5 Hot Beverages for a Cold Winter Ride

By MOMENTUM Staff

No need to stop, lock up and pull out your wallet at the coffee shop – with a thermos of hot beverage you are self-contained and ready for adventure. Choose your favourite drink to warm up a cold day. These are our suggestions:

Hot Apple Cider
(may be spiked with spiced rum or Calvados apple brandy)

Ginger Tea with Lemon & Honey
(may be invigorated by a touch of brandy)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 cups water
juice of 1 lemon
honey to taste
Simmer ginger and water for five minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and honey.

This is an excellent warming drink to keep away or soothe a cold. If you like spicy, you may also add a tiny amount of cayenne pepper.

Green Tea
Some like it plain and simple. We like a frothy matcha (green tea powder) latté. Rich in antioxidants, green tea bolsters your immune system and has less caffeine than coffee.
1 teaspoon good quality matcha
1 cup heated or steamed milk or soymilk
sugar or honey

Add half the heated or steamed milk to the matcha, stir until blended, add the rest of the milk, and sweeten to taste.

Mexican Hot Chocolate
Mexican chocolate is made from dark, bitter chocolate mixed with sugar, cinnamon, and sometimes nuts. The end result is a “grainy” less smooth product. Chocolate is frequently purchased in “disks” although it is also
available in bars and syrups.
1 quart milk
7 ounces Mexican chocolate
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Good morning Sally,

I just received an invite to a ride this weekend with some peeps. I was hoping you could make it too. It’s going to be a cold day, so we’re calling it a Warm Bevvy Ride! We’re each going to bring a Thermos with a tasty warm beverage, to warm our bellies at some scenic resting point en route. I’m going to bring hot apple cider and spiced rum and Tanya tells me she’s going to bring coca leaf tea (!). Can you make it for the ride? What are you going to bring?  If you make hot chocolate, can you put in a bit of chili powder like you did the last time? I’m drooling just thinking about it.

love, Bill­

1 pinch salt
1 or 2 pinches of chili powder
Cut the chocolate into small pieces. Bring the milk to a boil then add chocolate. After the chocolate is dissolved, add cinnamon, vanilla, chili powder and salt. Simmer for ten minutes then whisk briskly to a foam.

Homemade Chai
4 teaspoons loose tea, usually black
1 piece of fresh ginger
3 cardamom pods, crushed
3 whole cloves
5 peppercorns
1 piece of cinnamon stick
1 star anise
Half/half cream and honey to taste
Chop ginger finely & break up cinnamon stick. Bring two cups of water to a boil, add tea leaves and spices. Let everything brew at boiling for
ten minutes. Remove from heat, then let steep
at room temperature for another minute. Strain. Serve hot, with cream and honey to taste.

-----

MOMENTUM staff are a hard working crew dedicated to bringing you the best in self-propelled things! [more...]

-----