Once you try this and fall in love with at home espresso drinks, you’ll have a hard time going back to coffee shops because you’ll always be disappointed! So next, try my creamy tiramisu latte, cold brew latte, lemon latte, and cardamom latte! They are all delicious either as a hot latte or in an iced version.

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Ingredients for Banana Bread Latte Syrup

This banana bread latte takes only 3 simple whole food ingredients: ripe bananas, brown sugar, butter pecan flavor and half and half!

• 1 mashed banana (VERY ripe)
• 1/2c. brown sugar (you could also try maple syrup for a less refined sweetener)
• 1 1/2 t. butter pecan extract
• 1/2c. half and half (or a non dairy milk like oat milk)

How to make Banana Bread Latte Syrup

Mix first 2 ingredients:

First, begin with a very ripe banana. The more black spots it has on it, the sweeter and more banana flavor it contains! Mash the banana and add it to a small saucepan with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. If you like your coffee a little less sweet, you can take down the sugar content to 1/4c. 

Essentially, you’re making a simple syrup without the water. However, if you’d like the syrup a little thinner, you can always add a cup of water to it.

Caramelize the bananas:

The method I use gives it a little caramelized banana twist and adds the best flavor. After you get them mashed and mixed with the brown sugar, it’s time to caramelize the banana and brown sugar mixture by cooking at a gentle boil for about 10 minutes on low to medium heat. Make sure to watch it closely so it doesn’t burn! You may need to turn it down to medium-low heat if it’s getting too hot.

You’ll love the smell of baking – even though you aren’t baking!! But that sweet banana bread scent will permeate the house!

Add the last 2 ingredients:

As the bananas begin to caramelize, the mixture changes from thick to thinner with bubbles as shown above. When it begins to become a caramel-like syrup, take the saucepan off the heat and add 1 1/2t. of butter pecan flavoring and 1/2c. half and half.

After adding the flavoring and half and half, whisk the mixture well and let the syrup cool. Next, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. (I use a mason jar for this)

This will be a thicker, chunky syrup from the real food ingredients. If you’d like to thin it out, you can add a cup of water and then use an immersion blender, or high-powered blender to make it silky smooth.

Make your banana bread latte

To make your iced latte, combine 2T. of banana bread latte syrup with 2 espresso shots, ice, and your milk of choice for a delicious iced latte for iced coffee lovers! You can also make this warm by adding steamed milk instead. You may want to play with the amount of banana bread latte syrup to get the right amount for your taste.

First, brew espresso shots into a small cup. I use a double shot. Then, mix the homemade banana bread syrup into your 2 espresso shots until it’s fully incorporated. I love this tiny whisk for that! It’s the best part!

I use an inexpensive Shardor espresso maker and I absolutely love it! However, if you don’t have an espresso maker, you can use my cold brew latte method. It tastes super yummy with a rich, deep flavor.

Once your banana bread latte syrup is fully incorporated into the espresso shots, add that to a mason jar with ice. I love THIS SIZE mason jar. It’s the perfect size for an iced latte. Put on a lid and shake that baby until it gets foamy. This gives you that super creamy shaken espresso latte at home!

After it’s shaken well, take off the lid and pour in your milk of choice. I love whole milk, but oat milk, coconut milk, or any other alternative milk will work perfectly. And that’s it! You’ve got your banana bread latte at home without the coffee shop price!

To make a hot banana bread latte, just mix the banana bread latte syrup into the espresso shots. Then add steamed or warmed milk. It will be the most delicious warm version of the banana latte!

FAQs

Can I make a non-dairy version of this banana bread latte syrup?

Absolutely! I’d replace the half and half with oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or cashew milk. However, if you use a sweetened non dairy milk, you’ll need to cut back on the brown sugar so the syrup isn’t too sweet.

Variations:

If you want hints of cinnamon, add a sprinkle of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick while cooking to give it a warm cozy flavor.

Add ice and milk (or non dairy milk) for an iced banana bread latte, or heat the milk and skip the ice for a hot latte version.

For less refined sugar, swap out the brown sugar for maple syrup or coconut sugar.

To give it a perfect creamy texture, you can use a high-powered blender, an immersion blender, or a regular blender before adding it to the mason jar for storage. Your warm caramelized banana syrup will be even smoother but will taste the same. You can even add a cup of water to make it thinner and then put it through a fine mesh strainer to make it smoother.

Add a hint of vanilla for additional flavor by putting 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste into the banana bread latte syrup.

Mix 1T of homemade banana bread syrup with 1T of heavy cream and 1T of half and half. Whip with a blender stick for an outstanding banana bread cold foam to make a very rich banana latte.

If you’re out of brown sugar, you can mix white sugar with a little molasses and mix well. You’ll end up with perfect brown sugar!

If you don’t have an espresso machine to brew your shots of expresso, try my cold brew latte method!!

Replace the butter pecan flavoring with almond extract.

Add a pinch of salt for a tiny bit of sweet and savory in your banana cream latte.

Add to regular coffee with a splash of milk or half and half.

Non Coffee Variations for Banana Bread Latte Syrup

Add to a tall glass of milk for out of this world banana milk!

Add vanilla protein powder, milk, and homemade banana syrup for a delicious protein smoothie. You could also add a few perfect espresso shots for a banana bread latte protein drink!

Add to a cup of hot chocolate for banana bread hot chocolate!

Use in your next matcha drink if you’d like a banana-forward matcha. Or use it to make a delicious banana matcha latte!

Use as a syrup alternative on top of pancakes or waffles and add toasted pecans for crunch! You’ll never want to go back to traditional syrup again!

Serve alongside a warm slice of banana bread for a double banana treat!

For an amazing dessert, use your homemade banana syrup as an ice cream topping. Pour it on vanilla ice cream and top with chopped pecans.

This banana bread latte syrup lasts for about a week in the fridge…if you don’t eat it all first! So if you’re ready for banana bread in a syrup form that has the most perfect flavor, you’ll be so happy you made this! On your slow mornings, whip up a batch and let me know how you like it!

Printable Recipe Card

Banana Bread Latte

This Banana bread latte tastes like you're literally drinking banana bread! No artificial flavors. Just cozy and delicious banana bread in the form of a latte!

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Ingredients

• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1/2c. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 t. butter pecan extract
• 1/2c. half and half

Instructions

1. Use a very ripe banana. The more black spots it has on it, the sweeter and more banana flavor it contains! Mash the banana and add to a small saucepan with 1/2c. brown sugar. If you like your coffee a little less sweet, you can take down the sugar content to 1/4c.

2. Carmelize the banana and brown sugar mixture by cooking for about 10 minutes on low to medium heat. Make sure to watch it closely so it doesn't burn!

3. Take the saucepan off the heat and add 1 1/2t. of butter pecan flavoring and 1/2c. half and half. Whisk the mixture well and store in an airtight container in the fridge. (I use a mason jar for this)

4. Combine 2T. of banana bread latte syrup with 2 shots of expresso, ice, and your milk of choice for a delicous banana bread latte! You can also make this warm by adding steamed milk instead.

Notes

This banana bread latte syrup lasts for about a week in the fridge...if you don't eat it all first!

The post Recipe For Easy And Delicious Banana Bread Latte Syrup appeared first on Little Reasons.

My daughter went on a girls trip and came home with an iced tiramisu latte to share with me. It was “the best latte she ever had!” and so she splurged and ordered one for me with no ice so she could bring it home. I was so thrilled she thought of me, and even more thrilled to have a new recipe to develop — because it was THAT good! I just had to recreate it!

