Favourite Hot Drinks to take on your SUP Adventure

Here at SUP Chick HQ we are really into our hot beverages. It also helps that SUP Chick HQ is currently in Scotland and that there is less than a month until Christmas. It’s getting a bit chilly. Even though it’s been a while between SUPs we thought we’d share some of our favourite hot drinks that we like to take on our SUP Adventures.

One of my favourite things is preparing a couple of coffees in our travel mugs, loading up the SUPs and pointing the Jeep north towards adventure! However there are many other hot drinks that I love besides coffee and each of them make for a great post paddle pick me up. All of these can be made in advance and taken to drink on the way or put in a thermos to enjoy later. I’ve also added notes on how you can adapt them for preparation at your favourite SUP location. It’s great to have a hot drink to warm you up after your paddle.

Coffee

I’m a little late to the coffee game but my gateway hot drink of choice was Mochacinos at our college cafe when I was studying. It sounds silly now but at the time I thought it wasn’t too unhealthy as I wasn’t adding sugar, however I soon discovered that the cafe wasn’t using pure cocoa like I thought and that the mix they were using already had sugar added. Uh oh – too late, my caffeine addiction had begun!

Fast forward to my first job after graduation and I discovered that the owner of the business was a coffee officianado, not only did she have a state of the art coffee machine at home with a no expenses spared coffee bean grinder but she also had a Nespresso machine in the office which she claimed made the best coffee in town. To be fair it was a very small town miles from anywhere and the only other coffee to be found really wasn’t that great.

Upon moving to Scotland I thought it would be a great opportunity to try and kick my coffee habit but there were way too many trendy coffee shops popping up all over Glasgow that the temptation was too great. With the influence of SUP Bloke, a confirmed coffee addict from way back we bought a Nespresso coffee machine and have religiously made coffees with it daily since.

My favourite is the Cosi pod which has cereal flavour notes made with Oatly barista milk. SUP Bloke loves any of the really strong ones such as Roma and Ristretto. The great thing with the Nespresso is that it has its’ own milk frother the Aerocino which I have used for making other warm milk drinks for when I take a break from coffee. One of our favourite things about the Nespresso machine is that the pods are fully recyclable and we also have Waycaps refillable pods which fit the machine so you can enjoy your favourite local roast.

For coffee on the road we have an Aeropress which makes surprisingly good coffee. This means you can enjoy your favourite roasters freshly ground beans on the road or sample some of the local varieties as you travel. You will also need a portable stove and kettle to warm your water. If you want to get really fancy you can also warm your milk in a saucepan and froth it with a battery operated milk frother.

For each of the following recipes you can add everything to your aerocino or if, like us, you’d rather not get it dirty with other ingredients that can stick and burn the surface you can use a battery powered hand blender such as this one.

Matcha Latte

I love Matcha Lattes!! This is a more healthier favourite of my hot drinks to indulge in after a SUP. Matcha is a form of specially grown green tea which is ground into a powder. It is also packed with loads of antioxidants and quite a healthy hot drink alternative to coffee. for more information on the health benefits of Matcha tea check out this informative site. Matcha green tea powder can be found online.

Matcha – At Home Method

• Preheat your mug with boiling water
• Add your choice of milk to your Aerocino
• Empty mug when it is warmed through
• Add about 1/8 cup of boiling water to your mug
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of matcha powder to your mug (and honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Use a hand held blender to blend
• Top with warm frothed milk from Aerocino

Matcha – On the go Method

• In a saucepan, heat your choice of milk to a simmer
• Remove from heat
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of matcha powder to your mug (and honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Add hot milk to mug
• Use a hand held blender to blend and froth

Tumeric Latte

There is so much to love about Tumeric Lattes. They are a firm favourite of my hot drinks to take on SUP adventures. The Spice Tumeric is another traditional healing plant that is getting rediscovered for it’s health benefits such as anti inflammatory properties. The other spices in this latte blend also have traditional medicinal properties. I like to make mine from scratch as I know what I am putting into it. You can make up a batch of your own mix for convenience ahead of time. Here’s my recipe;

• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground clove
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 grind black pepper

Simply multiply the recipe by the number of servings you would like to make. Mix the spices together and store in a jar. For each serving you will need about 1 1/2 teaspoons of your mix. If you like fresh ginger, you can leave out the powdered ginger. When you are making the latte add a slice of fresh ginger as you simmer the milk.

