Christmas drinks to warm you up

Few things are as emotionally fulfilling and comforting as a hot drink on a cold day. That’s even more so at work where you’re looking forward to getting home and putting your feet up in front of the telly with friends and family with some festive food and drink.

Treat yourself and the rest of the office to hot drinks this Christmas and you’ll make everyone’s day that little bit warmer.

Christmas chai

Turn your office cuppa into a Christmas treat with this spiced chai recipe. You’ll need orange peel, ginger, cloves peppercorns, cinnamon and crushed cardamom. Adjust amounts to taste. Heat the spices together with boiling water and let the mix brew to make the flavours punchier. Keep on hand and then re-heat and add to milky tea when you’re ready to drink. You can adjust the flavours further by using flavoured teas.

Irish coffee

One to enjoy on the last day in the office – with permission from the boss, of course. This Irish coffee wonderfully balances heat, bitterness and booze. Make a glass of dark, rich coffee and then stir in brown sugar, and a glug of whisky. Gently pour double cream onto the back of a spoon and into the glass. This will help it settle on top, so you’ve got a lovely wedge of rich cream on that full-bodied coffee.

Hot chocolate with pumpkin spice

For the pumpkin spice, mix together 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons each of ground ginger and nutmeg and 1.5 teaspoons each of ground allspice and cloves.

Stir the pumpkin spice into your cocoa powder so it’s well blended. Add hot water and stir together. Crumble or grate a little bit of a chocolate bar into the cup and add a drizzle of maple syrup to make the drink even richer and sweeter.

Coffee and chocolate microwave pudding

Finally, what could be more indulgent than having your favourite hot drink and a pudding? All you need is a few ingredients and the office microwave.

In a mug mix:

1-heaped tbsp each of: self-raising flour, cocoa and sugar and  1 and a half tbsp of milk.

To the top of the mix, add another half tbsp of cocoa and 1tbsp each of brown sugar and hot water. Pop in the microwave for 30 seconds, or as long as it takes to cook fully. Enjoy with a generous helping of ice cream.

What else could you ask for of an office Christmas treat? Buy your essential hot drink supplies with Euroffice.