Not every good cup has caffeine in it.
There's a particular kind of afternoon that calls for something warm but not wired. Not coffee — not today. Something that feels like a pause rather than a push.
That's where the golden latte lives.
We've been drinking turmeric lattes for years — long before they appeared on high street café menus. The base is ancient: turmeric and black pepper (the pepper activates the curcumin), ginger for heat, cinnamon for sweetness. It's a drink with roots in Ayurvedic tradition that somehow found its way into the windows of specialty cafés from London to Tokyo.
Our version keeps the warmth and adds two things.
Cardamom. It's the spice that sits quietly at the heart of Ethiopian coffee ceremony, of Swedish fika, of Arabic qahwa. It doesn't belong to one place — it belongs to the ritual of slowing down, wherever you are. A pinch of it in a golden latte changes the whole character of the drink. Less earthy, more aromatic. More somewhere.
Coconut blossom sugar. We swapped maple for this not because maple is wrong, but because coconut blossom sugar is more interesting. It has a low GI, a subtle molasses depth, and it dissolves into warm milk in a way that feels almost invisible — sweetening without announcing itself.
The result is a cup that tastes like late afternoon light. Like the hour before dinner in a city you don't quite know yet.
Make it at home. Take your time with it.
Recipe: Say Ciao Spice Road Latte
Serves 1 · Caffeine-free · Naturally sweetened
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 tsp coconut blossom sugar (adjust to taste)
- 250ml milk of your choice (oat works beautifully)
Warm the milk gently — don't boil. Whisk in the spices and sugar until smooth and frothy. Pour into your favourite cup. Dust with a little cardamom and cinnamon. Sit down. Breathe.
Dairy-free with oat or almond milk.
Full recipe card with step-by-step method →
