Iced Coconut Chai Latte
Author: 
Recipe type: Beverage
Serves: 4-6 servings
 
Ingredients
  • FOR THE COCONUT MILK:
  • 1 Fresh Coconut
  • Water
  • 1 teaspoon Sunflower Lecithin
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla (optional)
  • FOR THE CHAI
  • 6 cups Water
  • 4 cinnamon sticks (divided)
  • 20 Whole Cloves
  • 12 Whole Cardamom Pods (lightly crushed)
  • Scant ¼ cup Fresh Ginger, thinly sliced
  • 6 Black Peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons Dried Rose Buds (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons Loose Black Tea(or 6 black tea bags)
  • ⅔ cup Sugar
  • Ice, to serve
Instructions
  1. FOR THE COCONUT MILK:
  2. Using a clean nail or small knife, poke a hole in the softest eye of the coconut. Hold the coconut over a bowl, eyes facing down and shake the coconut until all the water is drained from it. Strain the water and store it for another use (it’s great for drinking on its own or adding to smoothies).
  3. Use a hammer to crack open the coconut (or go out to your porch or driveway and simply drop it a few times - you’ll want to rinse the opened coconut if you use this method).
  4. Use a butter knife to pry the flesh from the hard brown shell. Discard the Shell.
  5. Cut the coconut meat into 1” pieces and place in a high speed blender. Fill the blender with water until it is 1” over the top of the coconut. Add the sunflower lecithin and vanilla to the blender.
  6. Cover the blender and process, slowly working your way up to high speed. Process for 1 minute at high speed.
  7. Place a nut milk bag or muslin cloth over a large bowl.
  8. Pour the coconut mixture into the bag or cloth. Twist the bag or cloth closed at the top and proceed to squeeze the liquid out over the bowl.
  9. Squeeze until all the liquid is extracted. Discard the pulp.
  10. Place the coconut milk in a sealed jar and refrigerate. Shake well before using.
  11. FOR THE CHAI:
  12. Place the water, 3 cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods, ginger, peppercorns, and rose buds (if using) in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer the water and spices for 25 minutes.
  13. Taste and add more sugar if a sweeter tea is desired - remember that this is a concentrate and you’ll be adding 2 parts chai to 1 part coconut milk, so you’ll want it the chai mixture to be sweeter than the finished drink).
  14. Turn off the heat and add the black tea to the saucepan. Let steep for 10 minutes (no more!) and then strain the mixture into a quart sized mason jar and discard the solids. Add the remaining cinnamon stick to the jar, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
  15. TO SERVE:
  16. For each individual serving, fill a glass with ice and then pour the chilled chai mixture over the ice until the glass is ⅔ full.
  17. Fill the glass up the rest of the way with the chilled coconut milk.
  18. Stir and drink!
  19. If you’re feeling fancy you can always dust a little ground cinnamon over the top.
Recipe by The Kitchen McCabe at https://www.thekitchenmccabe.com/2019/04/07/iced-coconut-chai-latte/