Warm Yourself With This Golden Milk Latte You Can Make at Home

What's that golden, frothy latte you've been seeing around vegan eateries? It's a traditional Indian drink known as haldi, but it's commonly referred to as a turmeric latte, made by blending milk (usually nondairy), turmeric, spices, and a sweetener (honey or dates). Health-conscious folks have flooded to drink this elixir over the last few years, because the numerous health benefits of golden milk, also known as turmeric milk, include acting as an antidepressant, a debloater, and a weight-loss agent.

Moon Juice, a vegan health food shop in LA, helped popularize this traditional beverage with its version called Golden Serene ($12 at the shop). If the cost or the destination (or both!) keep you away from drinking golden milk, here's the very recipe for it, printed in Amanda Chantal Bacon's recently published Moon Juice Cookbook ($30).

The recipe doesn't call for drinking the milk warm — however, it's bitterly cold here in San Francisco, so I steamed mine up to create a latte. You could also use a Nespresso milk frother or, if you want to keep the beverage as "raw" as possible, simply warm the beverage up over the stove until it reaches a temperature of 118°F.

Sweet, spiced, and peppery, the drink seemed to offer a much-needed energy boost in the afternoon and left me feeling warm inside-out. As someone who doesn't love ultrasugary flavors, I will try adding lucuma, as Amanda suggests, and I'm curious about whether the powder compromises the velvety texture of the beverage. I'm also looking forward to trying it with black pepper oil. I have some in my cabinet, but I have to admit, even one drop is SUPER spicy, so I may double the recipe and start with one drop as a precaution.