The world is on fire and I need a little treat, ideally in the form of a latte. My at home staple is a salted maple latte with a base of oat milk, plus a rotating line up of coffee, matcha, or a turmeric-rich spice blend, depending on the context. Recently I thought to myself, How could I enhance these even more? So I experimented with spiking my lattes with different twists to find the ideal balance for each one. I played around with temperature, levels of sweetness and saltiness, and finding the best mezcal for each variation. In the end, I’ve come up with a solid recipe that works well across the board–for when my little treat to combat dystopian time needs an extra kick.
Enjoy this mezcal drink cold over ice when it’s hot, and turn it into a cozy comforting warm tipple as the weather starts to cool. By switching it up between iced and hot, and swapping out the coffee for matcha or spices, there’s enough variation to keep it novel without having to change up the basic recipe. I use a quality maple syrup that is rich in flavor, though alternate sweeteners would work also. I add a pinch of mineral rich celtic sea salt to almost all of my drinks for nutritional benefit, but it also enhances the flavor by balancing the sweetness and activating the taste buds. Like the maple, consider using a flavorful salt for the best taste, though alternate salts work well too. If swapping the maple and/or salt for alternatives, play around with the amounts and adjust according to your preference.
I have been using Equator Coffee,. Their current seasonal blend, Golden Hour, is fruity and bright, which has worked well to complement the flavors of the mezcal. In addition to selling consistently quality coffee, this independent, LGBTQ-owned company helps raise money for the ACLU and also directly supports Las Rosas Women’s Group, which facilitates microloans for women in Colombia. When brewing this coffee for lattes, I typically make it double strength for a rich concentration of coffee flavor.
For matcha lattes, I keep going back to these on-the-go packets. The loose matcha from this brand is a bit cheaper, but the packets are convenient; I can use one or two depending on my caffeine needs at any given moment. What I like best about these instant packets is that there is no need to brew the matcha–just add it directly to the latte base and it mixes in.
When caffeine is not my friend, I still get my little-treat fix in by swapping in a rich blend of turmeric and other spices. I have often made my own golden milk mixes with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper, but there’s something about this blend from Diaspora Co. that cannot be replicated in my kitchen. I am a firm believer in defaulting to the experts from a culture when available and, like the matcha, having this on hand makes it easy to add the powder to my base and mix it in.
Choosing the best mezcal for a matcha or coffee latte
Now for the mezcal, the pièce de résistance. After tasting through many options, I found that a well-rounded mezcal without too much smoke worked the best across the board. Among my favorite mezcals (for all versions of the drink) were Dos Pasiones Espadín, La Venia Tepeztate, and Lágrimas De Dolores Cenizo. Banhez is a good budget friendly option. I found that the turmeric blend could handle smokier and punchier flavors, the matcha worked well with sweet earthy mezcals, and coffee was the easiest to pair and particularly good with Comunidad Barro and other mezcals that had a clay element. That said, there’s no need to go out and buy something new for these recipes. In general, opt for your favorite mixing mezcal and that should work well.
Iced or warm mezcal latte
Ingredients:
10-12 ounces oatmilk or milk of choice
2 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
4-6 ounces double strength coffee; or 1.5-3 grams matcha (1-2 packets); or 1.5-2 teaspoons Haldi Doodh spice blend
1 oz mezcal
Ice, for iced versions
Method:
For iced drinks, combine ingredients in a glass and blend thoroughly with a handheld milk frother, add ice, and enjoy.
For warm drinks, add ingredients (except mezcal) to a small pot over medium heat and simmer while combining with a handheld milk frother. When it’s warm and frothy, remove from heat, add the mezcal, and enjoy.
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