UPCYCLE YOUR LEFTOVERS | DIRTY CHAI FRAPP

UPCYCLE YOUR FRAPP

(a poem)

A Dirty Chai Frapp

Left alone

Half consumed

And otherwise forgotten

Sat on a shelf

In the icebox

Wishing for more

I'm sure this has happened to all of us.  We get excited to order a fancy drink, choose the largest size possible to get your money's worth and just can't finish it.  It sits in the fridge overnight and maybe you take a sip out of it the next morning and think "Ugh, this is wayyyyy too watered down to drink."  Maybe your first impulse is to throw it away- dump it down the drain and toss the cup?  Maybe you try to force it because you spent the money and hate when things go to waste?

Why?  Why waste it or force it or feel badly about letting it sit?  So what!? You enjoyed something fresh from the blender, drank until you no longer desired to consume any more (which isn't actually a bad thing) and let it sit overnight.  The Frapp got weird.  Okay, SO!?  JUST UPCYCLE IT!

Here's an example:

Original drink: Venti Dirty Chai Frapp with Soy Milk (that's chai tea, soy milk, and a shot of espresso blended with ice)

Upcycled Drink: melted Dirty Chai Frapp mixed with Good Karma Foods​ Flax Milk, chocolate protein powder, a banana, and Running Pump Roasting​ Birthday Cake coffee and blended in a vitamix with coffee cubes made from Running Pump Roasting's French Vanilla coffee.

Experiment: SUCCESS!

How easy!  I utilized a few ingredients I had stocked up around the kitchen and created something entirely new and interesting from what some might see as trash.  And yes, of course I recycled the cup to be used again for this drink.  Why waste it?

TEA JOURNAL | RUM & CHAIDER

TEA JOURNAL | RUM & CHAIDER:  Once upon a time a few year's back, I was visiting friends at a cute little pub in a cute little New York town.  On the bar of that cute little pub in the cute little town was a great big slow cooker filled with spiced apple cider... which they served to us warm and wonderful with a special twist... RUM.  (My favorite!)  Now that is fine and wonderful and delicious and perfectly excellent on a cold night all on its own, but let's take it up a notch, shall we?  For this we need another short tale... Once upon a Fall afternoon, I stumbled upon sweet and fancy little tea shop in Boston and was offered my first taste of Chai tea (something I had otherwise been avoiding due to the intensity of the flavor and my inclination toward green tea) steeped in... you guessed it... hot apple cider.  So let's take these two brilliant ideas and throw them together in a cute little pink teapot and enjoy kicking back in our cozies on a cold and snowy day, now shall we?

TEA TASTING: CELESTIAL SEASONINGS

 

BOULDER, COLORADO -  Founded in 1969, Celestial Seasonings has grown to be one of the largest specialty tea manufacturers in North America.  Originally picked in the Rocky Mountains, its all-natural ingredients are now harvested from 35 different countries around the world, ensuring that that the most authentic ingredients are used in their teas for a healthy, flavorful experience in each cup.  Last week, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit their facility in Colorado for a tour and tea tasting.