My
first and favourite invention in the field of dairy free coffee
beverages was dairy free café au lait.
In
fact it was the reason why I started creating other latte clones at
all.
My
dad was Romanian and had the French habit of having a large bol
of café au lait for breakfast.
I'm
more the tea with bread-and-cheese or eggs-and-bacon breakfast type,
but later in the day I love having some café au lait, too.
When
I stayed in France or in Italy, though, of course I had it for
breakfast, dipping some white bread into it.
Going
cow's milk free, I tried goat's milk, but honestly, as much as I love
goat's cheese, café au lait au chèvre ... come on.
I
love cappuccino or latte macchiato with soy milk, but not
café au lait.
Rice
milk has its uses, but not in café au lait.
Nor
has almond milk.
I
don't mind things tasting different from the real thing, generally,
but not café au lait.
Am
I being picky?
Yes,
when it comes to café au lait...
A
girl should have her principles.
And
then one day, I was desperate for a quick sweet coffee fix. Without
even thinking much, I just combined one teaspoon of smooth white
cashew butter, half a teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of instant
espresso. I blended them together to form a smooth paste, poured hot
water over and stirred with a small whisk, until I had something that
remarkably resembled ... café au lait.
Many
of the afore mentioned variations do that, too, without tasting it.
But
this one - caught me cold.
The
first sip exploded on my tongue. Café au lait.
The real thing.
I still don't know why
on earth the combination of smooth white cashew butter and honey
makes coffee taste like real café au lait, but it does.
I've also made it with
brewed coffee. Just blend together as much cashew butter and honey as
suits your taste, pour freshly brewed coffee over it, and - voilà.
Feel like sitting in
the famous Parisien Parisian Café de Flore, minus the ridiculous price for
one cup of coffee and milk. Of course there you pay for breathing the
air that Jean-Paul Sartre and Pablo Picasso breathed, but, hey. Your
everyday coffee can taste great without meeting Karl Lagerfeld,
right?
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