Warm Drinks From Around The World To Try This Fall
All over the world, warm drinks keep people cozy during winter days, bring others together on festive nights, and allow individuals to celebrate life with the staple ingredients that remind them of home. Beverages that keep us warm spurs excitement within our bodies and have us feeling fuzzy. With fall nearing, we’ll be exchanging our cool drinks for warm ones, so it’s important to get our catalog of coffees, teas, and hot chocolates up and try something new. It’s also important to understand that when expanding our catalog, we should appreciate new and exciting drinks by familiarizing ourselves with their origins and where they come from. With this in mind, here are some warm drinks from around the world you should try this fall!
Chai
Origin: India
It’s important to note that if you’ve ever said “chai tea” before, you were actually just saying “tea tea”. That’s because your favorite order of chai tea at Starbucks or Caribou originates from India, a place where chai isn’t a flavor, but a way of life. According to a recipe blog Feasting at Home, chai is an integral part of Indian culture and a culture in itself, in which everyone carries and sips the hot drink everywhere they go, year-round. While we know chai to be a cup of black tea, some sugar, cinnamon, and hot milk in a cup, real chai is black tea, milk, and an assortment of numerous spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves. Due to the various spices used in chai, there are a lot of different versions of the warm drink: masala chai, tulsi chai, ginger chai, etc. Let’s make a vow to never say chai tea again and try real chai with a side of biscuits or a pastry of your choice!
Champurrado
Origin: Mexico
Everyone loves a good hot chocolate, but did you know this hot drink comes from Mexico? Champurrado is a thick hot chocolate and a chocolatey type of atole–a corn-based drink that comes from Mesoamerica. The food blog Muy Bueno outlines the recipe by further explaining that, in addition to an atole base, champurrado is made with Mexican chocolate, water, milk, aniseed, cinnamon sticks, and sweetened with Mexican brown sugar. This warm drink is meant for holidays or in the morning as breakfast. You can match the flavor of champurrado your favorite dessert, traditionally drank with a side of sweet tamales. This original hot chocolate is worth a try!
Amarula Coffee
Origin: South Africa
Africa is home to great coffee blends and, in South Africa, Amarula coffee is a treasured drink for many. Amarula is a sweet and creamy liqueur made from Marula fruit, a fruit indigenous to Southern Africa. With this in mind, Amarula coffee is basically a mix of your favorite coffee, shots of Amarula, sugar, and some whipped cream if you’d like. According to Global Table Adventure, this warm drink is similar to Irish coffee and can be found in many liquor stores in the U.S. Amarula coffee can also be prepared as a milkshake or iced. If you’re a fan of coffee liqueur, try finding this one the next time you go out!
Anijsmelk
Origin: The Netherlands
If you’re ever tired and want a good night’s rest, try making Anijsmelk the next time you want to catch some zzzs. The Dutch Table explains this drink as a “night-cap”, as it soothes you to bed with the simple ingredients of milk, aniseeds, and sugar/honey. You can even decipher the beverage name as a combination of the words anise and milk. While you do have a choice of sugar or honey to sweeten the warm drink, it is important to note that the Dutch often use sugar cubes when they fix themselves a cup of anijsmelk. Make sure to collect this recipe the next time you have trouble knocking out and need to snooze!
Long Black
Origin: Australia & New Zealand
If you ever find yourself walking into an Australian or New Zealand coffee shop, ask the barista for a long black coffee. This style of coffee originated in these island countries where the coffee is a derivative of Cafe Americano, except stronger in smell and taste. This coffee style is simply a short coffee with the pouring of hot water first and a double-espresso topping the drink. This order of making the warm drink is actually why Australians and New Zealanders alike call it “long black”. Pair this with your favorite pastry or breakfast food, and you’ve got yourself a meal. If you’d like to make this coffee style, check out this step-by-step video to be your own barista!
Coquito
Origin: Puerto Rico
Coquito is a Spanish word meaning “little coconut” and most popularly known as the “Puerto Rican eggnog”. A warm drink that’s usually served during Christmastime, there are many variations of coquito, but the main ingredients include milk, coconut cream, white rum (for the adults), and aromatic spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. While coquito is characterized as an eggnog or a version of it, it really isn’t. The blog The Noshery even points out that it doesn’t even have egg in it and is traditionally served warm, so it’s safe to say that coquito is in a league of its own. This unique and festive drink is a must-try!
Karkade
Origin: Egypt
Karkade is a hibiscus tea famously drunk by pharaohs in ancient Egypt. The tea is a cranberry-like warm drink widely consumed by many in the Middle East. It is a beautiful ruby-red in color and an herbal tea, having health benefits such as cancer prevention and reducing high blood pressure–according to The Oprah Magazine. This beverage can be served iced and can be ordered at Starbucks as a refresher. While many people like hibiscus tea served chilled due to its tartness, it is traditionally served hot, like most teas, and with sugar or honey for taste. Karkade is the perfect drink to help your health and make your day a little bit brighter!