There are Tumeric Latte powders available which saves you time as they come premixed. Most of these have added sugar or some form of artificial sweetener. Personally I think that the Tumeric has it’s own sweet flavour. If you need more sweetness I would add a small amount of honey or rice malt syrup.

Tumeric Latte – At Home Method

• Heat your cup with boiling water
• Add your choice of milk to your Aerocino
• Empty mug when it is warmed through
• Add about 1/8 cup of boiling water to your cup
• Add 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder to your mug (and honey or rice malt syrup if using)
• Use a hand held blender to blend
• Top with warm frothed milk from Aerocino

If you are using fresh ginger simmer all mix ingredients in your choice of milk on a stove.

Tumeric Latte – On the go Method

• In a saucepan, heat your choice of milk to a simmer
• Remove from heat
• Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of Tumeric latte mix to your mug (and honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Add hot milk to mug
• Use a hand held blender to blend and froth

Maca Mochaccino

I came across the idea of a Maca Mochaccino when I was researching sugar free recipes on Sarah Wilsons original I Quit Sugar website. While Sarah has since moved onto other things, many of her recipes are now accessible over at Sam Woods website. (The Maca Mocha is now the Stress-Busting Maca Latte with Ashwaganda). Either way the Maca Mocha has become another of my firm favourite hot drinks for a post SUP pick me up.

Maca is superfood plant derivative used medicinally for centuries in South America. It comes in powder form and reportedly has some impressive health benefits such as increased energy and endurance. It is a nutritionally rich source of Iron and Iodine and is also an Adaptogen which means it is utilised by the body to adapt to stress. Maca powder can be purchased at your local health food store or online.

Maca Mochaccino – At Home Method

• Heat your cup with boiling water
• Add your choice of milk to your Aerocino
• Empty mug when it is warmed through
• Add about 1/8 cup of boiling water to your cup
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of maca powder, 1 teaspoon of raw cocoa powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder to your mug (add honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Use a hand held blender to blend
• Top with warm frothed milk from Aerocino

Maca Mochaccino – On the go Method

• In a saucepan, heat your choice of milk to a simmer
• Remove from heat
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of maca powder, 1 teaspoon of raw cocoa powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder to your mug (add honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Add hot milk to mug
• Use a hand held blender to blend and froth

Hot Chocolate

The last of my favourite hot drinks to take on a SUP adventure is Hot Chocolate. Nothing quite warms you up when you are cold like the thought of a nice hot cup of coco. You can spice your hot chocolate up with a couple of extras. Some of our favourites are 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder, a wee splash of vanilla essence, peppermint essence or almond essence. Find a pure essence distilled from plant form over a chemically created one.

Hot Chocolate – At Home Method

• Heat your cup with boiling water
• Add your choice of milk to your Aerocino
• Empty mug when it is warmed through
• Add about 1/8 cup of boiling water to your cup
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of raw cacoa or cocoa powder to your mug along with any of the extras listed above (add honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Use a hand held blender to blend
• Top with warm frothed milk from Aerocino

Hot Chocolate – On the go Method

• In a saucepan, heat your choice of milk to a simmer
• Remove from heat
• Add 1-2 teaspoons of raw cacoa or cocoa powder to your mug along with any of the extras listed above (add honey or rice malt syrup to sweeten if using)
• Add hot milk to mug
• Use a hand held blender to blend and froth

Not so cold in your part of the world?

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere or reading this post in summer – we’ve still got you covered. Make an iced version of all of the above by drink powder of choice to about 1/8 cup of boiling water and stirring to mix. Pour shot over glass of ice and top up with your choice of milk. If making coffee just pour espresso over glass of ice and again top up with your choice of milk.

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