almond and cashew milk — it's so easy, and totally customizable, and DELISH. So, why not do that here? DO IT. You can use pre-made almond milk, but I'd really encourage you to try making your own.

The important part of this recipe is the sequence of operations: If you are making your own almond milk, STRAIN it first, THEN add the spices. Not the other way around. We want you in chai-land! Not semi-chai-land. That place just doesn't sound fun at all, right? In the directions, I say to heat this on the stove or the microwave. I wish I could claim I do this gently on the stove, with patience and perfect hair, but that just simply is.not.true. I stick this baby in the microwave because I'm impatient, hate doing dishes [actually, I don't mind them that much these days, but still], and WANT MY CHAI NOW. So, do whatever suits you.

IF you have a frother: USE IT. If you don't have a frother, then you might want to have a look at somewhere like The Full Moon Cafe as they provide a guide to some of the best milk frothers available that could really help you out in making a drink like this. I shot this before I got my frother from storage, so it's frothless (how many times can I say "froth" today? I'm going for 100.) Frothy frothful froth froth frothing. You guys, send help. What I'm trying to say is: froth would be great! Then add some fresh grated nutmeg and you have a WINNER of a morning drink!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to to froth my own dirty chai — although I'm making mine with cashew milk today! LOVE YA! xo

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Almond Milk Dirty Chai

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Mary
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 3 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup almonds, soaked overnight in water (Alternatively, 2 cups of pre-made almond milk)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ginger
• ½ tsp cloves
• ½ tsp cardamom
• 1 small pinch salt
• 1 shot of espresso* per serving

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Instructions

1. Combine the soaked almonds with four cups of water in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Strain through a cheesecloth or nut bag.
2. Return the liquid to the blender, and add the remaining ingredients (except for espresso). Blend until smooth.
3. Heat the almond milk either on the stove or in the microwave until hot, then add ⅔ cup to one shot of espresso. Top with fresh grated nutmeg.

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Notes

*You can use ¼ cup very strong coffee in lieu of espresso.