They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what’s breakfast without coffee to wash it down? Here at HCTNS, we have curated a recipe book of our favorite morning coffee and tea methods. Enjoy!
Alissa’s coffee recipe (vegan friendly)
- First I brew a batch of dark roast coffee, either using a moka pot or a standard coffee machine.
- Heat up your milk of choice; I use oat milk since I don’t consume dairy, and it has such a nice thick texture.
- Next I put a little bit of agave syrup and mix it into the milk, then pour it into my coffee, adding some homemade coconut cold foam!
Coconut Cold Foam recipe
- Get one can of evaporated coconut milk and refrigerate it for 24 hours before opening.
- Pour the coconut milk into a jar and add one teaspoon of vanilla extract and two tablespoons of agave. Mix using a frother.
This is my favorite recipe to make every morning, and it is perfect if you can’t consume dairy. I hope you enjoy it!Â
Jordan’s iced coffee recipe
- Prepare coffee as desired.
- After brewing, allow prepared coffee to cool on the counter or in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. DO NOT POUR OVER ICE OR ICE WILL MELT INSTANTLY.Â
- Pack a glass with ice cubes and combine cooled coffee with desired amount of your milk of choice (regular, almond milk, coconut milk or oat milk). Add in one tablespoon of brown sugar and two to three drops of caramel. Stir and enjoy.
Nicole’s coffee recipe
I make coffee using a stove-top moka pot: I take fine coffee grounds (I use Illy moka pot coffee grounds) and place them in the strainer, adding hot water to the pot beforehand. I screw the top on and heat it on the stove on low heat, leaving the lid open.Â
After the coffee has been brewed, I take a mug and put a heaped teaspoon of condensed milk (I love sweet, Cuban-style coffee). Sometimes I put in ice; it depends on how I’m feeling. And then I pour in the coffee. If I’m making hot coffee, I usually heat up oat milk and froth it with a handheld milk frother and pour it barista-style. And then I enjoy it with a breakfast like a toasted bagel or eggs. I usually never go a day without making this recipe — it makes me feel like I have my life together.
Aarya’s masala chai recipe
This is a masala chai recipe that I’ve been using for the past couple years and is the simplest way to make this Indian staple! Both my grandmothers love it too, so you know it’s got that extra authentic stamp of approval.
The ingredients you’ll need are milk, loose leaf black tea (no one should be making chai with tea bags, that’s simply sinful), whole ginger, peppercorns, cardamom and cloves; sugar is optional.
Before getting into the recipe, a couple notes on milk. In my personal experience, chai comes out best with dairy milks. But if you are using creamier non-dairy milks, like oat or cashew, I would recommend doubling the measurements for the spice mix to achieve a more balanced taste. For thinner non-dairy milks, like almond, you can stick with the same measurements as below or increase each measurement by one for a more potent taste.
To start, add one cup of your favorite milk to a saucepan and set it over the stove to boil. Then as it begins to warm up, add 1.5 heaping teaspoons of black loose leaf tea, sugar to taste (I would personally add one regular teaspoon of brown sugar) and a 3/4 inch piece of ginger cut into fine pieces.
While that’s boiling, it’s time to make your masala (spice) mix! Add three cardamoms, three peppercorns and two cloves into a mortar and pestle and crush them into a granular powder. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, using the back of a spoon or knife to crush and open the spices will work too. Avoid an overly fine mixture as you don’t want to grind the life out of the spices, just release their flavor. Once finished, add this to the tea.Â
Make sure to stir occasionally — once it comes to a boil, the milk will start to rise. Once it does, if you are using a gas stove, reduce to a low flame. If you are using an electric stove, take the tea off the stove, stir and let sit for ten seconds, and then put the saucepan back on on lower heat. In either case, let the tea simmer until you can smell the aroma of the spices. Avoid leaving for longer than six minutes, as the tea can curdle. Once done, use a strainer to pour your masala chai into your morning mug, and it’s ready to drink!
This is what chai should look like as it boils!