Bold espresso. Creamy mascarpone. Chocolatey flavor. Crunchy ladyfinger cookies. It’s everything you love in the classic dessert but in drink form!

Ingredients for an Iced Tiramisu Latte

Latte

• 1T. mascarpone
• 1-2T. chocolate sauce
• 2 shots espresso
• 1c whole milk

Cold Foam

• 2T heavy whipping cream
• 1T maple syrup
• 1T mascarpone cheese
• dusting of cocoa powder
• lady finger biscuits (optional)

Iced Tiramisu Latte Instructions

While this is a tiny bit involved for a workday latte, I don’t think the total time would be longer than 10 minutes. However, I think you’ll find that it’s one of those perfect coffee recipes to make for those lazy weekend mornings!

Latte Instructions:

Begin with mascarpone cheese. It’s kind of like cream cheese but has a different flavor. Place 1T into your espresso glass.

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Then put 1T of chocolate sauce in the bottom of cup and brew two shots of espresso over it. I’ll have a recipe for the easiest chocolate sauce for coffee coming out so soon. I can’t believe I was buying it when it was SO easy to make!

espresso instructions:

We use this Breville espresso machine to brew our shots, but before that, we had an inexpensive $150 machine my kiddos bought for my birthday and it worked really well! I’d say use what you can get!

If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can try my cold brew espresso HERE. I think the only caveat would be that you would need to heat it up in order to combine the mascarpone and chocolate sauce together.

You could also make the shots of espresso in a moka pot or in an aero press. I’ve done both and I’ll be posting about how to do that soon! I’ve even heard you can use instant coffee to make espresso, so I’ll have to play around with that and add a couple tablespoons of hot water over the instant coffee and see how it is!

After the espresso brew, mix everything well to combine

For the iced version, pour the espresso, mascarpone and chocolate over ice in a tall glass to cool it off. Then add about 1 cup of cold milk to the glass.

You can also pour the cold milk over ice in a tall glass and then pour the classic tiramisu double espresso shot over the top. If you like a layered look, though, I’d do it the opposite way (even though I showed it different here!). It’s completely personal preference but doesn’t change the flavor.

This would be amazing, but don’t you want it even more decadent? I thought so!

Mascarpone Cold Foam Instructions:

Combine heavy cream, maple syrup, and mascarpone cheese in a cup. Use milk frother to combine ingredients and whip air into them. If you want it a little thinner, you can add a tablespoon of milk to give it soft peaks instead of more stiff peaks. Pour the mascarpone cream cold foam over the iced tiramisu latte.

Now let’s make it beautiful! Sprinkle the top with a little dusting of cocoa powder. You could even add a little bit of chocolate shavings if you really wanted to get fancy! But the classic Italian dessert has a dusting of cocoa powder, so that’s what I use 🙂

Then just top it with ladyfinger biscuits. Is this necessary? No. But does it add just that touch to make it more like the traditional tiramisu in drink form? Yes! So order the ladyfinger cookies. You won’t regret it!! I found them really inexpensive on Amazon HERE.

And that’s it! The drink form of my favorite dessert. Creamy, rich, decadent, and perfect for a lazy morning at home.

FAQs

I don’t have an espresso machine – what can I use in place of a shot of espresso in my tiramisu latte?

I think this would be equally as good with my cold brew latte espresso dupe. The only issue with that is that the coffee will not be hot, so it won’t melt the mascarpone.

I’d try heating a bit of the cold brew espresso in the microwave or a small saucepan and then adding the mascarpone cheese. Once it’s incorporated, you can follow instructions the same way.

How do I make this a hot tiramisu latte?

It’s super easy to make it a hot latte. Instead of pouring cold milk over ice, just warm up your milk, either in the microwave, in a small saucepan, or with the steam feature on the espresso machine. I also have a hot milk frother I use that works great! You can find it HERE.

Pour that over your tiramisu coffee double shot and you’re good to go! Top the same way with a dusting of cocoa powder and a lady finger and you’ve got all the comforting flavor in a warm mug!

Mascarpone cheese is expensive. Can I use cream cheese in the iced tiramisu latte recipe?

I think that would be a great substitution. While it won’t have the exact flavor of mascarpone cheese, I think it would give a similar flavor and would work well.

Can I use alternate milk options in this tiramisu latte?

Sure! I bet coconut milk, oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk would be great. While I do think that would impart a different flavor, I think using your milk of choice would be just as decadent!

Do you have any other recommendations to give this even more of a tiramisu latte taste?

Oftentimes, classic tiramisu has rum or rum extract in it. If you’re having a lazy morning at home, or an after dinner latte, you could add a splash of real rum, or even a couple drops of rum extract.

To bump up the vanilla flavor, you could add a couple drops of vanilla extract to the mascarpone cold foam, or you could even add a tablespoon of vanilla syrup or some simple syrup to the double shot if you like it sweeter.

Click below for a printable Iced Tiramisu Latte Recipe Card:

Tiramisu Latte

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Ingredients

Latte

Toggle ingredient group

• 1T. mascarpone
• 1-2T. chocolate sauce
• 2 shots espresso
• 1c whole milk

Cold Foam

Toggle ingredient group

• 2T heavy whipping cream
• 1T maple syrup
• 1T mascarpone
• Cocoa powder for dusting
• 1 ladyfinger (optional)

Instructions

1. Put mascarpone and chocolate sauce in bottom of cup and brew espresso onto it. Mix well to combine.
2. Put over ice and swirl to combine. Add milk.
3. Combine heavy whipping cream, maple syrup, and mascarpone in cup and use milk frother to combine ingredients and whip air into them. Pour over latte.
4. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.
5. Top with ladyfinger.

The post How to Make a Creamy Tiramisu Latte (Hot or Iced) appeared first on Little Reasons.

How to Develop a Great Cold Brew Latte Concentrate

Cold brew latte concentrate is so smooth because heat is not used to brew the coffee. When heat is used to make hot coffee that is cooled to use for lattes, it’s not as delicious and smooth. Cold brewed coffee, on the other hand, has less acidity and bitter flavors.

Because of this, we will be using a method that steeps the coffee slowly over a long period of time. This is similar to a regular cold brew, but significantly stronger in order to give it the true latte flavor.

My cold brew recipe process:

I began to develop this cold brew latte recipe using my usual cold brew concentrate recipe I’ve used for years. Unfortunately, coarsely ground coffee makes good iced coffee, but not great lattes. The coarse grind just doesn’t release enough flavor. I wanted a true coffee shop flavor without the expresso machine with that classic cold brew latte taste.

The second thing I tried was to finely grind the coffee beans in my coffee grinder. This got me much closer to the taste I was aiming for. However, it still wasn’t as strong as it needs to be to make a true latte.

My normal cold brew coffee recipe just used regular coffee beans and worked well, but for these lattes, I needed to change out the main ingredient to be espresso beans so I could get the super strong flavor to make lattes in the comfort of your home without an espresso machine. I buy mine at Costco, but this is the brand I buy there.

The last change I made to my cold brew coffee recipe was to change the coffee-to-water ratio. I usually use 4oz coffee for 1/2 gallon of filtered water. To get a very strong concentrate with a smooth coffee flavor that is perfect for lattes, I chose to raise the coffee ratio by 50% and use 6oz of finely ground espresso roast for 1/2 gallon of filtered water. This was amazing!

