Chiachino

Happy 2023

I hope everyone is ready to face the day. If not, I have a delicious pick-me-up for you to wake up to: a scrumptious jar of chiachino.

It’s a little ironic that I’ve created a coffee chia recipe, when I’m not exactly what you call a coffee drinker. As far as drinking coffee I do drink it, in so far as there is a spec of coffee bean swimming somewhere in my latte like a sardine in the Pacific. Okay, maybe that’s a tiny exaggeration, I do that now and then…

Since I very rarely dine out and I do most of the cooking at home, having my morning coffee is a treat. There is, something to be said for a daily ritual. Jan (my husband) and I walk to our favourite café, we sit down, order coffee, a friendly barrister makes the coffee for us, a lovely waitress serves us our coffee while Jan and I do the wordle and the best part, is that the dishes are taken away just like that and I don’t wash them.

This ritual is my favourite part of the day. Don’t get me wrong I love the flavour of coffee but we’re talking delicate. I do however, absolutely LOVE the STRONG aroma of ground coffee beans before they’re brewed in the morning. Will that get me into the coffee club? Not according to my friends who laugh at me as they order their double shot of espresso and suggest I just order a cup of hot milk…

So I am now creating my own coffee club, a truly inclusive coffee club for the diverse coffee drinkers from long black drinkers, to hint of flavour drinkers, all are welcome to create your own delicious chiachino, (with a touch of LSA) Just make it the night before and when you wake up in the morning it will be ready for you to enjoy.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chia seeds

2 Tablespoons LSA (optional)

1 tbsp honey/maple syrup

2 cups black coffee OR you can add milk to your coffee according to your taste, here are some options:

1 cup black coffee and 1 cup milk

1 ½ cups black coffee and ½ cup milk

OR if you are like me 1 ¾ milk ¼ cup black coffee

Topping

1/4 cup vanilla yoghurt mixed with a ½ teaspoon of crushed instant coffee crystals

Method

In a large jar, mix chia seeds, LSA, honey, coffee and milk. Give it a good stir to make sure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and place in the fridge.

In a seperate jar, mix yoghurt with ground coffee beans or crushed instant coffee crystals and place in the fridge.

Give the chia jar another good stir.

When ready to eat, transfer chiachino to a bowl or a jar top with some coffee yoghurt and enjoy.