When Kim Kardashian shares something with her 343 million Instagram followers it's always likely to get people talking. And last week was no exception as the reality TV star posted a picture of a cup of charcoal tea on the social media platform.
The US socialite is a strong advocate of the new health craze along with big sister Kourtney, who favours a latte version of the charcoal-based beverage. The siblings recently teamed up to create a recipe for their own personal take on the detox drink and shared it on Kourtney's lifestyle website, Poosh.
It's important to note that nutritionist Hannah Macey told Yahoo that while small amounts of activated charcoal should not cause any harm or side effects, the long-term impacts of higher doses have yet to be studied. "If you do decide to take it, make sure it's not taken with any medication you may be on," she added.
So while the alleged health benefits of charcoal drinks can be debated elsewhere, we wondered how easy it is to make the Kardashians' new drink, how expensive are the ingredients and, more importantly, does it actually taste any good? Manchester Evening News reporter Caitlin Griffin set about finding the answers to those questions.
Here's what she discovered:
"The ingredients to make the latte came to just over £20, which seems expensive for a latte. However, the dates (£2.49), charcoal capsules (£10.79) and vanilla extract (£5.75) can all be used again.
"After tracking down the ingredients, the majority of which I sourced in Holland and Barrett, I followed the Kardashian’s recipe and method, which I found very simple. I poured half a can of coconut milk (£1.69) into a pot and stirred it on a low heat. I heated it gently as the instruction says not to boil or the fat will separate.
"As there was no charcoal powder available on its own, I bought it in capsule form and using scissors, split the tablet open to use the activated charcoal powder inside. This was probably the messiest part of the whole process.
"Once that was done, I popped two pitted dates, the powder, the warm milk and a splash of vanilla extract into a blender and blended it until it was smooth. I poured the mixture into a glass and added sea salt. You can also pour it into a mug if you prefer, or several people on TikTok poured the latte over ice if you prefer an iced latte.
"Using a frother, I frothed the latte which mixed the sea salt in. Kim’s recipe also suggests shaking some cinnamon on top of the detox drink, however I’m not a fan so I skipped this step.
"At the start, I thought it all sounded terrible - dates, coconut milk and charcoal? Doesn’t exactly sound appetising.
"However when I gave the drink a taste, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the drink tasted really nice, I was truly shocked.
"While obviously it doesn’t taste like a caffeine filled latte, it tastes like a glass of sweet, warm, frothy milk. No taste is too overpowering, I wasn’t sure if the coconut milk would be too much, but it all blended in really nice together.
"It took roughly 5 minutes to throw together and while it certainly won’t be replacing my morning coffee, I would definitely make this before bed the odd time or on days I may feel bloated to see if there are any nutritional benefits."
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