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Ingredients for Cold Brew Latte Concentrate:

You need only 2 ingredients and a little bit of time to make the best cold brew latte concentrate. Your next at home iced latte is just waiting for you to combine these and make a super simple latte!

• 6 oz finely ground espresso beans
• 1/2 gallon filtered water

Instructions for Cold Brew Latte Concentrate:

Step One:

In a 1/2 gallon container (I use a 1/2 gallon mason jar), combine the 6oz finely ground espresso beans and 1/2 gallon of filtered water.

Don’t use plastic for this, as it can leech chemicals into your cold coffee. I find that glass is safer overall, especially for long periods of steeping.

Step Two:

Once you’ve mixed the coffee grounds and cold water, stir the cold-brew coffee mixture well and allow it to sit on the counter at room temperature for about 24 hours.  I tend to give it a stir with the handle of a wooden spoon whenever I pass it during that 24 hour period.

Alternately, if you feel uncomfortable with it on the counter, you can throw it in the fridge during that 24 hour period.

Step Three:

Once it has been sitting for about 24 hours, strain the mixture through a few layers of thick cheesecloth. I like to use a really fine one to get all the sediment out like THIS ONE to make a smooth cold brew coffee. You can also use a cheesecloth bag or a nut milk bag for the straining. I use this to make plant-based milk, so I always have it on hand.

As a side note, if you need a good almond milk recipe, I have the very best one HERE. I also have a review of the Almond Cow HERE. I have used it to make the following milks: coconut milk, cashew milk, pecan milk, oat milk. It’s an alternative to store-bought plant-based milks but it would be a good idea to read that blog post before investing in one!

Step Four:

Once you’ve made your cold brew latte concentrate, it’s super easy to use. Just combine:

• 1/2c. espresso cold brew concentrate

• 1 cup ice

• 1c whole milk (or your favorite milk of choice)

• Coffee syrup of your choice

…and create a delicious iced latte!

Feel free to adjust the amount of steeped coffee concentrate or the amount of milk to suit your particular taste buds! Some people prefer a strong coffee flavor and others prefer it sweeter and milkier.

Cold Brew Latte Concentrate Storage:

Store the strained coffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. I keep it in the half gallon mason jar in the fridge and love storing it that way.

FAQs

What sweeteners can I use in my cold brew latte?

There are SO many ways to serve this! Above, I used a cinnamon vanilla syrup to give it a delicious vanilla flavor with a touch of cinnamon. But you can use any prepared coffee syrup, liquid sweetener, simple syrup, or sugar substitute. I also love mine with maple syrup and a sprinkle of sea salt for that sweet and salty cold drink flavor.

I do have a ton of flavors I’ve been developing and sharing on my blog, so I think this would be a delicious cold brew latte using my lemon latte syrup or my banana bread latte syrup. You’ve got to try them! They are spectacular.

You could also make a cinnamon brown sugar simple syrup, since brown sugar won’t dissolve in cold-brewed coffee. You’d just need to make a simple syrup using brown sugar instead of white sugar and throw a few cinnamon sticks in! It would be a perfect way of making a shaken brown sugar cinnamon oat milk latte!

Lastly, if you like a honey cinnamon latte, you could make a honey syrup with cinnamon in it, since the honey won’t dissolve in the cold drink. You’d need to make it into a simple syrup using honey rather than sugar.

Can I make this in a French Press?

If you didn’t want to make such a big batch, I think you could make a small batch in a French press. If your French press is 32oz (4 cups of water), that’s 1/4 of a gallon.

Just use 3oz of fine grinds and follow the same directions. To strain it, you can use the plunger to press it, but I would still recommend running it through cheese cloth or a nut milk bag to get the remaining fine sediment out of the cold brew coffee concentrate.

Can I use cold brew latte concentrate to make coffee ice cubes?

Of course! Just fill an ice cube tray with the cold brewed coffee. Let it freeze and store the coffee ice cubes in an airtight container or Ziplock bag. Then just use the coffee ice cubes in regular iced coffee, or a cold brew latte for a stronger flavor that is not diluted as the ice melts!

Can I make a cold brew latte with plant-based milk?

Absolutely! You could make this with my super creamy Vitamix Almond Milk – recipe HERE, soy milk, oat milk, or any other dairy-free milk alternative. The creamier the better, though!

Do I have to use espresso roast?

No! If you don’t like such a strong coffee flavor, you can use lighter roasts. However, it won’t be as much like a latte that you’d find in a coffee shop, but if it fits your personal preferences better, it’s the perfect coffee drink for you!

Can I top it with sweetened cold foam?

That would be a great thing to add to this cold brew latte! Cold foam is a popular choice for topping lattes. I usually use a milk frother to combine 1T. of sweetener and 2T. of heavy cream to create a thick, creamy cold foam for topping my cold brew latte!

So that’s it! In the hot days of summer, I know you’ll love this cold brew latte just as much as I do! Keep a big batch in your fridge for when you just need to make your own cold brew coffee latte at home!

Printable recipe card below:

Cold Brew Latte

No espresso machine? No problem! Try this cold brew latte and you won't be able to tell the difference!

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Ingredients

• 6 oz finely ground espresso beans
• 1/2 gallon filtered water

Instructions

1. In a 1/2 gallon container (I use a mason jar), combine the 6oz finely ground espresso beans and 1/2 gallon of filtered water.
2. Stir well and allow it to sit on the counter at room temperature for about 24 hours.
3. Strain the mixture through a few layers of thick cheesecloth.
4. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
5. Combine 1/2c espresso cold brew concentrate with ice, 1c milk and syrup of your choice for a delicious iced latte!

The post How to Make an Easy Homemade Cold Brew Latte appeared first on Little Reasons.

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a fizzy fermented tea drink. It is sweetened tea that is combined with starter liquid that ferments over time.

While it ferments, a SCOBY forms on top to protect the tea from bad bacteria and contaminates. SCOBY stands for symbiotic culture/colony of bacteria and yeast.

The bacteria and yeast eat the sugar in the tea and ferment it, giving it a sharper taste, but filling it with beneficial bacteria and yeast that are SUPER good for your gut health.

UCLA Health states that 70% of your immune system is found in the gut. So taking care to make sure your gut is full of good bacteria will help you to fight off the nasty ones when they show up!

Why should you bottle your own kombucha?

Most people start bottling their own kombucha because it is so expensive to buy at the store. Not only is it pricy (around $4/bottle), but drinking it on a daily basis creates excess packaging that isn’t necessary.

Bottling kombucha at home allows you to have your whole family drink it affordably, while also being earth friendly!

How do you make kombucha without a SCOBY?

It’s easy to make kombucha without a SCOBY. Technically, the starter tea is the main thing you need when starting to brew kombucha at home. The starter tea is full of the beneficial bacteria and yeast that will multiply as they eat the sugar in your sweet tea.

However, most people think a SCOBY is needed to get started. Nope! Making your first batch of kombucha at home with starter tea will create a SCOBY that you can use on subsequent batches.

The addition of the SCOBY in future batches will help your kombucha ferment quicker, as well as protect it while it does!

How to make a SCOBY:

1. Purchase raw, unflavored kombucha

The first thing you’ll need to make your own SCOBY is 2 bottles of starter tea. You can get this from a friend if you’d like, but most people who have friends who brew kombucha could just get starter tea, and a SCOBY from them!

