Sonoran Horchata

Before my time at Whole Latte Love (and my time in New York for that matter) I managed a café in Flagstaff Arizona called Single Speed Coffee Roasters. In the southwest, horchata was a staple at the shop and this recipe was my go-to for a creamy and sweet horchata with warm spice complexity. Because we’re entering the warmer months, I’ve got two versions of the recipe, a traditional ready-to-drink horchata, and a more concentrated version for mixing with cold brew.

Recipe Details

• Complexity - Medium
• Serves - 4
• Prep Time - 6+ Hours
• Cost - ($$)

Equipment

• Cheese cloth
• Measuring spoons
• Blender
• Large pitcher/container

Ingredients

• 4 cups rice
• 1/2 cup almonds (chopped)
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 12 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 12 oz of milk or evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 8 cups of room temp water (for Horchata latte) or 8 cups of Cold brew (for Horchata cold brew)
• Sugar to taste (we did about 1 tbsp)
• ground cinnamon to garnish

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prep Ingredients and Combine

Rinse the rice with cold water, draining multiple times until the water runs clear. Then, combine the rice, cinnamon sticks, almonds, and 4 cups of water in a container and cover for a minimum of 6 hours (the longer the better). It helps to break up the cinnamon sticks while they soak.

Purée the Mixture

Once soaked, remove one of the cinnamon sticks, keeping about half of the broken pieces in the mix. Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until it becomes a watery paste

Strain

Use a cheese cloth with clips (or even better, a large colander) to strain out as much liquid as possible, using a spoon or spatula to help drain the liquid. You can repeat the filtering process if you would like a smoother texture.

Combine Your Remaining Ingredients

Combine the now filtered base with the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk (or milk of your choosing), vanilla, and sugar. Stir in all of the ingredients to ensure that everything is fully incorporated.

Traditional and Cold Brew Variants

I would traditionally finish my recipe by combining the base with 8 cups of room temp water. This cuts the sweetness and body for a traditional Horchata. You can drink this version over ice, but it also blends perfectly into lattes.

Alternatively, you can mix the base with 8 cups of cold brew coffee to make Horchata Cold Brew that is ready to drink. If you’re feeling fancy like we were, you can use some of your sweetened condensed milk to rim your glass with chopped almonds and top your drink with some powdered cinnamon for aromatics.

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