In Canada, the arrival of November means we’re in that awkward, chilly time of year between October and December festivities. It’s not exactly the January doldrums or February blahs, but we bet a tasty warm drink could help lift your spirits! It’s time to find seasonal versions of your favourite hot beverages to sip and soothe that November chill.
Teas
There’s arguably no drink more soothing or loved the world over than tea. This season, we’re finding international flavour inspiration from choice British favourites in addition to chai, and matcha which originates from China, the birthplace of tea. Coffee lovers can skip ahead if you need a more robust caffeine fix.
Let’s hop across the pond for our first two tea latte recipes, featuring traditional English breakfast and Earl Grey blends. This spiced apple tea latte from Buttered side Up uses ingredients you probably already have on hand in your kitchen to make a warm drink that’s sensational despite its simple ingredients. Can’t get enough of fresh-picked apples this season? Find more apple drink and food recipe ideas here!
Would you always opt for vanilla birthday cake over chocolate? Or vanilla lattes over hot cocoa? Then this decadent yet not too rich or sweet Earl Grey vanilla tea (London fog) latte is just the perk you need on a brisk November morning!
Even though we promised not to harp on pumpkin spice in this blog, we couldn’t resist offering up some alternatives to the standard coffee-based PSL. Check out our coffee shop PSL copycat blog for a traditional pumpkin spice latte fix.
Know what other hot beverage goes excellent with pumpkin spice flavour besides coffee? Chai, of course! Chai already includes the aromatic spices we love in sweet pumpkin treats, plus a few others popular in Indian cuisine, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, black pepper and cardamom.
Skip the Starbucks line and whip up a homemade pumpkin spice chai latte using real pumpkin, maple syrup and your favourite premade chai blend. If you want to really spice up your morning beverage routine, making authentic chai Masala powder is easier than you might think, with a huge flavour punch of a payoff.
Now for something a little different: Hot cinnamon buttered matcha green tea. For those who enjoy the refreshing earthy taste of matcha, why not jazz your cuppa green goodness up with sweetened cinnamon and butter?
My Life Cookbook also has intriguing recipes for minty butter matcha and mocha maca matcha that you may also want to try since mint and chocolate are staple December flavours.
Coffees
Just like tea, there’s a coffee beverage for every season. Once summer’s over, we tend to put our favourite iced brews aside, but there’s always an abundance of tantalizing hot coffee drinks to wake us up on gloomy fall mornings.
Still can’t get enough of apple-flavoured drinks? Neither can we! This apple pie latte featuring homemade apple butter is another excellent way to make use of the fresh Honeycrisp apples you brought home from the supermarket, farmer’s market or orchard.
We couldn’t have a list of sweet coffee drinks without including a couple of recipes featuring the quintessentially Canadian winter flavour of maple syrup.
- For a super simple maple latte pick me up, try this classic maple cinnamon latte on your next coffee break.
- This maple pecan latte recipe uses easy homemade pecan maple syrup to add a dose of bold flavour to freshly brewed coffee.
Hot Cocktails
These hot cocktails aren’t get up and go breakfast fare, but they’re undoubtedly warm, comforting, and something to celebrate in and of themselves. If you need a treat to look forward to at the end of a busy week, a buttery adult beverage for dessert could be just the thing to start the weekend off on a sweet but complexly flavourful note.
Do you love butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, but prefer rum to bourbon or vice versa? Then you’ll adore either hot buttered rum or sweet and rich hot buttered bourbon.
Try this hot buttered rum recipe from The Educated Barfly if you want to take your mixologist game to the next level.
- Crave hot cocoa at this time of year but don’t want to share with the kids? Whip up their favourite batch of regular hot chocolate while you indulge in one of these 20 Boozy Hot Chocolate Recipes, or use them as flavour inspiration for virgin versions.
- If you’d prefer a sweet and spicy mix of vanilla, bourbon and Irish cream, try this warm spiced vanilla cocktail from Kitchen Treaty.
You’d probably pay upwards of $10 for elaborate handcrafted cocktails like these at a restaurant. Staying in, unwinding and saving money – we can toast to that!
Caffeine & Alcohol-Free Options
Caffeine and alcohol can be great, but sometimes you want to enjoy a drink that’s more relaxing than buzz-worthy. These options are perfect for those early nights when you want to read a few chapters of a book before nodding off to dreamland. You’ll almost be glad it’s dark before 5 pm.
Containing highly unique flavour combinations and packed with nutritious ingredients, these drinks can help you digest and sleep easier. They’re lightly sweetened, but not so sweet that you’ll be contending with a midnight sugar rush.
Golden milk is another hot beverage favourite from India. Enjoy a more traditional turmeric latte, or try a maple pumpkin spice golden milk latte for some extra fall flavour.
From our journey around the world in teas to barista and bartender worthy recipes, to warm refreshments designed to soothe and revitalize even the most winter-weary, we hope you’ve found drinks to enjoy from November to the even colder months beyond. No matter how stressful or dreary the day, you deserve to take time to enjoy a mug filled with something delicious that’s just the right temperature to suit your taste and the weather. Cheers!