The other way to make a SCOBY is to purchase starter tea. Whenever I have done this, I’ve always used GT’s Original Raw Kombucha. (This is not a sponsored post. It’s just what I’ve used in the past and it has worked well).

You just need to make sure it’s raw and unflavored. That is important! You don’t want the flavoring they used in making that bottle of kombucha to contaminate your new batch. So unflavored or original is a must.

What is raw kombucha?

Like any other product – raw milk, raw honey, etc… – raw means that it has not been heated to kill bacteria.

Honestly, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to pasteurize kombucha, because the biggest reason to drink it is to ingest the beneficial bacteria! However, I’m assuming that there are kombucha companies that heat it to kill the bad bacteria that may be present. That would also kill the good ones and make terrible starter tea for you!

So make sure your kombucha says it’s raw.

2. Clean your kombucha jar and hands with soap, water, and a vinegar rinse

Remember when I said that the SCOBY protects the kombucha from contamination, and from bad bacteria getting in? Since yours won’t have that protective layer, you need to be extra cautious that you’re not introducing any harmful bacteria to the mix.

So wash your kombucha jar, pot for tea, and hands with soap and water, and then rinse it all with vinegar. Then you’re clean and ready to go!

Best kombucha jar to use

There are so many kombucha jars you could choose from! I have a friend who brews hers in a 1 gallon mason jar. That worked great for her!

But I find that if I’m going to do that much work, I’d like to get double the amount for the same time invested. So I used this 2 gallon jar for the first few years I brewed.

Then I switched to this jar for ease of use. It’s so much simpler to bottle the kombucha when there’s a spigot. However, it’s important that there’s no plastic on the inside of the spigot to interact with the kombucha. I bought this pack of stainless steel spigots from Amazon and just swapped them out to make sure I had a safe, all metal spout.

No matter which jar you choose, try to make the SCOBY in the jar you’ll be using later to brew your kombucha. The SCOBY will form to the width of the jar, so you’ll want to use the jar you will use later in order to have the SCOBY be the correct size.

3. Brew your sweet tea

I use a 2 gallon jar, so I begin my process with one gallon of sweet tea, plus a jar of raw, original kombucha. Bring 2 quarts of filtered water to a boil. Then add 1c. sugar and 6 tea bags (I use cheap black tea). Let it steep for 30 minutes.

After it has steeped, remove the tea bags. At this point, you can add 2 more quarts of filtered water to the pot to help it cool faster, or to the jar. In these pictures, I put mine in the jar.

4. IMPORTANT Let your tea cool to room temperature!

This step is SO important. Do not skip it! You must let your tea cool to room temperature. Think back to when we were talking about raw kombucha. The reason you don’t want it heated is because it kills the beneficial bacteria and yeast. So if you pour hot tea in with the starter tea, you’ll kill the bacteria and yeast in that starter and have to begin all over again.

5. Pour cooled sweet tea, and bottle of starter Buch in your kombucha jar and cover to make your SCOBY

Now, just combine the two together! You’ll add a cover to the top of the jar. I always use a piece of fabric that has a tighter weave, or for ease I recently have used a cotton tea towel. Just make sure it’s not terry cloth. You don’t want little pills or fuzzes to get into the tea. Then I tie it on with bakers twine and let it sit!

6. Allow the kombucha to sit for 1-2 weeks

Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, this part can take 1-2 weeks. When I did this, my kitchen was around 70 degrees because it was springtime. But, the warmer it is, the faster the bacteria and yeast reproduce.

Now that it’s summer, we don’t have air conditioning and this would probably have only taken about a week to get a good SCOBY started. So just keep an eye on it and move to the next step after it looks like the week 2 SCOBY.

SCOBY Week 1 (Day 7)

SCOBY Week 2 (Day 14)

At first, you’ll notice bubbles and a little film over the surface of the tea. That’s your SCOBY beginning to form! The bubbles are totally normal. When the yeast and bacteria eat the tea, they release gasses. That’s what you see in these SCOBYs.

Over time, that layer begins to get thicker. I also included a week 2 side view so you can see the SCOBY beginning to form from the side.

7. Add another gallon of sweet tea

At this point, I make another gallon of sweet tea the same way I did it before to add additional sugar for the yeasties and bacteria to munch on. I let it cool to room temperature and pour it in. I try to gently pour it down the inside of the jar so it doesn’t move the SCOBY off the top. However, if it does, just wash your hands and rinse them with vinegar. Then you can stick your hand in and grab the SCOBY and lay it back on the top of the tea.

8. Let it sit for 1-2 more weeks

Again, you’ll give the bacteria and yeast time to do their thing. Depending not the temperature of your kitchen, you’ll let it sit for another 1 to 2 weeks. Once it looks like my week 4 SCOBY, you’re done!

SCOBY Week 3 (Day 21)

SCOBY Week 4 (Day 28)

These last 2 photos are a fully mature SCOBY that is ready to use! I wanted to make sure to show you the side view on this one as well. When I added my tea at the end of week 2, my SCOBY sunk to the bottom of the jar. I did what I recommended and pulled it back to the top but it never sat perfectly on the top. So now there’s a little flap that hangs down.

That is TOTALLY fine! It doesn’t look perfect, but it will work just the same!

How to make kombucha without a SCOBY

Now that you’ve made your SCOBY, it’s time to finally brew your kombucha! I never use the tea that I made the SCOBY with. It just doesn’t taste like normal kombucha. So I get rid of it and start from scratch.

Every batch of kombucha needs starter tea (you’ll use a second jar of raw kombucha) and a SCOBY.

Remove all the spent tea from the kombucha jar, but keep the SCOBY in the jar. Now brew 2 gallons of sweet tea.

I do this by boiling 1 gallon of filtered water, adding 12 tea bags and 2 cups of sugar and allowing it to steep for 30 min. Then I remove the tea bags and let the tea cool to room temperature. It’s just like you did before, but doubled.

Pour the cooled gallon of sweet tea into the kombucha jar, along with another gallon of filtered water. Then pour one more bottle of GT’s original raw kombucha into the jar. You can wash and rinse your hands with vinegar and then gently lift the SCOBY to the top of the jar. Then just let it sit in a spot without direct sunlight for about 10-14 days and you’ve got kombucha!

And that’s how you make kombucha without a SCOBY! You start with sweet tea and starter kombucha and make your own SCOBY. Then just use another jar of starter kombucha, with your homemade SCOBY and start brewing! If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them so ask in the comments!

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Why is the kombucha bottle important?

Kombucha is an amazing fermented drink made from sweet tea ferments that is full of good gut bacteria. Some people call it a panacea because it leads to better overall health, but you can’t put your finger on the one thing that it does. It’s not like a vitamin that does a specific job. But those of us that drink kombucha tea regularly swear that it affects the overall health of our bodies. (although I am not a doctor, so I cannot speak authoritatively on this. I am just going by what I have personally experienced.). A good thing to remember is that clean bottles and high-quality ingredients are some of the most important factors in creating a safe, fizzy drink.

One of the best things about kombucha is that it’s fizzy! It is a great soda substitute, but it has all the health benefits of a fermented beverage. But the material of the bottle and how it seals is actually what allows it to get fizzy. Thick glass bottles hold carbonation better than plastic containers, which may have plastic liners not designed for fermentation.

How does kombucha fermentation work?

Think of that science experiment when you were a kid where you put baking soda and vinegar in a jar and topped it with a balloon. The chemical reaction releases gasses that blow up the balloon!

