So I have been making my own Almond Milk for a while now. While I was writing my post on Superfoods for Good Health, I read a lot about the benefits of hemp seeds. So, I decided to make my own hemp milk too. Turns out it is even easier than almond milk!
It’s pretty good too! I haven’t been able to find store bought hemp milk that doesn’t contain large amounts of sugar. When I make my own, I can control the sugar amount. There are also no funky additives like carrageenan in this. I added ground vanilla bean to my milk. I swear by that stuff. Worth.Every.Penny. A little goes a long way and it actually gives an impression of sweetness without adding sugar. Because there are no additives in this milk, it will separate in the fridge so you need to shake it well before you use it. I store mine in a leak-proof jar so I can shake it really well without it leaking. You will need a powerful blender, a very fine and strong cheesecloth and a mesh strainer.
Homemade Hemp Milk
1 cup hemp seeds
2 cups water
2 tsp ground vanilla bean or extract
optional: strain through a cheesecloth
Throw everything in the blender and blend for 90 seconds or so. I used a Vitamix. Lay the mesh strainer across a large bowl. Put the cheesecloth over that. Slowly pour the milk out of the blender giving the cheesecloth time to drain the liquid. You may have to give the cheese cloth a little squeeze to get all the liquid. Repeat until all the liquid has been strained. This is different from the almond milk because you will not have a leftover meal. All you are straining is the seed particles. You really can skip the straining process if you like. The seed bits will be small and barely noticeable. Either way works. 
I used to make almond milk in my Vitamix but my family could never get passed the slightly “gritty” taste. Does hemp come out with a smoother texture?
Did you strain it afterward? I have never had a gritty taste with almond milk. The hemp seed particles are so small that they don’t need to be strained. Since your family was sensitive to the texture of almond milk, you may want to strain the hemp milk too.
Do you soak the seed first also do you buy organic or does organic matter
I didn’t soak the seeds first. I soak the almonds when I make almond milk though. I would try to buy organic if you can.
Thank you I will check out Whole Foods they should have iy
Thanks for doing this one. I always wondered how to make hemp milk. I’m wondering where to get hemp seeds from though?
I get them at Sprouts. Whole Foods should have them too. You can also order them off vita cost or amazon. I heard they were pretty cheap on vita cost.
I buy mine at Costco, they are organic and pretty cheap. But every Costco carries different things.
I hear Costco has some good stuff. I need to check out the one near me sometime.
What a fabulous idea!! I have never even heard of ground vanilla bean — that is also a TOTALLY awesome thing I am going to try to find! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You’re welcome! That stuff is amazing!
Where can I buy ground vanilla bean? At Whole Foods? Costco? And in what aisle would you find it at? And also, are cheesecloths meant to be disposable after one use?
Sorry for so many questions at once.
Thank you.
I get it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Bakto-Flavors-Ground-Vanilla-Beans/dp/B002C98W4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362400527&sr=8-1&keywords=ground+vanilla+bean I also get the cheese cloth on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Regency-Natural-Cotton-Cheesecloth-9sq-ft/dp/B001B14ODG/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1362400563&sr=1-3&keywords=cheesecloth
Sorry, one more question: Is hemp milk a good substitute for half and half creamer? I use the store bought Almond milk but don’t like all the additives and if I can’t get raw almonds (which I know the ones at the stores that say “raw” really aren’t), then I’d rather not make almond milk at home…
Thanks again !
It’s not going to be as thick as creamer is, but I like it in my coffee.
If you adjust your water to seed amount you can get creamer consistency.
Thanks for the tip! I will try that next time.
My kids liked it strained better. We had a lot of seed particles left over. Is there anything that can be done with them? Dried or roasted and added to muffins or yogurt later? It seems like a lot to just toss.
You probably could throw them in muffins, breakfast cookies, bars or even a smoothie.
Just wondering do you use shelled or unshelled hempseeds? They have both in the health shop I go to. Thanks for a great reciepe idea. C x
I’m assuming I used shelled? I had no idea they came both ways. I got mine out of the bulk bins.
Hi. I love tempt original unsweetened unflavored hemp milk so thought id try making my own. It tasted disguisting! Very woody maybe? Like tree bark? I used only about a tablespoon of organic shelled seeds in a blender with about 6 ounces of water. I gotcthe seeds from mountain rose herbs. Makes me wonder what kind of “natural flavors” that tempt lists are used to mask the taste. Has anyone compared tempt side by side to the homemade? Anyone else have ssme ecperience i did?
I have not tried tempt. Sorry.
I am very excited to try this! One problem, my blender SUCKS since I usually juice or use my food processor…. would a food processor work for this recipe? Maybe to grind the dry ingredients first before mixing it in a blender? Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks
I did mine in the Vita mix. Since the hemp seeds are kinda small, it may work in your blender. Maybe you could pulse the seeds a bit in the processor and then switch to the blender? I would love to know if that works!