Today I will be sharing how to make Fancy Navajo Tea Lattes with almond and pine nut milk. It’s super simple and it’s the perfect fall drink. It will make you want to cozy up with a warm blanket and enjoy a warm cup of Navajo Tea with your own homemade nut milk.
I was recently asked to demonstrate one of my recipes from TheFancyNavajo.com for the Heard Museum earlier this month for their Indigenous Peoples’ Celebration. I previously had demonstrated how to make Fancy Navajo Boba Almond Milk Tea during the summer. But since it’s fall I wanted to create something new! So thus, began the creation of the Fancy Navajo Tea Latte.
Fancy Navajo Memories of Navajo Tea…
As much as I love coffee, every now and then I crave a delicious cup of Navajo Tea. As soon as I take the first sip, I am reminded of home. I instantly see my mom brewing a big pot of Navajo Tea in her white enamelware kettle on the stove. The steam coming up from the boiled tea fill the room with medicine that instantly makes me feel calm. Anytime I miss home, I just make myself a cup of Navajo Tea and I am transplanted back to shimá’s (my mom) kitchen.
What is Navajo Tea?
If you have never had Navajo Tea, the common name is Greenthread Tea. It is also called Hopi, Indian, or Cota Tea. It may even have another name depending on where you live. Since I am Navajo, I grew up calling it Navajo Tea or dééh. Navajo tea is a very mild and caffeine free tea that reminds me of a mix between green tea and chamomile tea. It has a beautiful golden-brown color.
Navajo Tea is a wild tea that is harvested in the late summer and early fall. As the common name suggests it looks like tall green threads with yellow flowers. When I was little we used to harvest it as a family. It was a fun family activity and taught me how to properly harvest wild plants. The number one rule being to never harvest at the root, because we want these plants to continually comeback. Second, only take what you need. Third, don’t harvest tea along a main road as oil and the asphalt could seep into the roots of the tea.
Once picked the tea is formed into bundles and dried in the sun. Then throughout the winter and summer months you have a good supply of tea. You can also find Navajo Tea at local markets in the southwest and even online. I recommend Yanabah Navajo Tea which is also a Navajo owned company here .***Update, Yanabah Tea is closed, I haven’t tried this company but they also sell here as well*** Or if you are a Fancy Navajo then you may want to grow your own. I am currently in the process of growing my own Navajo Tea in my backyard. Crossing my fingers, it grows!
Nut Milks…
This recipe uses nut milks. I’ve already shared how to make Almond milk in this post so head here. The recipe below is for pine nut milk. I grew up in New Mexico and piñons were a big part of my life. As the name suggests, these nuts come from piñon pine trees and are harvested around the same time as Navajo Tea.
So, I thought why not try making pine nut milk, like I would almond milk. The results are so delicious and together combined with the Navajo Tea offers a unique flavor that further reminds me of being transplanted back home. Pine nuts can be on the expensive side but it’s a nice fancy treat to share with your family and friends.
I really enjoy making my own nut milks, because I can control what goes into it and its dairy free. No unnecessary ingredients and you can control how much sweetness. For this recipe, if you like a frothy latte then I suggest using the Almond Milk. The pine nut milk only froths up to a quarter of its size as opposed to the almond milk that froths up to twice its size.
It’s such a fancy drink that I hope you give a try!! If you make Fancy Navajo Tea Lattes make sure to send me a picture and tag me in a photo. I would love to see!!
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Want to learn how to make Fancy Navajo Boba Almond Milk Tea then head to this blog post: https://thefancynavajo.com/2017/05/01/fancy-navajo-boba-almond-milk-tea/
Almond Milk Recipe
Head to this post here.
*** If you use this recipe for cultural workshops or food demonstrations please give credit to my website TheFancyNavajo.com. If you are interested in sharing recipes with your company or organization please email me TheFancyNavajo@gmail.com for permission***
Pine Nut Milk Recipe
Yields ½ Cup of Pine Nut Milk
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts (unshelled and unsalted)
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/2 (Optional) Medjool Date or Preferred Sweetener
- Blender
- Mesh bag
- Pitcher or Jar to store nut milk
Directions
- Rinse any debris from pine nuts. Use a strainer to easily rinse.
- Soak pine nuts in 1/2 cup water overnight in the refrigerator
- After soaking overnight, Rinse pine nuts in fresh water
- In a blender add pine nuts, water, and date
- Blend until fully combined 2 minutes
- Pour nut mixture into mesh bag and squeeze nut milk into a pitcher until all nut milk is extracted
- Enjoy! Nut milk will last in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Fancy Navajo Tea Lattes
Yields 1 Latte
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Navajo Tea
- 1/4 Cup Pine Nut Milk or choice of milk
- (Optional) Navajo Tea Flowers or Squash Blossoms
- Milk Frother, handheld or mixer. I recommend these two here https://shopstyle.it/l/9uQu and here https://shopstyle.it/l/9uQx .
Directions:
- Brew Navajo Tea in a kettle for 3-5 minutes until tea reaches a golden-brown color
- Fill a separate cup with nut milk and use hand held frother to froth milk for 30-60 seconds until milk has doubled in volume. The pine nut milk will only froth a quarter of its original size. If you want a frothier milk use almond milk.
- Pour Navajo Tea in a mug and slowly pour in frothed milk at an angle so the froth pours into the tea. If the froth stays in the cup then carefully scoop it out with a spoon.
- Garnish your Fancy Navajo Tea Latte with Navajo Tea Flowers and Squash Blossoms.
- Enjoy!
*** If you use this recipe for cultural workshops or food demonstrations please give credit to my website TheFancyNavajo.com. If you are interested in sharing recipes with your company or organization please email me TheFancyNavajo@gmail.com for permission***
Hi, It’s delightful to see such delectable and sweet tea. This tea contains nutrients and minerals that are beneficial to one’s health and fitness. I really like the fact that you provided all of the information from beginning to end.