Kombucha is sort of similar. During the brewing process, after the first fermentation in the large jar (also referred to as the primary fermentation, initial fermentation, or 1st fermentation), you flavor it and bottle it in special fermentation-grade bottles for the 2nd fermentation. In this secondary fermentation, you add a new source of sugar in the form of juice or fruit. This additional sugar helps the carbonation build to the right level. The yeast and bacteria in the kombucha eat the sugar and they release gasses, creating built-up carbon dioxide. The goal is to trap those gasses by using fermentation-grade bottles with a good seal. That’s what creates that great carbonation in your carbonated beverage!

For best results, keep your bottles in a dark place such as a closed cabinet at room temperature while the carbonation builds. This will help maintain a good balance between fizz and flavor profile.

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What Makes a Good Kombucha Bottle?

A good kombucha bottle has a tight-fitting seal that traps carbonation. The type of bottles you choose will affect how fizzy your drink is. Glass keeps carbonation better is less porous. Because of that, I will just be dealing with glass options and not plastic.

Food-grade plastic containers or bottles with plastic liners should not be used since they can leach chemicals under fermentation pressure. Thick glass bottles are the safest and give the best results.

Are Mason Jars the right bottle for kombucha?

The first way you can store kombucha is in Quart wide mouth mason jars. I’ve absolutely done this before when I’ve been short on proper bottles. Does it work? Yes. Does it work well? No. A screw top lid is sturdy, but it is not meant for carbonation.

The problem with mason jars is that the two part screw-on lid system is not fully airtight. Because of that, the gasses the kombucha produces escape, which is a common mistake for new kombucha brewers. When you go to open it, there’s not really any fizz left. Any fizz that it does build leaves through a huge opening at the top when you remove the lid. Obviously, a narrow opening at the top of the bottle would do a better job at keeping the carbonation in.

However, it still tastes great. I just made a batch and used multiple types of bottles on the same batch just to compare them. While this had a very low carbonation level, it still had the same great flavor.

I also wonder if using the one piece top instead of the two piece top would help with that? What do you think?

So if you’re just beginning and have mason jars on hand, just get started. Don’t wait until you have the money to buy high-quality kombucha bottles. You might discover through a lot of trial and error that you prefer smaller bottles or 16 oz swing-top bottles later. You don’t need to wait to have the perfect bottles for the fermentation process.

Reused Kombucha Bottles With Screw On Lids

I’ve also used old kombucha brands bottles with screw-on lids to bottle kombucha. You’d think that since kombucha had been in it before, they would work perfectly for your next batch.

I think what happens is that once the inner portion of the cap is stressed by the pressure of carbonation the first time, it does not have as tight of a seal on subsequent batches. Consider a balloon after it’s blown up. It never really gets back to the original shape.

On the batch I just did to compare, the reused kombucha bottles were better than mason jars, but still not really fizzy. The taste of the kombucha was great and it worked fine. If I had them laying around and didn’t want to invest in new bottles, or wanted to reduce plastic waste, they are a great option for starting out.

Reused Swing Top Bottles For Kombucha

Swing-top bottles are the popular choice for kombucha fermentation. The swing-top closure or flip-top lids shut the bottle tightly and do not allow the gas to escape. Because all that gas stays inside, the product has great carbonation. It’s so refreshing! But you don’t have to just use a new bottle. Swing tops work well even when they are reused, as long as they are thick glass bottles and a fermented beverage was in it originally.

Grolsch beer bottles

A lot of home brewers reuse swing-top beer bottles like Grolsch bottles for their kombucha. I think the ones people use the most are Grolsch beer bottles. That totally works! When we first started brewing kombucha, we did the same thing. These stout bottles are durable and the top caps hold well under the pressure of carbonation.

I think my biggest concern was that I didn’t want people to see my kids drinking it and think it was beer. We usually strain our kombucha into a glass anyway, so that didn’t really stay a super valid concern for me.

Other beverage reused bottles

I shop a lot at Aldi and they sell a sparkling lemonade in food-grade glass flip-top bottles. If I need to buy sparkling juice for something, I try to buy it there so that I can make use of the bottle when I’m done. It costs the same as other sparkling juices, but gives me the benefit of another kombucha bottle!

The size of the bottle does matter though. These 32 oz bottles are large and they don’t store well in the refrigerator. They are too tall and take up too much space, but they can help you get started so they will get the job done!

In both cases, those swing-tops latch down really securely. They are perfect for kombucha fermentation, and it’s double duty. You can use what’s in it first and you’re not spending money for just a bottle.

Some people don’t love this because they want all their bottles to be cute and match. I don’t care about that stuff, so I’m all in with reusing swing top bottles!

DO NOT USE DECORATIVE BOTTLES!!!!

Just like you should not use plastic bottles, decorative thin glass bottles should not be used either. I’m sure there are various materials that should not be used for high-quality kombucha bottles, but these two are a the top of my list.

You can find cute, decorative swing top bottles at places like TJ Max and Home Goods. DO NOT use those for kombucha! They are often made from thin glass or poor quality materials and are not fermentation-grade bottles. They are not designed for drinks under pressure. The pressure of the carbonation can cause them to explode. Ask me how I know this! I told you I’ve used all the bottles and I’ve used these! And then I’ve cleaned up kombucha and glass shards from the ceiling all the way down to the floor and from one side of the kitchen to the other.

I’m so thankful no one was home when it happened, because the idea of glass exploding under pressure is terrifying. Just don’t use them. If the flip-top bottles weren’t originally used for carbonated beverages, don’t risk it.

New Swing Top Bottles For Kombucha

This is my favorite: brand new Swing-top bottles in cobalt or clear or brown food grade glass. They are perfect kombucha bottles that give you great carbonation every time. They make a super fizzy, amazing kombucha!

You can choose clear glass bottles if you want to see the different flavors you made, or brown or cobalt bottles to protect from direct sunlight, which can affect product quality and shorten the shelf life of your fermented drink. However, if you store the clear glass bottles in a closed refrigerator, they don’t get much direct sunlight.

This is what it could actually look like with brand new, swing top bottles. It’s so good! This is why I feel like I don’t need pop when I have kombucha on hand!

They are hands down, the best bottles to use when brewing kombucha.

Best bottles for kombucha

As a recap, here they are in order

1. New high-quality kombucha bottles – 16 oz swing-top bottles or 32 oz swing-top bottles in clear glass, brown, or cobalt.
2. Reused swing top bottles – Grolsch beer bottles or swing-top bottles that originally contained a carbonated beverage to ensure that they are fermentation-grade bottles.
3. Reused commercial kombucha bottles with screw-on lids.
4. Mason jars (wide mouth) with screw on lids.

So that’s my comprehensive assessment of what I find to be the best bottles for kombucha. I’m a homesteader at heart so I really believe that you should use what you have and just get started. You might actually hate kombucha, or hate the process of making it over and over and over.

See if you like it. See if the process of making it works into your schedule. THEN invest in high-quality kombucha bottles that make it more fizzy and more impressive looking. Until you know that this is the thing for you, it doesn’t really make sense to invest a bunch of money into it!

I’m planning on writing more posts about the process of kombucha from beginning to end. I hope you’ll join me for those! Until then, tell me what you’re using to bottle your next batch of kombucha!

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What is an Almond Cow?

An Almond Cow is a machine that is used to make plant based milks. It consists of a top that contains the motor and the spinning blades and the bottom water reservoir.

