Top must-try non alcoholic drinks in Thailand

If you're having street food, you'll likely get to choose from water and soda, and if you're going for an alcoholic beverage, Thai beer can't be beaten. But if you want something without alcohol in it, here are some of the most popular drinks in Thailand. They tend to be very, very sweet, though, so be prepared.

Cha Yen

You may be familiar with this Thai iced tea, it's the milky, orange drink that's often served in Thai restaurants in the United States and Europe. In the typical Thai iced tea, you'll find black tea brewed with boiling water using a cloth strainer, plus some sweetened, condensed milk, served over ice with sugar and a little evaporated milk on top. These days the reddish-orange color is the product of food coloring, though traditionally it may have come from a natural source. If you prefer your Cha Yen without extra sugar, you can ask for it mai waan, which means "not sweet." You'll still get a little sweetness from the condensed milk but at least you won't get the scoop of sugar on top of that.

Cha Manao

If you want the iced tea but don't want all the dairy products that are typically served with it, you can ask for a cha manao, which, translated into English, means "lime tea." That's brewed just the same as cha yen but instead of being served with condensed milk, is served with freshly squeezed lime juice. The default is to serve it very sweet, so if you do not want any sugar, as for it mai waan as you would with cha yen.

Nam Manao

Nam manao is just lime juice, water, and sugar served together. Like similar drinks you'll find in India and other countries with hot climates, it's a basic, refreshing tropical beverage. If you order a nam manao from a street vendor it's likely to be sweetened, but if you order one at a restaurant you'll be served sugar syrup on the side. Nam manao is a great complement to spicy Thai curries.

Manao Soda

This is just fresh lime juice served with soda water and sugar syrup if you want. This is a great substitute for sweetened sodas and any restaurant in the country will serve this up.

Sweet Sodas

These are usually ordered by indicating the color of the flavor you want mixed with your soda water, so, for example, if you want a cherry-flavored soda you'd order a red soda. Same goes for lime (green) and orange (orange). These are made by mixing a colored, flavored syrup into ice and soda water and are very popular, even among adults, in Thailand.

See more: The best Thai desserts to indulge in

Source: Internet

All about beers in Vietnam

In Vietnam, beer is everyone's favourite drink to cool down and refresh after a long day. In fact, most of Vietnam's nightlife is based on beer. This makes Vietnamese beer inexpensive and rich in variety.

1. Draft Beer

Draft Beer or Bia Hoi is the most common kind of beer you will find in Vietnam. Bia Hoi is brewed in 7 - 10 days and hence has a shorter shelf life. It is pasteurized and has a lower ABV and sugar content than other beers. During the fermentation process, no preservatives are used. After fermentation, the beer is extracted into kegs and sterilized with compressed air and warm water, sodium hydroxide and hot steam. It is then cooled down with carbon dioxide gas. This is the kind of beer you will see on sidewalks throughout Vietnam. Bia Hoi is cheap (VND 10,000 per mug) and is a local delicacy you cannot afford to miss. 

2. Craft Beer

Craft Beer is brewed with a lot of skill and care and is often very expensive. Some popular Vietnamese Craft Beer producers include Platinum, Pasteur Street Brewing, east West Brewing, Winking Seal and Heart of Darkness. Craft Beer is brewed from all sorts of substances such as cocoa beans, local fruits, coffee beans, passion fruit and durian. The brewing process is highly complicated and sophisticated as a result of which craft beer is often very expensive, starting from VND 100,000.

Vietnam has a number of beers that you must not miss. These beers include:

3. 333 

This beer was first produced in 1893 and initially known as Beer 33. Later, another digit was added to it. It is most commonly available in the south.

4. Bia Hanoi 

It is the most popular beer in Vietnam. This beer is brewed and served fresh and has a nice and crisp taste. It is found easily in Hanoi and the northern region in general but not as much in the south. It is estimated that around 3 - 4 litres of Bia Hanoi are sold in Hanoi every day.

5. Saigon Beer

These are relatively lighter beers produced in the south but are found all over Vietnam. The beer has about 4.7% alcohol and has a very distinctive Asian Rice flavour.

6. Huda 

This beer's name is derived from Hue (Hu) and Denmark (Da). This beer is confined to Central Vietnam and rarely found outside.

7. Heineken

This foreign beer brand is vastly popular amongst the foreigners and expats in Vietnam.

8. Tiger 

This beer is brewed by the Asia Pacific Breweries and is considered a premium brand everywhere else in Asia but is the cheapest international beer you can buy in Vietnam.

See more: 8 beverages you should try when visiting China

Source: holidify

6 things about Turkish coffee you may not know

Turkish coffee has become famous all around the world. But there’s much more to Turkish coffee’s story apart from its delicious taste.

