One of my favorite ice cold summer pick-me-ups is an iced cappuccino. As you may have read in our earlier post about our Nespresso, making cappuccinos hot or cold is a cinch! I love playing with different flavors to add to my cappuccinos, and my all time summer favorite is with cardamom topped with a little cinnamon.

Cardamom is a fragrant spice found in middle eastern cuisines. In my Chunky Eggplant Chutney post I made chutney using garam masala which is a blend of spices utilizing cardamom. Cardamom has a strong, unique taste. It reminds me of a strong, unsweetened dark chocolate, with a hint of spice. It not only tastes and smells great, cardamom also improves digestion and stimulates metabolism, among many other beneficial uses. Cardamom can be bought already ground or in seed pods.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or 5 seed pods
• 1 shot of espresso
• 3/4 cup of soy milk (or milk of your choice)
• few cubes of ice
• ground cinnamon (optional)

Serves 1

If you are using ground cardamom, then skip the first few steps below and add it directly to your glass with ice cubes.

If you are using the seed pods, follow these steps below:

Place the seed pods on a cutting board. Grab a spoon and use the back side of the spoon to crush the seed pods until they open. Remove the seeds and use a hand grinder or Molcajete (traditional Mexican herb and spice grinder, aka mortar and pestle).

Now, grab a tall glass and add a few ice cubes. Add the ground cardamom, shot of espresso and your frothed soy milk. Mix well. Top with cinnamon and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this delicious summer treat. Creating something like this in your own kitchen where you have total control and the ability to experiment is vastly more rewarding than lining up at your local coffee joint. Start with this recipe. Next time, tweak things and make it your own. Be bold and have fun!