Also included is a metal filter container that you fill with the ingredients that will infuse the water to make the plant based milks. Lastly, a collector cup is where you put the filter container as it finishes straining.

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How much does an Almond Cow cost?

On their website, the Almond Cow is around $245.00. If you put your email address in, you can get $15 off. I think most of the time, they also have free shipping for orders over $60.

When I purchased mine, I bought the starter set that included a jar for the milk, a cleaning brush, and a few of their products to make the milks. Because of its steep price, I think it’s important to read this Almond Cow review.

Why would you make almond milk?

This is a great question. Making almond milk is NOT cheaper than buying it. And it takes so much more time than just adding it to your grocery list. So why spend the time to make it?

Environmentally conscious

First, if you care about the environment, then you’re probably looking for ways to reduce your waste. By making almond milk at home, there’s no waste from the containers that you’d normally buy at the store. That’s a plus.

Health

Also, there are lots of things that seem healthy, but when you take a closer look, they are pretty suspicious. Almond milk is one of those things. If you make it at home, it has filtered water, dates, raw almonds, vanilla and salt.

On the other hand, if you take a look at the ingredient list of almond milk in the store, it is disturbing the amount of things that need to be added in order to make it shelf stable, or to make it last a long time in the refrigerator.

Almond milk made at home lasts about 5 days, which is WAY shorter life span than the store bought counterpart. In order for them to lengthen that 5 days to make it worthwhile to sell, lots of ingredients need to be added – things that I don’t really want to drink on a regular basis.

As an additional health aspect, you can choose to make the almond milk with organic almonds if you’re making it at home.

Pulp

Even though it’s about the same price as buying almond milk in the store, you are left with the almond pulp if you make it at home. You can use this in almond pulp pancakes, for different kinds of pulp cookies, and added to granola.

You can also dry it and use it like almond flour (it is a little dryer and less fatty so it’s not completely cup for cup). So when you make it at home, you end up with more for your money.

Does the Almond Cow really work?

Yes. It totally does. The Almond Cow is super fast. You put in the ingredients and just a couple minutes later, you’re pouring almond milk with absolutely no straining! It’s crazy!

If I had never made almond milk with a Vitamix, that probably would be the end of the story. Almond milk success!

What other ways can you make almond milk?

I’m sure that there are lots of ways to make almond milk. The only way I have done it besides with the Almond Cow is with my Vitamix. I assume you can use any very high speed blenders to make it this way. When you make it in the Vitamix, you’ll just need a nut milk bag for straining it.

My brutally honest opinion:

Ok, here’s my brutally honest Almond Cow review. There’s good and there’s bad. So here you go…

The Bad:

I do NOT love the Almond Cow for almond milk! Before I had an Almond Cow, I used to make almond milk in my Vitamix. See how to do that here! The Almond Cow was so tempting because it looked so easy – and it was! But there were some issues with the almond milk that resulted.

To me, the Vitamix almond milk is creamy and smooth. In contrast, the almond milk from the Almond Cow is thinner tasting and is also grainy and has a weird texture in your mouth.

Here’s what the two look like compared to each other. After a day in the refrigerator, the Almond Cow milk on the left is separated. The Vitamix almond milk is still mostly one homogenous solution.

I think the reason for this is that the Almond Cow almond milk has a lot of sediment in it because it did not go through a tightly woven nut milk bag. It only strains through the metal cup strainer. So that sediment all settles at the bottom.

The sediment doesn’t seem to mean a lot until you see the residue on these glasses. Each bit of that sediment makes the almond milk taste really grainy.

Honestly, if I was just using this in smoothies, I wouldn’t care. But I drink it, use it on cereal, and use it in my coffee. So creaminess is a must.

The Vitamix almond milk is SO creamy and doesn’t have any grit to it. If you want to learn how to make Vitamix Almond Milk, check out my blog post and see all the details!

What I’ve tried to counteract the thinner taste

I’ve tried to run the machine twice to get them pulverized more, like Almond Cow recommends. It helped but it didn’t seem to make a huge difference. Here’s a picture of the nut pulp after one cycle and then after the second cycle.

Other suggestions Almond Cow gives for creamy almond milk are:

Use hot water – that would mean that I have to get my filtered water out of the tap and then heat it up. That adds an extra step and the Almond Cow is supposed to reduce steps.

Use less water and add ice to get the water level up to the line – I feel like that is wasting almonds to use less water because you end up with less almond milk.

Combine almonds with something creamy like cashews – my son has a nut allergy and can only eat almonds 🙁

Add a second batch of fresh ingredients and let the machine run again – Use twice as many almonds? No way.

The Good:

I have tried so hard to make other milks in my Vitamix with very little success. I’ve made cashew milk and oat milk in my Vitamix and somehow, they are both a total disaster. The sediment is so pulverized that I can’t even get them to strain through my nut milk bag.

The Almond Cow is a different story! I’ve used it for both cashew milk and oat milk and they turned out great. Coconut milk and banana bread milk were also SO good!

Almond Cow has lots of recipes on their Instagram for probiotic shots and small batch lemonades and infusions that sound fun. I’ll have to try those!

The Verdict:

I do NOT love the Almond Cow for what it is originally be designed for. However, it seems to make excellent alternatives to milk with things other than almonds. I will be keeping mine for sure and using it for all those other types of non dairy milks!

So that’s my Almond Cow Review! Are you thinking of getting an Almond Cow? Did this help you in your decision making process?

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I have tried to make Vitamix almond milk in the past and I was unhappy with how it turned out. Little did I know that the nut bag I was using made a HUGE difference in the final product! Because I wasn’t happy with my Vitamix, I bought an AlmondCow. I wrote a review here explaining what I think of that product.

But luckily, not all homemade versions of almond milk are bad!

I ended up ordering a new nut milk bag and took another try at the Vitamix method. Irealized it was the absolute best blender for nut milk. This time, I added vanilla and dates and created a vanilla almond milk that was better than any I’d had from the store. I was shocked. It was amazing! This homemade almond milk tastes smooth & creamy. Full of body. Not watery. I was hooked.

I had finally found a homemade almond milk recipe that I loved. Today I’ll be sharing exactly how I make this delicious fresh almond milk. You’ll never go back to store-bought almond milk again!

Why should you make your own raw almond milk?

For years, we drank the unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Costco. It was yummy! One day I was shopping and ran into a coworker while I was pulling the Kirkland vanilla almond milk off the shelf. He proceeded to tell me that their family would never drink store-bought almond milk because of all the junk in it. Um…..what? I had gotten out of the habit of reading ingredients so I flipped the box over and looked:

Ingredients in Costco unsweetened vanilla almond milk:

ORGANIC ALMOND BASE (FILTERED WATER, ORGANIC ALMONDS), ORGANIC VANILLA FLAVOR, SEA SALT, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, ORGANIC LOCUST BEAN GUM, GELLAN GUM, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, ERGOCALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D2), DL-ALPHA-TOCOPHERYL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), ZINC GLUCONATE, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12). Information taken from here.

I knew they needed to add ingredients for it to be a shelf stable almond milk and be able to be preserved for so long on the grocery store shelves. But it was kind of humbling to look at the back and realize that I was drinking a “healthy” drink that was full of things I didn’t really want to ingest. I decided that the store-bought nut milk that was shelf stable was convenient, but it wasn’t for me. So the Costco vanilla almond milk went back on the shelf and that’s why we now make our own with this super basic recipe.

