Chia Butter Coffee
/When the calendar reaches the Autumn equinox our tastebuds turn to the quintessential tastes of fall. Cinnamon, pumpkin, cocoa. But the reigning queen of fall flavors is Pumpkin Spice. She’s the Spice Girl no one knew existed until that green siren dropped the first #PSL on the scene. You either love it or hate it and advocate passionately for your preference. There seems to be no middle ground with Pumpkin Spice.
Enter Chai. Warming and cinnamon-centric, Chai is more humble than Pumpkin while at the same time sharper. Chai Spice is commonly tied to tea while Pumpkin Spice is deemed suitable for coffee. There are cross-overs but they are rare; a dirty chai tea latte adds a shot of espresso to the hot tea. In regards to tea and coffee, I am a purist and think the two shall never meet. Is that just me? I don’t think so.
I don’t recall exactly when or why I started adding Chai Spice to my butter coffee, but it is now a fall staple.
Pumpkin Spice or Pumpkin Pie Spice includes cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. Chai Spice adds cardamom, allspice, black pepper, and sometimes star anise. The cardamom and black pepper give Chai its signature bite.
Chai Coffee can be made a couple of different ways.
You can add a chai spice blend to the basket in your drip coffee maker. This allows the spices to steep with the coffee and keeps them out of the finished product. Most of us don’t like dregs in our cup.
The spice blend can be added to a blended coffee or latte during the blending process. This is a less intense flavor and the spices do not dissolve. You’ll see them resting in the bottom of the cup as you drink.
My personal favorite is the French Press method. I admit to using a mortar and pestle to get the freshest spice possible. Right now I am loving Four Sigmatic coffee with mushrooms. Here is today’s recipe. I’ve included a link to a downloadable PDF for your convenience!
Chai Butter Coffee dusted with cinnamon
32 oz French Press
High-powered blender or Immersion blender & jar
12 oz filtered water, just off boil
2T Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee with Chaga & Lion’s Mane
2t fresh ground spices or Chai Spice blend of choice.
(1 Star Anise pod, 2 whole cloves, 1” cinnamon stick, 1/4 whole nutmeg, 1 cardamom pod, 1 black peppercorn pounded in a mortal & pestle or ground in a spice grinder until course)
2T Grass-fed Unsalted butter
2 Scoops Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
1t Erythritol (for Keto) or 1t Maple Syrup (for Paleo)*
Ground cinnamon (for garnish)*
Add coffee and spices to your French Press. Pour in water and stir. Allow to brew for 5 minutes and press. Pour into either a high-powered blender or jar for immersion blending. Add butter, collagen peptides and sweetener if desired. Blend until fully combined and frothy, 60-90 seconds. Pour into your coffee cup and sprinkle with cinnamon.
