Mason Jar Lattes: Coco-Mocha!

Hey everyone! Dana here. So Heather and I were talking about one of our shared loves: coffee. *cue floating hearts here* Since we love creating new coffee-based drinks, we've decided to make it a monthly feature! Yay! So expect to see a lot more coffee recipes. :D

I love winter. Not as much as I love fall, but winter does have its own special appeal. For one thing, snow! And you still get to wear boots and chunky sweaters and all that snuggly stuff. Look at these pretty Instagram pictures I got to take the other week!

Don't get too weirded out by the bloody one. It's just pomegranate juice. The photo challenge prompt was "stabby stabby kill kill kill." I think I nailed it. ;) Anyway, much as I love the snow, when it melts, everything gets a bit soggy and grey, so I wanted a warm, happy coffee to contrast the icky atmosphere outside. It helps that I had just done a recipe which required only 2/3 of a can of coconut milk. What to do with the leftovers? I know!

Coco-Mocha

• 1/2 cup coconut milk (light or full fat, your choice)
• 1/2 cup coffee
• 1 packet hot cocoa mix

Shcaff everything into your favorite coffee mug and zap in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, depending on your microwave's power and how hot your coffee starts out (see notes below). Alternatively, you can combine everything in a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until it all comes together, about 10 or 15 minutes.

Honestly, this recipe could not be easier. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, which I'll cover in a minute. I am fairly lazy time-thrifty, so I prefer to make a pot of coffee at the beginning of the week and save what I don't drink that first day in a large mason jar for later use. Thus why I have a jar of coffee in my picture.

I also prefer to pour in my hot cocoa mix either before I add any liquid or between liquid additions. I think it just integrates better that way since cocoa mix floats. Have you guys noticed the theme with my background book? It's island-y! I own very few books that take place in tropical locales, but this one is part of one of my favorite series: Septimus Heap.

Right, back to the recipe! So coconut milk has a few quirks that makes it different from working with cow's milk. Firstly, the amount of oil in it. I prefer to use light coconut milk, but even that has a good bit of oil. Or is it fat? What's the difference? Is there one? Anyway, in case you haven't heard, coconuts have a lot of oil in them, and people tend to make a big dang deal about it. I am not the person to address the questions surrounding the health benefits of said oil. Google has lots of different information about that if you're curious.

Moving on, because a single 14-ish oz. can of coconut milk has enough in it for three of this recipe, you want to make sure the oil is pretty evenly distributed between uses and not, say, all in one coffee cup. I mean, you can see from the picture above how much we're dealing with. Before you open the can, you can shake it vigorously--I mean, really vigorously. Shake it like you wish you could do with that insanely irritating person at work. That, or you could just use a spoon or butter knife to break up the solidified layer of oil on top and then stir really good before pouring out your half cup.

Then again, if you're tripling this recipe for the family or brunch guests, the stovetop method might be better. The oil will melt, but it will still float to the top, so be sure to stir before serving. Let's say you're just making the one serving for yourself, though, and you're lazy time-thrifty like me. In that case, the microwave is just plain less work... save for one little thing.

 Have you ever made oatmeal or anything else with starch in the microwave and walked away, only to come back and dangit?! It boiled over, and now you have a mess to clean up. Guh. :/ I feel your pain. So you gotta keep an eye on this baby if you do it in the microwave. Like I said, there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Please be careful if you use one of those mugs that get really hot in the microwave too. You don't want to have ensured non-boil-over-age just to accidentally burn yourself and possibly make a mess anyway. Why do they even make coffee cups like that? We have the technology! Use it!

So there you have it. A chocolatey, tropical latte to pour some sunlight into your life. Oh, and one more thing. If you're using an extra-large mug (like my snakey one below) and don't increase the cocoa mix accordingly, it's still very nice, just not as rich. In the same way, if you're using a normal sized coffee mug and don't want quite as sweet a drink, only use half the cocoa pack. It's your coffee! Dress it up the way you want! Give this one a try and let us know what you think in the comments.

 

Thanks for reading!