Traditional Hot Drinks Around the World

Traditional Hot Drinks Around the World

Dependent on where you live you may be feeling a little chill in the air. With winter knocking on your door you need a way to warm up, from the inside out. Forget the hot chocolate and the coffee! To get rid of the chill that you can feel down to your bones, try one of these hot drinks from around the world. They may be just what you need to warm up!

• Agua Dolce From Costa Rica
  Although Costa Rica doesn’t really get cold, there are still many days to where it experiences a lot of rain and the locals need a way to get rid of the chill. Agua Dolce can do just that, probably due to all of the sugar! Basically it just consists of hot water and sugar cane. It’s fairly popular to drink among farmers.
• Atole from Mexico
  Traditional recipes are made with corn flour, water, piloncillo (pure sugar cane,) milk, vanilla & cinnamon.
• Blanco From Bolivia
  Who knew corn in a drink could help you warm up? Blanco is made by adding white corn, sugar, cinnamon and milk to a pot and warming it up. It’s not uncommon to find it at bus stations or on the breakfast table at a home right along with a few pastries. This drink was consumed by the Incans.
• Colombian Canelazo
  Made from aguardiente, lime juice, aqua de panela (sugar cane water,) & cinnamon sticks. Aguardiente is quite strong so this drink does give you a quick buzz.
• Japanese Matcha
  Literally translated, matcha means powdered tea.  You can find a lot of different versions of match tea & smoothies, but the most common is served hot & made with matcha powder, sugar & milk.
• Wattlecino From Australia
  The national flower of Australia is used in this hot drink. Wattleseeds are ground up and used as a substitute for coffee. This drink doesn’t contain any caffeine and it has a flavor that’s somewhere between hazelnut and chocolate.
• Sarraba From Indonesia
  Not only will this drink warm you up, but it will delight your tastebuds with it’s white peppercorn and ginger flavor. It’s made by adding these items to coconut milk tempur and sprinkling in some palm sugar.
• Masala Chai From India
  Those who drink this find that it isn’t your typical chai tea. It’s very strong and is made with both hot milk and water and a variety of different things like ginger, cinnamon, peppercorn and cloves. It’s not uncommon for some individuals to add vanilla or nutmeg as well.
• British Grog
  Take 2 ounces of dark rum, some fresh lime juice, 1 tsp brown sugar, 4 ounces of hot water and a cinnamon stick or slice of orange for a delicious, warming drink.
• Hot Toddy From Ireland
  Most people have at least heard of this beverage. It’s a great concoction if you don’t mind a little bit of whisky in your hot drink. To make it, combine whisky cloves and some brown sugar. The cloves are poked through a lemon rind so that the drinker can still get the taste of them without having to deal with a mouth full of cloves getting stuck in their teeth. Some argue that this drink originated in Scotland.
• Anijsmelk From Holland
  If you like black licorice then you may very well love this drink. It’s made by adding anise to hot milk. Some people add sugar cubes to it as well. It’s known to calm the stomach and also acts as a sleep aid.
• Sahlab from Egypt
  Some consider this drink to be a natural aphrodisiac.  Milk or boiled with sugar and the ground up bulb of the orchid Orchis mascual, topped with cinnamon.
• Caribou from Canada
  This drink is made with red wine, whiskey, maple syrup and a cinnamon stick.
• Sbiten from Russia
  Served with both alcohol or non-alcoholic, this drink reminds me of apple cider but sweeter & with some spice.  It has honey, cloves, cinnamon sticks, ginger, blackberry jam, red wine, nutmeg, 1 mint leaf and 2 dried chili peppers.

Other interesting blog on drinks are How the World Drinks coffee, the Best Winter Drinks to Find on a cruise and New Years Lucky Foods.