Bay Nut Mocha

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2020 is the year that stopped drinking caffeinated coffee. A test with Viome confirmed what my intuition had long told me: coffee isn’t my friend. I knew for ages that caffeine affected me more than the average person but I didn’t know that the catechols in coffee were unfavorable to my microbiome as well as my gut integrity and function. No bueno.

I was musing about my desire to concoct a coffee-esque beverage to an herbalist friend and she immediately suggested bay nuts. Of course! I’d heard of them before and was seeing them on my hikes in the East Bay hills but I had never tried them.

Bay nuts ticked all the boxes: they are similar in flavor to coffee, can be processed into a beverage AND I can forage them. Yes! Yes! A friend forwarded me this amazing article on the nuts and I was further convinced that this was something to pay attention too. I started hiking with clothing with deep pockets or a fanny pack. 

The flavor is really special. It’s toasty, bitter and earthy. One foot in coffee territory and one foot in unsweetened chocolate. In fact, I struggled a bit to name this beverage… Bay Nut Coffee? Bay Nut Hot Chocolate? The answer, of course, is the genius beverage that merges them both: the mocha.

Ingredients

• Bay nuts

Directions
Prepare the nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. If you haven’t already, remove the fruit and discard. 
3. Place bay nuts on a baking sheet at roast for 45-60 minutes. 
4. Once nuts have cooled, shell them. Some of the shells will have started to crack and you can peel those with your fingers. For the rest, place on a cutting board and apply direct but gentle pressure from a heavy object with a flat surface such as a coffee mug or sturdy juice glass. 
5. Store nuts in a cool, dry place.

Prepare the beverage

1. Add 1 Tbsp of the bay nuts to a high powered blender along with 8oz of water,  1 tsp of sugar (optional) and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.

Serves 1


Notes:

• Some of you might be wondering about the salt addition. I find that it helps to balance the bitterness of the drink as well as elevate the sweetness of the sugar. 
• There is some natural separation that occurs quickly after the beverage is poured. Consider adding cream, butter or coconut oil to the blender if this is distasteful to you.