Chef John'S Horchata - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1/4 cup raw almonds
1 cinnamon stick
2/3 cup white sugar
7 cups cold fresh water, divided
Ground cinnamon for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Place rice, almonds, cinnamon stick, and sugar in a blender. Pour in about 4 cups of the water. Pulse on and off to start. Then blend on high speed until ingredients have been chopped up into very small pieces, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 3 cups cold, fresh water. Let mixture sit at room temperature about 4 hours. (Or you can refrigerate it overnight.) Stir occasionally.
Strain through several layers of cheesecloth into a pitcher. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Serve topped with a dusting of cinnamon.