Here’s your step-by-step tutorial on how to make our Vitamix almond milk recipe!

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How to make Vitamix almond milk

This diy almond milk is so good and so easy! Just follow these simple instructions:

1. In a large bowl, soak 1 cup of raw almonds in filtered cold water for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
2. Drain and rinse whole almonds in cold water.
3. Add raw almonds to Vitamix with 4 cups of cold water (I use filtered water), 3 pitted medjool dates, 1 tsp vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt. (you could also scrape a fresh vanilla bean and use that in place of the vanilla extract). A pinch of salt doesn’t seem like a lot, but it really does bring out the flavor!
4. Start Vitamix on the lowest speed. Then raise it to the highest speed and flip the switch to high for about a minute, or until you see the almonds in tiny particles. If you keep this high-powered blender on the highest speed for too long, it will heat the raw almond milk. However, it has to run long enough in order to give you a creamy milk.
5. Attach the nut milk bag to a pitcher or container with rubber bands to make sure it is secure.
6. Pour almond milk into nut milk bag and let sit for a little time – maybe 10 min to a half hour to allow it to drain.
7. Squeeze the remaining milk out of the raw almonds. (It should make about 3-3 1/2 cups of Vitamix almond milk.)
8. Save leftover almond pulp in the refrigerator or freezer for other uses.
9. Pour almond milk into an airtight glass container and store it in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Get ready to taste one of the best homemade nut milks you’ve ever had! Here we go!

You do have to think ahead a little bit when making raw almond milk. Raw almonds are super hard, so you’ll need to soak them for at least 6 hours or overnight in filtered cool water. I always buy raw almonds at Costco. It’s around $12 for 3 pounds. They aren’t organic but they work great.

Soaking:

Once they are done soaking, rinse off the soaking water a few times with a couple cups of fresh water. They will look like this when they are all soaked and plumped up.

Blending:

In your Vitamix 32 ounce container, place 3 PITTED dates. Don’t forget this part! You don’t want pits in your almond milk! Put a pinch of Himalayan sea salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the scraped interior of a fresh vanilla bean, and 4 cups of water (I use filtered cool water), and the cup raw almonds that you’ve soaked and rinsed well. Allow the Vitamix high-speed blender to run on high on the kitchen counter for 1-2 minutes, until you see very tiny almond particles.

Straining:

While the Vitamix is running, attach the nut milk bag to a container, securing it with at least one rubber band to keep it tightly in place. Pour the raw almond milk into the nut milk bag and let it sit for a little time – about 10-30 minutes, until most of the milk has gone through the bag. Detach bag from container and squeeze remaining milk out of almond pulp.

Leftover pulp:

Put the almond pulp into the refrigerator or freezer for future use. I use this in homemade granola, almond pulp pancakes, and almond pulp cookies. Sometimes I even save it up in the freezer until I have a bunch and dry it out in the oven. I give it another quick spin in the Vitamix container, and make my own almond meal. It’s a great way to use the whole almond and not waste anything.

Storing:

And that’s homemade Vitamix almond milk! I think if you try it that you’ll agree with me that the Vitamix blender is the best way to make diy almond milk! It really is the dreamiest raw almond milk – so rich and creamy! It can keep in the fridge for about 5 days. It’s good to keep it toward the rear of the fridge in order to keep it from experiencing temperature fluctuations as you open and shut the fridge throughout the day. That makes it stay fresh longer.

Vitamix Almond Milk

Vitamix almond milk is the smoothest and creamiest almond milk I've ever made! I'm never going to make almond milk any other way!

5.0 Stars (2 Reviews)

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Ingredients

• 1 cup soaked almonds
• 3 pitted Medjool dates
• 4 cups filtered water
• Pinch Himalayan sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Soak almonds in filtered water or for at least 6 hours to soften them.


2. Once the almonds are done soaking, rinse them off a few times with clean water. They will look all plumped up and soft.


3. In your Vitamix, place 3 PITTED dates. Don't forget this part! You don't want pits in your almond milk! Put a pinch of Himalayan sea salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 4 cups of filtered water in the Vitamix with the soaked almonds.


4. Allow the Vitamix to run for 1-2 minutes, until you see very tiny almond particles.
While the Vitamix is running, attach the nut milk bag to a container, securing it with at least one rubber band to keep it tightly in place.


5. Pour the almond milk into the nut milk bag and let it sit for 10-30 minutes, until most of the milk has gone through the bag.


6. Detach the bag from the container and squeeze the remaining almond milk out of the pulp *


7. Shake before using. Vitamix almond milk can keep in the fridge for about 5 days. It's good to keep it toward the rear in order to keep it from experiencing temperature fluctuations as you open and shut the fridge throughout the day. That makes it stay fresh longer.

*Put the almond pulp into the refrigerator or freezer for future use. I use this in granola, almond pulp pancakes, and almond pulp cookies. Sometimes I even save it up in the freezer until I have a bunch and dry it out in the oven. I give it another quick spin in the Vitamix, and make my own almond flour. It's a great way to use the whole almond and not waste anything.

FAQs

Do I have to use a nut-milk bag to strain it?

The short answer is no! The long answer is that while it’s super easy to do with a nut-milk bag, there are other ways to do it. You could line a fine strainer with either a thin tea towel or a few layers of cheesecloth. Set the fine mesh sieve over a container with a spout (like this batter bowl). You could use a large mixing bowl, but it will be harder to pour into the storage container.

Slowly pour almond milk into the fine strainer lined with cheesecloth or a thin tea towel. You may have to do it in batches. Once all the homemade nut milk has gone through the fine-mesh sieve, gather the edges of the thin tea towel or layers of cheesecloth and squeeze until all the liquid is out of the nut pulp.

Now, just refrigerate the leftover nut pulp and wash the thin tea towel or layers of cheesecloth. Pour the plant-based milk into a mason jar and store tightly sealed in the fridge.

Do I have to add the vanilla extract and dates?

Absolutely not! It is not a big deal to leave the vanilla extract or fresh vanilla bean seeds out. Alternately, you can have additional add-ins like cocoa powder or freeze dried strawberries to give it a great flavor!

In place of dates, you can also substitute maple syrup or agave nectar to give it a little sweetness in a different way. In fact, some people love to use plant milk as a dairy substitute instead of cream in savory dishes when they are cooking and leave the sweetness out all together.

What temperature should my water be?

Honestly, it doesn’t matter that much. You can use cold water or room temperature water. When I was using the Almond Cow, they said to use hot water to make it creamier. So I think it’s just a matter of preference. Either way, you’ll end up with the best almond milk you’ve ever had!

Can I use a food processor or a regular blender to make this?

I am not sure how this would turn out in a basic blender, without the help of a high-speed blender. I haven’t tried it that way. However, I suspect a basic blender won’t grind the raw almonds as finely and that is what I believe makes the Vitamix almond milk the creamiest almond milk. If you read my post about the Almond Cow, you’ll see that I felt like theirs was a bit gritty and that may be because it isn’t such a powerful blender like the Vitamix.

However, if you don’t have a Vitamix blender or another high-powered blender, I’d encourage you to try it and let me know how it goes! If you want to try to make it creamier, instead of using cool water, you could try Almond Cow’s trick of using hot water to make the almond milk and see if that helps.

Can I use almond butter instead of soaking almonds?

