5 Great Hot Holiday Drinks

When it’s cold outside, a hot cup of coffee or tea can go a long way in warming you up. And while they might be fine on just your average winder morning, but around the holidays, it’s nice to make things a little more interesting with some dressed up drinks.
A Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha is my top pick of this holiday season. It has a caffeine kick, rich chocolate flavor and just enough peppermint to make it refreshing, to boot. Garnish yours with a sprinkle of chopped up peppermint candies, or simply use a candy cane as a stick stick. I stock up after Christmas when they’re on sale so I have them all season

If you’re a white chocolate fan, a White Chocolate Mocha Bianca is the way to go. This drink is creamy and smooth, made with white chocolate and coffee. The white chocolate is sweet enough that you don’t need to add sugar, so the drink seems even easier to make than hot chocolate.

Speaking of hot chocolate, Drinking Chocolate is a must-try for chocolate drink fans. This variation on hot chocolate includes dark chocolate, milk chocolate and cocoa powder all in one drink. It is thick and rich tasting, a chocolate drink that can stand on its own as dessert. You can add a shot of espresso, too, if you want something with a little coffee in it, as well.

A tea latte, like the Vanilla Rooibus Tea Latte or Earl Grey Tea Latte is a great non-coffee option. These drinks are made with strong tea and steamed milk, and are lightly sweetened. I like adding a little vanilla into them to give them a rounder flavor. You can use just about any type of tea you like, too.

My last pick isn’t a coffee drink at all, it’s a Caramel Apple Cider. This drink starts with steamed, spiced cider and it is laced with caramel sauce and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. It might sound like a strange combination – especially with the whipped cream on top of the apple cider – but it really works. The drink is sweet, festive and very warming, both because of the spices and the temperature of the drink. And if you want to make it even more warming, or more adult, I think you might be able to get away with a splash of brandy in one, too.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha

Dark chocolate and peppermint is a great combination. Peppermint flavored candies, for instance, tend to have a really sharp sweetness to them that is tempered perfectly by the strong, but not too sweet, flavor of dark chocolate. A York peppermint patty, for instance, is a great illustration of how well this combination works and – for mint fans – it works in many different forms, such as coffee drinks.

This mocha is made with dark chocolate and cocoa powder, and is spiked with a bit of peppermint. I used a small amount of peppermint extract. Peppermint extract can be very strong, so add just a few drops at a time if you’re worried that the overall flavor will be too strong. The finished drink has a kick of caffeine and a kick of peppermint, and ends up being both refreshing and indulgent. Feel free to replace the coffee with milk if you want to make this for the kids on a holiday morning!

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Greenwell Estate Kona Coffee, reviewed

One of the most memorable coffee experiences I’ve had was going out to visit the Greenwell Plantation on the big island of Hawaii. Not only did I get to taste coffee cherries right off the tree, but I got to taste some of my favorite Kona coffee in one of the freshest batches you can get. I got this batch of Greenwell Estate Private Reserve Kona Coffee from Sea Island and I have to say that they make very quick work of the shipping and – aside from the lovely Hawaiian weather – you’re not missing anything by making the coffee at home and not traveling out to the plantation.

The Greenwell Estate coffee is earthy, sweet and tangy. It is really rich tasting and full bodied, and actually reminds me a lot of red wine, although probably better. I’d make this a daily brew if only I could pick it up at my local store, instead of having to have it shipped!

For other fans of Kona coffee, I previously bought green beans from Greenwell Estate and roasted them at home with good results. A fun project if you have the time and outdoor space!

Republic of Tea Hot Apple Cider Tea, reviewed

I love hot apple cider on a cold winter night, and I couldn’t resist the chance to try the Republic of Tea Hot Apple Cider Tea. This tea is a limited edition holiday release that hit shelves in the past couple of weeks. The tea is made with typical cider spices, including cinnamon, cloves and ginger, but it also includes several more subtle elements, including rose hips, berry leaves and cardamom. Of course, the most important element of this tea is the apples, and dried apple pieces are the primary flavoring element.

The tea tastes very much like apple cider, although it is much lighter in flavor and much less sweet than straight juice would be. You can actually taste the berry, enriching the apple flavor, and all the other spices blend in nicely. It is good plain and great sweetened, especially if you use honey or a bit of caramel.

Incidentally, the Republic of Tea also puts out a jam using this tea flavor. It’s definitely an interesting use of the tea and, if I pick up a few pounds of apples in the next week or two, I might try working out a batch myself!

Starbucks Low Fat Apricot Blueberry Muffin

With the changeover to the new pastries at Starbucks, there are a few favorites that you’re not going to be able to find anymore – at least, not at Starbucks. These missing pastries will vary regionally, according to the suppliers that Starbucks used to use. In my area (LA/Southern California), one that has disappeared is that is the Low Fat Apricot Blueberry Muffin. I tended to favor coffee cake over the muffins most of the time, but this muffin had a great combination of fruit and was generally moist and tasty, especially for a lower fat muffin!

At Baking Bites, I posted a recipe that is very similar, perhaps even a little better, than the original. They’re moist and packed with fruit. The Starbucks muffins I remembered had slices of apricot on top, and I used the same idea here so that it’s easy to identify the components of the muffin. These keep well, but since they’re very fresh, they’re just a little lighter and fluffier than the originals that inspired them.

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