Despite my lack of blogging lately, I’ve been doing lots of fun, fermenty things. One of my recent favorites things was my trip to New York to teach a vegetable kvass workshop to the good members of NYC Ferments.
It was inspiring to see such a large, active community of fermenters and I really hope we have something similar in Philly someday. It was really a great time, loads of fun.
One surprising highlight of my couple days in New York was an impromptu trip into a little, nearly subterranean cafe near Jimmy’s No. 43 (the spot where NYC Ferments has their meetups.)
I popped down there for tea and water, but I saw a special item that included kefir and I had to try it. It was frothy, flavorful and thirst-quenching. I’m normally a plain milk kefir lady, and I don’t add a lot of sugar (in the form of maple syrup or anything else) to the food and drink I make, so I drank it and really enjoyed it, but didn’t really consider At the time I didn’t know I’d be dreaming about it for days afterwards, so sadly, I didn’t keep track of the name of the place. I tried googling “tiny east village cafe,” “downstairs tea coffee new york,” “cinnamon kefir drink nyc” and more, all to no avail.
I was, however, fully able to recreate the drink from my fond memories, and it now brings me and my loving spouse quite a bit of probiotic joy!
Maple Cinnamon Milk Kefir Drink Recipe
The frothiness is a key part of the delight of this recipe, so don’t skimp on the blending! There’s a lot of variation in what’s produced by one set of kefir grains versus another, so depending on the sweetness or sourness of your kefir, you may want to add less or more maple syrup.
Yield 1 quart (about 4 servings)
- 2 cups milk kefir
- 1/2 cup unsweetened nut milk of your choice (I prefer homemade toasted cashew milk, but store-bought almond milk works well)
- 4 teaspoons dark, robust maple syrup (or to taste: amount needed will vary based on your tastes, but also on how sour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 ice cubes
Put all ingredients into a blender. In a high-speed blender, blend for 2 minutes on high. In a normal blender, blend on high until ice is completely broken up and liquid is thin and frothy, 3-4 minutes.
Serve immediately. This keeps well in the fridge for a day or two (after that, the kefir flavor and sourness tends to dwarf the other flavors, but it’s definitely still drinkable), but give it a good shake or reblend it before serving to achieve the right texture.
Dev says
I like kefir but not plain kefir and avoid the one which are flavored but overloaded with sugar. Actually I never thought of blending it with other ingredients, this is the nice way to add additional ingredients according to taste and preference. Thanks for sharing this lovely kefir drink recipe.
Amanda says
Thanks! I do tend to drink mine plain, but this guy has stuck around in my house!
Platt College says
Back in the day I drank Kifer to lose weight and it really worked. Kept me full and was low in calories.
Supriya Kutty says
This looks delicious! What a perfect drink to serve at brunch
Amanda says
Thank you! It’s kind of a staple in our house now.
Rhianon says
Wow, this sounds so amazing! I make water kefir, but haven’t tried my hand at milk yet- partially because it seems like it has the potential to get expensive if you’re fermenting every day- but this recipe sounds so good, it’s making me reconsider!
Jan Barry says
I do my milk kefir every second day and the only cost is the milk, which is the normal amount I use each time I soak my chia seeds and flax seeds. Where is the extra cost?? Once you have your initial grains they just multiply ever time and then you can split your mix and have two on the go. I change my milk every day or second day. Too easy. Just try it. Hope this helps.
Suzie says
Hi!
My Daughter has got mild eczema. I heard milk kefir is good for eczema and immune boost. She tried milk kefir but did not like the taste.
Would maple syrup or honey be ok to mix in to make the taste better?
Heard honey is a prebiotic so it would eat up the probiotics . Need some add in to the milk kefir to make it easier for teenagers to drink it and also something that is not time consuming as i work Long hours
Thanks and look for ward to hearing from you for some easy ingredients which can be added preserving the good bacteria .
B Rgds
SuZie
Amanda says
Hi Suzie,
Adding sweetener or sugar (or pureeing with fruit!) is fine, just add it before serving rather than during fermentation.
One thing I can share with you from my own experience with eczema (and NOT as a healthcare professional of any kind) is that sugar is not the friend of my eczema. For me, it was sensitivities to a few different foods, and potentially a yeast overgrowth that I experienced after loads of antibiotics.
I was born with eczema, but I basically didn’t have it all for about 15 years. Then, a few years ago, I got a terrible flare up that was almost impossible to get rid of. The things that helped me were avoiding sugar and carbs, Grapefruit Seed Extract and an elimination diet that pointed me towards foods that were suddenly an issue. Again, not a doctor or a nutritionist, but eczema was the bane of my existence for a long time, and will still flare up occasionally. Best of luck to you and your daughter! I think everyone’s case is a little different, so totally possible that none of what worked for me will work for her and vice versa.
If you do decide to add sweetener, this is my favorite kefir drink.
Lu says
I too suffer(ed) with eczema. It took me a long time to realize it’s an inflammatory symptom. I got food allergy testing done and turned out wheat, eggs, dairy were the culprits behind it. I cut them out completely and my eczema vanished eventually. It flares up once in a while if I decide to indulge. This kefir recipe sounds lovely, not sure how it’d go with my dairy (casein) sensitivity.
Amanda says
Hi Lu,
It’s probably not the right drink for you if casein is an issue (but maybe with an almond milk kefir?). I have finally come to terms with my eczema definitely not being a food allergy. I just hit the point where I was like, honestly, no elimination diet has had any consistent impact on this, even those I’ve done for 6 months with super perfect re-introduction (which makes for a lonely, lonely life, I can tell you!). For me I actually think it’s topical. On the advice of a holistic doc, I now shower 2x a day (super quick and not in hot water) and the extreme stuff I’ve had for the past few years is gone. That doesn’t totally explain the stuff I was born with, but I had a good 15 years without anything in between that and this, so who knows? Maybe it’s a whole other thing.
In any case, I am so happy for you that you found the solution. It’s such a pain to deal with and answers seem few and far between!
Billy says
This looks so delicious. I love any combination of cinnamon and maple.. It is just a perfect meld of two of the best flavors! I usually love the two when I make apple pie flavored stuff (or actual apple pie!).. But this looks so delicious. Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to try making this kefir at home.
Laurie Demitry says
This is absolutely yummy!!!! I am a plain kefir girl too but saw this and just had to try it and am so happy I did. Made my own toasted cashew milk and used a little less maple syrup just because I try to avoid sweeteners as much as possible. This is like dessert in a glass–I am going to try really hard to make it a special treat but I doubt I’ll succeed–it’s just too good!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Maria says
I will give this a go! My favourite is a variation on Jason Vale’s ‘Tahini cocoa beanie’ just using kefir instead of almond milk. 1 banana, milk kefir, spoonful of local honey or maple syrup to taste, tablespoon tahini and 2 rounded desertspoons cacao – blended together in my Magic Bullet blender cup, it makes a thick and delicious shake and if you leave it in the fridge it tends to set like a chocolate mousse 😀