Setup: Velocity clone; dual twisted 28awg @ .55Ω; cotton wicks; 40 W
Testing: CAP Horchata @ 3%; Aged: 3 weeks
Flavor description: Milky and sweet with subtle notes of nuts and cinnamon. Very soft and rather thick mouthfeel. Comes off as a sort of vanilla custard or pudding but with an unmistakable milkiness reminiscent of soft white rice in an actual horchata drink. The cinnamon is subtle enough to not be harsh after a short steep and the nuts do not over-power anything either. It is rather well balanced IMO.
Off-flavors: nothing "off" to me in terms of a horchata, but may become "eggy" or just weird if you push the % too high.
Throat hit: 6/10
Uses: Great as a base for your favorite dessert or holiday spice type recipes. I would recommend staying below 6% in a mix to avoid harshness or a weird egg note.
Pairings: Other creams (especially vanilla), chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, cookie, bourbon/whiskey, coffee, or your preferred cinnamon flavoring if you find this one to be lacking in that department. Would also work well with apple, pear, or other fruits commonly used in baking something with cinnamon.
Notes: To me, this is a rather under-rated flavoring. I enjoy the somewhat exotic taste I get from the cinnamon/spice/nut part of it. It is pretty versatile with many other dessert type flavorings. Not a lot of recipes around here using horchata, but that may change as the holiday season rolls around.
I've gotten a few requests from friends to make an horchata liquid and I've just avoided it because I wasn't interested at all and have never tried any of the horchata juices out on the market. I think I'm finally going to give in and pick this flavor up. Thank you for the notes!
Might work well with some almond, rich cinnamon, and the milk portion of a cereal recipe.
I have never even had Horchata, but man it sounds like something I love. I think I need to go get one and then get the flavor.
Whatever you do, make sure you only buy horchata that's in a big jug like the wikipedia link OP posted. Do not get the soda machine horchata because that stuff is nowhere near as good as the real stuff. I suggest finding a mexican market in your area or a smaller, hole in the wall, mexican restaurant.
Yeah, I was gonna go to a Mexican market or see if some of the ma and pa Mexican places around have one.
love this flavor. I find at 2-4 percent it's perfect for me. It's light on the cinnamon, so I usually boost that with another concentrate like CAP CDS to let that aspect shine. Haven't tried any other horchatas but I feel like this one nails the authenticity.
How does this compare to FW Horchata? I'm working on a Chai Latte recipe and have thought about adding Horchata instead of the CAP Cinnamon Danish Swirl. What are your thoughts on this?
Not sure about FW, although it might be in the flavor review wiki. I would recommend this over CDS + cream simply because it gives you a nice cream and spice mixture all in one. You can always tune it later if you feel like it is lacking something.
When you are doing flavor reviews are you doing max VG or what ratio?
Always 70VG. Thin enough to let the flavor shine and to use in my tanks when I'm on the go, although my taste testing is always done on an RDA.
Is the rice prominent at all? I would love something for making a rice pudding recipe, and this might make a good base it sounds like?
Personally I prefer tfa's horchata smooth.cap's version has some weird off taste that I don't like,and it's not really close to an actual Mexican horchata.horchata smooth is more realistic I think and you can achieve good results by adding some of your preferred cinnamon,creams and some rice crispies to bring the rice taste out a bit more