When you dine at WoodSpoon restaurant in Los Angeles, the waiter often brings a carafe of ice water with a cinnamon stick inside. It's an unusually refreshing beverage – and one that's easy to make at home, too.
Infused with delicate sweetness and spice, cinnamon water is both earthy and sophisticated. It's delicious alone or with dinner, and we plan to serve it as a festive alternative to plain water at holiday gatherings.
Making cinnamon water requires just two ingredients but you have your choice of techniques. One method is to simply drop a cinnamon (or cassia) stick in a pitcher of water and chill overnight. The water will become infused with subtle flavor; however, it will lack the lovely blush color of the water shown above.
To coax out the color, simmer the cinnamon in a pot of water on the stove; a ratio of 1 cinnamon stick to 1 cup of water works well. (As a bonus, your kitchen will smell amazing!) Cool the liquid and use it as a concentrate to mix with cold water and ice. It's quite good with fizzy water, too.
Related: Simplest of Mixers: 5 Ice Water Add-Ins
(Image: Flickr member D Sharon Pruitt licensed under Creative Commons; Emily Ho)
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Now there's a combination I've never thought of before! Definitely will give this a try. Thanks!
How long should that cinnamon stick be? 2" or longer?
i feel like if you over do it on the cinnamon you might make a lot of people very ill
There is a traditional Korean drink that is very cinnamon-heavy that this post reminded me of, if you are a fan of more flavor in a cinnamon drink than just infused water: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujeonggwa
We have a traditional drink in Algeria called sherbet that's very similar. Along with cinnamon, my grandmother would throw in some raisins. Very refreshing indeed.
Brian Mac: I don't think you'll be getting ill from a few glasses of water infused with a few cinnamon sticks, since the toxicity of cinnamaldehyde or coumarin is only evident in unusually high doses of cinnamon. So enjoy...it's quite delicious!
i remember their cinnamon water! now if you could post a recipe for that chicken pot pie...
A friend's Salvadoran mother used to make hot cinnamon tea...(just cinnamon and water). She always had a pot of it simmering on the stove. It was delicious and comforting. Drinking it chilled sounds good too.
I second for the recipe of the chicken pot pie...it is truly delicious. Love their cinnamon water.
This is great for those with high blood pressure.
@ATN654 2-3" would be fine. If you're making the concentrate, you'll be mixing it with water, anyway, and can adjust depending on how strong the cinnamon flavor is.
@janeylicious Sujeonggwa is delicious! Here's my recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/beverage/recipe-sujeonggwa-korean-persimmon-punch-075162
Apparently, cinnamon also kills sugar cravings. I read that if you are having a craving, you can just sniff some and it will really help. I imagine sipping cinnamon water would do the same.
How long do you simmer the concentrate for?
Cinnamon is also anti-inflammatory, so great for your health! What a great idea!
Cinnamon also boosts metabolism... or so I've heard. I don't think you'll get ill from this. I eat a TON of cinnamon every day, and I've never gotten ill from it.
Will be trying this!
Made this last night and drank it all day today. Its delicious! Thanks so much for the suggestion.