Have You Tried Banana Milk Coffee? It's The Latest Coffee Trend!

Sometimes you read about something and you're so intrigued that you have to try it. Apparently banana milk coffee is becoming a big thing in coffee circles. The idea is said to have started at J+B Design & Cafe in Park Slope, Brooklyn and is fast becoming popular. So how does banana milk taste? And why are people drinking it?

I remember when I first told Belinda about banana milk. Her first reaction was "How the hell do you milk a banana?". My friends crack me up big time!!

The reason why banana milk coffee has become popular is because, if you make your banana milk with the right ratios, it doesn't taste like banana. It just makes your milk creamier, discernably so, and sweetens it naturally too. There are some that say that the banana milk balances the coffee's acidity better than plain milk. Some even compare it to a milkshake although to me, the coffee is so strong a flavour that it never quite got to the milkshake stage for me. Unless of course you mean a coffee milkshake.

I tried a lot of banana milk coffee in my pursuit to get the best result and here are some tips to make banana milk coffee:

One: Don't use sugar bananas unless they are very, very ripe. I always find that they have a slightly bitter/powdery aftertaste to them. But the riper the banana the better.

Two: I liked the ratio of 1 banana to 2 cups of milk and a teaspoon of honey from Manu's blog. I also tried this with 1 banana with 1 cup of milk and all I could do was taste banana. Apparently J+B's manager Fumio Tashiro blends one banana with one cup of milk and then adjusts the milk until you can't taste the banana any more.

Three: Banana milk tea? Now this tastes like a banana smoothie! So if you want a drink that is lower in calories than a banana smoothie try it with tea.

I have to admit I'm not a great fruit eater. I don't tend to sit down and snack on fruit unless I come across some sweet blueberries or figs. Oh who am I kidding? I eat fruit in its natural state maybe twice a week. For me fruit tends to go into cakes and that's how I eat it (and I can't really wonder why I'm constantly battling with my wardrobe). So I ended up making more batches of banana milk even after my experiments were over I enjoyed it so much because I wanted to get the nutrients from the banana without eating a banana.

Go figure. I probably make about as much sense as banana milk coffee :)

So tell me Dear Reader, would you try banana milk coffee? What do you think of it? Do you eat a lot of fruit? And do you always seem to have very ripe bananas in your fruit basket or is that just me?

Banana Milk Coffee or Tea

• 1 small or medium sized very ripe banana
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Coffee or tea

Step 1 - Blend the banana, milk and honey until very smooth. I put it in my Versa blender and it became creamy and smooth. I strained it but really you don't have to if your banana is really ripe and you blend it well.

Step 2 - Top up your coffee and tea with this.