Protein Horchata Latte

This is our regular Horchata Latte with one change: a scoop of whey protein whisked into the rice milk before it’s steamed. Same real cinnamon-rice concentrate, same espresso base — just built to also cover a meaningful chunk of your day’s protein.

Building the Latte

1. Whisk 1 scoop of whey protein into 8oz of cold rice milk in a separate cup until completely smooth.
2. Pull a double shot of espresso (about 2oz) directly into your cup, or brew a strong coffee/moka pot equivalent.
3. Stir in 2 tbsp of Horchata Concentrate while the espresso is still hot.
4. Steam or froth the protein-rice-milk mixture to about 150°F and pour it over the espresso-concentrate mix. Rice milk foams thinner than dairy, so expect a lighter foam — that’s normal, not a technique mistake.

Specialty café horchata latte with a protein add-on~$7.35

Home protein horchata latte~$1.76

Savings per drink$5.59

Assumptions: a 12-16oz specialty-café horchata latte plus a protein-powder add-on charge, since this drink hasn’t standardized at national chains the way a PSL or chai has — see the Horchata Latte for the same caveat. Rice milk, espresso, and the concentrate’s ingredients are all priced at typical grocery cost; whey protein at ~$0.88/scoop. At 5 protein horchata lattes a week over the site’s standard 48-week year, that’s roughly $1,342/year back in your pocket versus the café version.

Swaps & Notes

• No espresso machine? A moka pot or strong AeroPress shot works fine.
• Iced version: use the Hot/Iced toggle above the ingredients — less milk (4oz cold, shaken with the protein, instead of 8oz steamed).
• Prefer dairy, oat, or almond milk? Use the milk-swap widget above — it’ll still be a genuinely good spiced protein latte, just built on a different base than the traditional drink. See the Horchata Latte’s “Why Rice Milk Is the Default Here” for the full reasoning.
• Protein total: about 24g from the whey scoop, plus roughly 1g from the rice milk (rice milk carries far less protein than dairy) — around 25g total.

Recipe Card Summary

Protein Horchata Latte

• 2oz espresso + 8oz steamed rice milk (protein blended in) + 2 tbsp Horchata Concentrate (made ahead)
• Prep time: 5 minutes (after the concentrate is made) · Total: 5 minutes
• Cost: ~$1.76/drink vs. ~$7.35 specialty-café equivalent · ~25g protein

FAQ

Why is the protein total lower here than your other protein lattes?

Because this recipe’s default milk is rice milk, which carries much less protein per cup than dairy (roughly 1g vs. dairy’s 8g in 8oz) — the whey scoop is still doing the same 24g of work, there’s just less of a boost from the milk itself. Swap in dairy milk from the options above if you want the higher total.

Do I need to make the concentrate every time I want this drink?

No — one batch keeps about 4 days in the fridge and covers roughly 10 drinks, same as our regular Horchata Latte.

Can I use a different protein powder?

Yes — unflavored or vanilla whey keeps the cinnamon-vanilla horchata flavor cleanest. Plant-based proteins work too but can leave a slightly gritty finish in rice milk specifically, since neither is a dairy fat to help smooth things out.