Drink · Mexican
Iced Horchata Coffee
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Updated Aug 24, 2026 GMT
Cold coffee shaken with cinnamon-rice milk — porch weather in a glass.
Horchata is the rice-and-cinnamon drink we grew up reaching for. Shaken over ice with strong coffee it becomes the studio afternoon: sweet, cold, and lightly spiced.
Why this works
Blending soaked rice extracts starch that body-builds the drink. A short steep keeps it from turning pasty. Coffee should be strong and fully cooled or the ice will drown it.
Key ingredients
- Long-grain white rice
- Plain rice, not jasmine if you can help it — jasmine can read floral against the coffee.
- Cinnamon
- A stick in the soak, ground cinnamon to finish the glass.
Studio tips
- Make the horchata the night before. It keeps 3 days and tastes calmer on day two.
- Sweeten the rice milk, not the coffee, so every glass is consistent.
- A splash of vanilla is optional and very good.
Recipe card
Iced Horchata Coffee
Cold coffee shaken with cinnamon-rice milk — porch weather in a glass.
Difficulty: Easy 👌
15 min
Preparation
0 min
Baking
0 min
Resting
- Total
- 15 min
- Yield
- 4 glasses
Ingredients
- ½ cup (95g) long-grain white rice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cups cold water
- 1 cup whole milk or oat milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups strong cold coffee or espresso
- for serving ice
- for dusting ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 1Soak the rice and cinnamon stick in 2 cups of the water for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- 2Blend the rice, cinnamon stick, and soaking water until as smooth as you can get it, 1 full minute.
- 3Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Stir in the remaining 1 cup water, milk, sugar, and vanilla.
- 4Fill glasses with ice. Pour in equal parts horchata and cold coffee. Dust with cinnamon.
Notes
- Leftover horchata is excellent without coffee, over more ice.
Nutrition
142 kcal · 24g carbs · 3g protein · 3g fat · 12g sugar
About 142 calories per glasse. Values are estimates.
Frequently asked
Can I use store-bought horchata?
Yes. Shake it well, then mix equal parts with cold coffee over ice. Homemade is less sweet and more cinnamon-forward.
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