Eat It

Instructions

1

Blanch the almonds by tossing them into boiling water for about a minute, then draining under cold water. After blanching, give each of those little guys a squeeze and the skins should slip right off. Dry the almonds off with a paper towel, then toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly brown.
2

Pulverize the rice in a spice grinder or blender. You can use a coffee grinder, but make sure it's very clean and even then you may get some coffee flavor in your horchata. Grind to a fine powder.
3

Add the ground rice to a large jar or bowl with the almonds and a cinnamon stick. Stir in the 3 cups of hot water, allow to cool to room temperature then cover and let stand overnight (not in the fridge!).
4

The next day:
5

Transfer the mixture into your blender and add the 2 cups of cold water. Blend until it's nice and smooth (about 1 - 4 minutes depending on your blender).
6

Strain the blended mixture slowly into a pitcher using a few layers of cheesecloth or a tea strainer and discard the stuff that doesn't pass through easily.
7

Dissolve the sugar in the 1/3 cup of water either on the stove or in the microwave. Taste it to see if it's sweet enough for your liking and add more sugar if needed.
8

Refrigerate then serve over ice. Garnish with cinnamon or a cinnamon stick.