While I have seen that you can make almond milk with almond butter, I’ve never done that. Because of that, I wouldn’t even know the ratios of almond butter to use in place of soaked almonds and salt. If you try it using nut butter, I’d love to know!

How do I use Vitamix almond milk?

You can use this creamy milk in anything that you would normally use dairy milk for. If you’re using it in a savory way, you’ll want to leave out the vanilla extract and dates, as mentioned above. We use ours so many ways, but some of our favorite ways to use it are:

*make a smoothie with ice cubes, almond milk, fresh or frozen fruit, a handful of spinach, and a scoop of vanilla protein powder

*make overnight oats with 1/3c. of oats, 2t. chia, a bit of honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup and enough homemade Vitamix almond milk to cover. Mix and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

*my daughter loves to use this in iced coffee, or frothed in a hot latte.

*it tastes great with cold cereal too!

*use the vanilla extract and date free version to make hot soups creamy

*bake with it when it calls for cow’s milk

*use it in any way you would normally use store-bought nut milk

*mix with chia seeds and maple syrup, agave nectar or honey to make a chia pudding

Variations on Vitamix almond milk

Making your own nut milk means you can make so many variations!

*Add cacao powder and a little bit of agave nectar to make chocolate almond milk

*Boost the flavor by adding powdered freeze dried strawberries for strawberry almond milk.

*Put a ripe banana and cinnamon in the Vitamix container for banana almond milk.

The options are endless! Use this easy almond milk recipe as the base and make your own variations!

Can I make other non-dairy milk in my Vitamix container?

Honestly, I’ve rarely tried other plant-based milk in the Vitamix. My son has nut allergies, so we try to stick to just almonds. However, I did try oat milk in the Vitamix and it did not work well at all. I’m sure there’s a trick to it, but I think that because the Vitamix high-speed blender heats up as it blends, it kind of turned the oat milk into a thick, gloopy mess.

I do think it would probably work to make cashew milk or coconut milk or other alternative milks in the Vitamix. The great thing about a high speed blender is that it really pulverizes the coconut or nut so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the same way as Vitamix Almond Milk!

So that’s it! I hope you’ll try this delicious almond milk. And I hope that after you do, you’ll always want to make your own almond milk and never want to purchase the preservative laden grocery store variety again!

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It’s spring and I’m addicted to iced coffee.  I love the strong iced coffee from Starbucks, but it’s SOOOO expensive!  Fortunately, Starbucks sells all the things they use to make their iced coffee and I can replicate it at home for so much cheaper!

A few years ago I found a recipe at The Pioneer Woman’s site that explained how to make a cold brew iced coffee, and it has changed my life.  Interestingly, I learned that Starbucks brews theirs hot and super strong and then pours it over ice to cool it.  When I was reading up on cold brewed, I learned that it is significantly less bitter when it’s not exposed to heat.  It’s truly amazing.  The only bad thing about the recipe I found was that it made 2 gallons, which I thought was excessive even for my huge love of coffee.  Here’s the scaled back version that I use.

 Start with a really good, strong ground coffee.  I like this expresso roast from Starbucks.

 Mix 1/2 pound ground coffee with 1 gallon cold, filtered water.  I measured this out today and 1/2 lb. with the grind I was using turned out to be 2 3/4c.  If it’s a super fine grind, it could be more like 2 2/3c.  Stir until all the grounds are in contact with the water.  Cover and leave on your counter overnight or longer.  Starbucks just introduced a new cold brew coffee and the barista told me that they brew theirs for 20 hours!  So overnight for sure, but up to 20 hours.  I brewed mine in this big 2 gallon container and it worked really well since it will overflow a 1 gallon container.

After it has steeped, pour it through a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth inside it.  I think I was using a nut bag (for almond milk) in the pictures here.  It takes a while to strain it.  That’s why it’s so much more worth it to make it once every few weeks.  It’s time consuming to strain, so I’d rather not do it weekly.  When it gets down to the bottom of the container, I usually use a spoon to move the grounds around and get all the liquid through.

You can store this in mason jars in the refrigerator.  I have kept mine as long as a few weeks and it’s still yummy.  It’s meant to be served cold, so refrigerate it before using.  I love to make mine in the morning and strain it just before bed.  That way it can chill overnight and be ready for the morning.

When you’re ready to drink it, fill your cup up with ice and then fill it halfway with the coffee concentrate.  Fill the other half with unsweetened almond milk or regular milk.  I like mine pretty strong so I fill it most of the way up with coffee and add half and half.  To sweeten it, you’ll need to use a liquid sweetener in order for it to dissolve.  I’ve used liquid stevia (or regular since it’s really finely powdered), agave, or simple syrup.  To make simple syrup, just mix 1c. water with 1c. sugar and heat it until the sugar dissolves.  Super easy.  Store in a mason jar in the refrigerator.  My favorite way to drink it is to purchase one of the syrups from Starbucks for $10 (make sure to ask for a pump!) and use that in the coffee.  It’s exactly what you buy there!  As a side note, I also use the cinnamon dolce syrup in my copycat Carmel Apple Spice drink.

It’s that easy.  Make it once and enjoy it for weeks!

This is a huge show stopper at events like bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, etc…  I made gallons of it for my niece’s wedding and put it in adorable beverage dispensers with instructions printed and placed in a picture frame next to it.  We bought a few flavors of the Starbucks syrup (and made sure to get the pumps to dispense it easily), bought a couple half gallons of half and half, filled another bucket with ice and a cute silver scoop and served it in pint mason jars.  It was a hit!  So impress others with your mad coffee skills and make this for your next event!

[ultimate-recipe id=”2675″]

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Flu season is crazy right now.  All over Facebook, I see posts about people whose families are being ravaged by this multi day yuck that is circling.  Having just begun a new business 6 months ago, my husband and I cannot afford to be sick and miss out on work…and my son leaves for a mission trip in 2 1/2 weeks, so we are no holds barred on the immunity boosting.  All my crunchy mama friends have been downing elderberry syrup, so I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon.  The last week or so we’ve been mixing a couple teaspoons into a small shot of juice and I’m hoping this superfood will keep the sickies at bay.

Elderberries are helpful due to their crazy vitamin content.  They are high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, contain the antioxidant quercitin, are anti inflammatory and possess antiviral properties.  Whew!  Worth a try, huh?  I buy elderberries through Frontier Co-op.  I can buy wholesale through them because I’m in a group that orders together.  I love buying my spices, cocoa powder and teas there.  I would imagine you can find them at health food stores, though.  It goes without saying that you should make sure you buy them from a reputable source so that you know they are safe to ingest.  Don’t go picking random tiny berries in the woods and making this with them!

There’s a ton of variations on elderberry syrup online, but I’ve tasted two before this one and it’s hands down the favorite for my family.  I based it on this recipe.

Mix water, elderberries, cinnamon, ginger and cloves and bring to a boil.

Turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.  Mash with a potato masher to get the berries good and smooshed.

Drain through a metal strainer, pushing berries with spoon against sides to get all the juice out.

Let cool until room temperature and then add the raw honey.  If it’s too hot, the honey won’t be raw anymore!

Mix well and store in the refrigerator.

Use 1-2 teaspoons daily – adults can use as much as 1T.  I use about 2t. daily for both my kids and I.  If we do get sick, I will bump up the dosage, but for now I feel like it will help our bodies ward off the germs!

*As with any vitamin/supplement/herb, you should consult with your physician to make sure that it doesn’t interact with any medications you’re taking, or worsen any conditions you currently have.

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