Iced Un-Cappuccino 

About

I love the iced cappuccino at Tim Horton’s. What I don’t like is all the caffeine and sugar! I created this recipe to approximate the Tim Horton’s product as closely as possible, using a coffee substitute and a low glycemic sweetener (agave nectar).

For ease in preparation, this recipe calls for instant coffee substitute OR instant decaf coffee. If you prefer fresh brewed decaf, feel free to use that. You can also used a brewed coffee substitute. When choosing this option, use the water in the ingredients list to make the brewed coffee, then chill before adding to the blender.

Ingredients

Directions

1. Start the night before by freezing your milk or almond milk in an ice cube tray. One cup of liquid usually fills half a tray. 
2. Blend the water and coffee substitute / instant decaf (or chilled brewed coffee) with agave nectar, vanilla and salt in blender on low or medium speed.
3. Add milk cubes. Blend on high until your iced un-cappuccino reaches desired consistency (you may prefer it smooth or slightly slushy).
4. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Helpful Hints

1. A good instant coffee substitute is Caf-Lib. I find the dark roast option tastes closer to real coffee. I used three heaping teaspoons in this recipe for a strong coffee-like taste. Teechino is a coffee substitute that can be used in a drip-style coffee maker. I have not used it in this recipe but have enjoyed the Java flavour on its own.
2. For a more authentic Tim Horton’s taste, you can buy Tim Horton’s coffee in both regular and decaf. They offer “fine grind” on their website as well well as Nespresso pods and K-Cups. I have also seen Tim’s coffee at Loblaws in a variety of types, including instant coffee.
3. If you are using a Vitamix, this recipe will blend up very easily. If you are using a regular blender, you may want to add the milk cubes one at a time or crush them with an ice crusher prior to blending.
4. The vanilla extract and salt are key ingredients that improve the overall flavour of this beverage.
5. If using almond milk, you can use store purchased or home made depending on your personal preference.
6. This recipe calls for agave nectar as a sweetener because it is lower on the glycemic index and is suitable for vegans. However, you may use any sweetener you wish. Please note, that if you change the sweetener you may need less or more of it, so add a little at a time until desired sweetness is reached.