Blended Coffee

I grew up waking up to the smell of coffee and sound of the percolator (my parents still use a percolator). So it was no surprise that in college I began drinking coffee myself. My dad would spoil me and bring a cup of hot coffee to me in the morning, setting it on my nightstand to help me wake up.

In those days, I drank caffeinated coffee with milk or cream and no sugar. Now, I have to drink decaf because caffeine makes my heart do funny things for days. I no longer eat dairy products, and I started adding sweetener to my coffee when I switched to decaf.

I especially enjoyed my decaf coffee this winter when it was so cold. Sometimes I would add coconut cream to it and sometimes homemade cashew creamer. But recently I read on a couple of completely different sites about blending coffee with butter and coconut oil.

I had tried adding coconut oil to coffee some time ago, but without blending it, the oil simply floated on top and was unappealing. I liked the idea of blending it so that the oil emulsified. The problem was that I can’t eat butter.

So I tried clarified butter, but that was no good. The fat didn’t completely emulsify and the flavor was just weird. Next, I remembered how Shirley uses almond butter to make almond milk. So, I started blending coconut oil and cashew butter with my coffee. That worked great. It did have a roasted nutty flavor to it, but I liked it.

Finally, I decided to try using soaked raw cashews instead of cashew butter, and that was just perfect. I still use cashew butter as a backup, but using raw cashews is my preference. They do take a little more work though, so this recipe includes both options.

This dairy free blended coffee is light colored and creamy and frothy on top with enough substance that it can substitute as a late morning or afternoon snack.

Yield:

Blended Coffee

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Ingredients

• 1 cup hot freshly brewed coffee
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons almond or cashew butter OR 2 rounded Tablespoons soaked cashews
• sweetener to taste

Instructions

If Using Nut Butter

1. Place all ingredients in a large blender, cover, and starting on a low speed and increasing it, blend until thoroughly combined and frothy. A little over 1 minute for a regular blender or about 30 seconds in a high-speed blender. Be careful as you increase speed so that hot coffee does not fly out of the blender and burn you.

If Using Soaked Cashews

1. Soak the cashews in plenty of water for 8 – 12 hours. Thoroughly rinse and drain them. Extra soaked cashews can be refrigerated for a few days in a closed container after being rinsed and drained.
2. Place the cashews, coconut oil, and a small amount of coffee in a large blender and cover. Starting on a low speed and increasing it, blend until the nuts are smooth and there are no chunks, about one minute, depending on your blender.
3. Stop the blender and add the remaining coffee and sweetener. Blend, starting on low and increasing the speed until thoroughly combined and frothy, about 1 minute for a regular blender or 30 seconds in a high-speed blender.

Notes

The longer you blend the coffee, the more it will cool down. You can try warming your blender container before adding the coffee or reheat the coffee a little after blending. I always find that it remains hot enough for me, but I know some people like it really hot.