Keep warm this autumn with these 5 seasonal beverage and cannabis combinations
Written By: Kevin Woolery
Edited By: Monica Werkheiser
Everyone has their go-to fall favorite when it comes to beverages. Whether it be a pumpkin spiced latte, warm apple cider, or chai tea, there’s no reason you can’t spice up your day by pairing it with your favorite cannabis strains. These 5 seasonal pairings are a great way to elevate your day with a morning Wake & Bake smoke session.
For those of you who’d rather snuggle in and enjoy a cannabis infused beverage at home, there’s a quick how to guide on how to infuse your favorite fall beverages below. Enjoy!
1. Coffee & Mac n Jack strain
If your goal is energy and focus, these two can be a gorgeous combination. Caffeine has been known to intensify a cannabis session and pairing it with energizing sativa can be a pleasant start to your day. Looking for some delicious local coffee, check out Kafe Ojala. Their Costa Rican Coffee provides refreshing notes of orange, lemon & lime along with smooth undertones of milk chocolate giving you a sweet and comforting richness that pairs well with the citrus pine notes of Mac & Jack.
2. Hot Apple Cider & J1 strain
Nothing screams fall like a warm cup of apple cider that’s been sweetened with some delicious maple syrup and savory allspice berries and cinnamon. Pair this with the sweetness of the sativa leaning J1 strain and it’s the perfect way to tackle fall activities, so you can pick out the best pumpkin in the patch!
3. Karak Chai & Cereal Milk strain
Creamy, sweet and indulgent, Karak Chai is a strong tea traditionally brewed with more tea and less spices compared to other styles of chai. Karak Chai achieves so much with just one key spice, cardamom and pairing this with the Cereal Milk strain hits you with waves of mood boosting euphoria and eventually wraps you in a blanket of warm calmness to relax and watch some festive flicks!
4. Hot Cocoa & Animal Face strain
Bring in the Fall season with some delectably chocolate Hot Cocoa. This creamy, decadent, rich-tasting beverage topped with some velvety whipped cream and paired with the Animal Face strain will whisk you away into a giggly cloud-like state but be careful because one too many pulls and you’ll be counting sheep in no time!
5. Pumpkin Spice Latte & L’Orange strain
Sorry, but you know we had to do it. Is it really fall without the pumpkin spice latte?! This classic beverage leans into its nutmeg, cinnamon and clove notes to execute a long-successful formula that’s been keeping everyone coming back the last 20 years! Pair this with the L’Orange strain’s herbal overtones that turn sweet and notice how quickly your mind will fill with happy thoughts and a focus that will not only have you tackling your to-do list for the day but also will have you putting up Halloween decorations in September.
If inhaling cannabis is not for you. You can infuse your hot beverages using these techniques:
- RSO/Distillate
- Canna Cream/Milk
- Canna Butter
- Infused Honey
- Canna Tea
RSO/Distillate: dablicators or syringes are the easiest way to infuse you your hot beverage. Just add your desired dose to your tea, make sure to stir it well, and enjoy. Unsure of your dose, a Canna Remedies team member can help you find the amount that’s just right for you.
Canna Cream/Milk: will require you to grind up and decarboxylate your bud (bake it briefly for twenty to thirty minutes at about 280 degrees to activate the THC), then add it to a simmering pot of milk or creamer. Let that infuse for 35 to 45 minutes while stirring frequently, then strain out the plant matter. Infusing milk, half-and-half or condensed milk requires hovering to ensure that a skin doesn’t form.
Cannabutter: Melting butter in coffee has become a trendy way to add richness and fatty calories to your morning joe, so classic cannabis infused butter makes a great vehicle for adding cannabis to your coffee.
Infused honey: Cannabis infused honey is another natural choice for adding THC to your coffee. It adds sweetness while avoiding the greasiness of cannabutter or cannabis infused coconut oil.
Canna Tea: Have you been throwing out those pesky stems that are in your flower? Well, you shouldn’t be, save them and make some Canna-Tea! It’s a simple process that just requires the following Ingredients & Steps:
Ingredients:
- Stems from your favorite strain (1 ounce (about 29.57 ml) per cup of water)
- Water
- Pot (the kitchen kind) for boiling water
- Binding agent (more on this below)
- Coffee filter, cheesecloth, or strainer
- A teapot, cup, bowl, or second cooking pot to strain the liquid into
- Your favorite loose tea or tea bag (optional)
Steps:
- Weigh your stems if possible. You’ll need 1 ounce (about 29.57 ml) of stems per cup of water. If you don’t have a food scale, break up your stems until they fill a 1⁄8 measuring cup. So, for example, if you want to brew 2 cups of stem tea, you’ll need 2 ounces (about 59.15 ml) or 1⁄4 cup of stems.
- Pour the water into a pot.
- Measure in your fat-based binding agent. If you choose an alcohol-based binding agent, skip this step. You’ll add the alcohol later. Here are some useful amounts for your fat-based binding agent:
- 1⁄2 tsp of butter or coconut oil per cup of water
- 2-1⁄2 tbsp of whole milk, half-and-half, or coconut milk per cup of water
- Turn the burner on high and bring the mixture to a boil.
- When the water’s boiling, add your stems.
- Boil everything together for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If you have the patience, stir the mixture gently for the entire 10 minutes. This exposes as much of the stems to boiling water as possible. If you can’t stop stirring for 10 minutes straight, move the mix around every 2 to 3 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the pot from the burner.
- If you choose an alcohol-based binding agent, add 1 tablespoon per cup of water now. We like rum in our tea because it adds sweet notes to the bitter, grassy taste of the stem tea itself.
- Pour the stem tea mix through a coffee filter, cheesecloth, or strainer to separate the liquid from the solid plant matter.
- Enjoy!
You can also make Tea with flower itself as well! If you prefer that option because you don’t have any stems here is the ingredients & steps for that below:
Ingredients:
- 1 gram of cannabis
- 1 tbsp of coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 4 cups of water
- A teabag of your choice
- Your preferred sweetener
- A strainer, coffee filter, or cheesecloth
- A teapot, mug, and spoon
Steps:
- Chop or slightly grind your cannabis, separating all the seeds and stems. Boil the water on a stovetop and add the coconut oil or butter, stirring vigorously until it dissolves.
- Add the teabag and your cannabis, lower the flame, and continue simmering for 7-10 minutes. Keep stirring every minute or so. A lower temperature will help preserve the medicinal properties of the plant.
- Remove the teapot from the stove, discard the teabag, and strain the tea slowly and carefully. If you prefer to use a metal strainer, make sure it’s a very fine one, or you’ll have bits of leaves in your mug. Discard any excess plant matter.
- Sweeten your tea to taste and add milk or lemon as you prefer. You can also opt to add a cinnamon stick or a spring of peppermint to the hot tea to mask the characteristic weed flavor.
- You can make weed tea even more easily if you have cannabis-infused butter, oil, or honey, or a cannabis tincture. Simply steep the cannabis extract in hot water with a teabag of your choice, mix thoroughly, add your preferred sweetener, and then last but not least enjoy!