The “Summer of Iced Coffee” continues here at the Institute. Today’s recipe is a cross-cultural mash-up of Horchata (the Mexican rice milk drink) and that French classic, Café au Lait.

You can learn to roast and cold brew the coffee that goes into this recipe, or use a store-bought substitution, if you must.

Iced Horchata au Lait   :::    Makes 1 drink

Ingredients

5 ounces horchata (recipe below)
3 ounces cold brew coffee
Optional: 1 cinnamon stick for garnish

1. Fill a rocks glass with ice
2. Add horchata and cold brew coffee, stirring to combine
3. Garnish with a cinnamon stick

Horchata:  Makes 1½ quarts

Ingredients

½ cup (4 ounces) uncooked white jasmine rice
½ cup  (2 ounces) blanched raw almonds
1 ½-inch piece cinnamon stick
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract

1. Place rice and almonds in a heatproof bowl or pitcher. Break cinnamon into a few pieces and add to container with 2 cups of hot water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 6-8 hours or overnight.
2. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and 4 cups hot water, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture turns clear. Set aside to cool.
3. Puree the soaked, rice/almond/cinnamon mixture in a blender for 3 minutes or until smooth. Strain through a cloth nut-milk bag, very fine sieve, or cheesecloth. Discard solids.
4. Add the cooled sugar syrup and vanilla to the strained mixture and stir to combine. Store in the refrigerator to chill.