Horchata

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice – rinsed
• 0.5 cup blanched almonds
• 2 sticks cinnamon sticks – broken into a few pieces
• 8 cups water – divided
• 0.75 cup granulated sugar
• 0.125 tsp fine sea salt
• ground cinnamon – for serving
• ice cubes – for serving

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water until the runoff is mostly clear, 30–60 seconds; drain well.
2. Break the cinnamon sticks into a few pieces to help release their flavor.
3. Combine the rinsed rice, blanched almonds, and cinnamon stick pieces with 4 cups of the water in a large blender jar or nonreactive bowl. Cover and soak 6–12 hours at cool room temperature, or refrigerate overnight, until the rice looks swollen and soft to the bite.
4. Blend the soaking mixture on high until the grains are very finely ground and the liquid looks milky and aromatic, 1–2 minutes, working in batches if needed.
5. Add the remaining 4 cups cold water and blend briefly, about 10 seconds, to combine.
6. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a triple layer of damp cheesecloth (or a nut-milk bag) into a pitcher, pressing or squeezing to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids.
7. Stir in the granulated sugar and fine sea salt until completely dissolved, 1–2 minutes. Taste and adjust sweetness if desired.
8. Chill until very cold, 1–2 hours, stirring before serving as natural settling may occur.
9. Serve over ice cubes (for serving) and dust each glass lightly with ground cinnamon (for serving).