History of Turkish Coffee

Coffee was first brought to Istanbul in 1555 by two Syrian traders, and by the mid-17th century it became an essential part of the Ottoman Court’s elaborate ceremonies. The sultan was served ceremoniously served coffee by his coffee makers, and this coffee ritual also played a role in marriage customs to an extent that women in the harem received thorough training regarding how the perfect brew was to be prepared. As such, potential husbands would judge a woman by her Turkish coffee-making skills. Even today, when a prospective husband’s family asks for the girl’s parents for her hand in marriage, Turkish coffee is served by the bride-to-be.

The Famous Coffeehouses

First opened in the Tahtakale neighborhood in Eminönü almost five centuries ago, coffeehouses became the main source of social life for men. They were also the main place for the dissemination of the oral culture of the Ottoman Empire and exhibition places for folk literature (such as the shadow plays of Karaköz and Hacivat). Today, the coffeehouses continue to be a place where men gather to socialize, talk politics, and play backgammon over cups of tea and coffee.

How to Cook Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee is prepared in a cezve, a special small pot with a long handle that is traditionally made of copper. For one cup of Turkish coffee, combine one cup of water (the size of the coffee cup) and two full teaspoons of coffee. Since sugar is never added after the coffee is cooked you have to add sugar into the cezve (two sugar cubes for very sweet, one for medium sweetness, and none for the ones that like it bitter). Once the coffee comes to a boil, let the foam rise and take it off the heat right before it’s about to spill, and this will guarantee that your coffee will have lots of foam. Traditionally, Turkish coffee without foam is simply unacceptable. Serving the coffee with a glass of water (and something sweet, preferably Turkish Delight) is also part of the ritual.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List

Turkish coffee’s special preparation, brewing techniques, and rich communal culture made it worthy of being inscribed in 2013 into UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The tradition itself has also been recognized as a symbol of hospitality and friendship, with locals meeting at coffeehouses to converse over coffee, or coffee being offered to visitors as a welcoming gesture. The beverage’s importance in social occasions was also an important factor in its inscription, with coffee being served during holidays and engagement ceremonies.

Best Place to Buy or Drink Turkish Coffee

Turkey’s most popular purveyor of Turkish coffee is Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, whose products can be found in every supermarket or its flagship store in Eminönü where coffee is ground fresh on a daily basis. Nuri Toplar (also in Eminönü and open since 1890) is another excellent choice and a bit of an insider’s tip. If you’d rather someone prepare and serve you coffee, drop by Mandabatmaz in Taksim or Ethem Tezçakar (who only uses coffee from Nuri Toplar) in the Grand Bazaar for traditionally prepared and excellent Turkish coffee.

Turkish Coffee and Fortune Telling

Turkish coffee cup-reading is a very popular method of fortune telling in Turkey, where the shapes left by the coffee grounds represent the past and future of the drinker. You’ll know when you’re done drinking your coffee, because a thick layer of grounds will appear at the bottom; when this happens, close the cup with the saucer, make a wish, and turn it over. Once the cup has cooled, the shapes it leaves on the side of the cup can be read, usually at a Falcı (fortune teller), many of which can be found all around the city (some better than others).

See more: 9 best coffee shops in Taipei

Source: theculturetrip

8 beverages you should try when visiting China

When traveling through China, you may have trouble finding your most beloved beverages from back home, unless your favorite drink is Coca-Cola, in which case you'll have no problem. If Coke isn't your thing, though, have no fear. China has plenty of its own delectable drinks to offer.

1. Chrysanthemum tea 

To say that there is no shortage in tea varieties in China is putting it very, very lightly. The first and most traditional of the teas covered in this article is the refreshing chrysanthemum tea, with its nice floral aroma. Many drink it as a remedy for ailments from the common cold to neurological disorders, though it's a soothing beverage choice regardless of your health status.

2. Milk tea 

This popular Taiwanese treat with a smooth creamy feel and bitter aftertaste can be found all over China in various combinations of flavors. One popular form is bubble milk tea, which has tapioca bubbles in the bottom and is often sweetened with various fruit flavors. Large chains such as Coco and Happy Lemon as well as smaller stands can be found all over China. Served hot or cold, it's a great drink for winter or summer.

3. Wang Lao Ji tea 

Commonly referred to by expats simply as “the tea in the red cans”, this is one of the most popular brands of tea. It goes especially well with spicy food and, as is common in Chinese tea brands, contains traditional Chinese medicine, so you can be sure you're drinking healthy.

4. Plum juice 

Made from Chinese plums and sweetened with a bit of sugar, it's the Chinese drink of choice for relief on sweltering summer days. It can be found on some street corners, or the most famous plum juice brand can be recognized by its famous short, fat jars. 

5. Arctic Ocean Orange Soda 

This refreshing, naturally flavored orange soda has been through a lot. Until the 1990's when Arctic Ocean was bought out by Pepsi, the brand's orange soda was the soda for many consumers in China. Its iconic polar bear logo on glass bottles is something many adults still remember fondly, and now it's back. As of 2012, Arctic Ocean is now independently run and back on shelves — at least in Beijing, for now. You'll find it at almost any neighborhood shop for about 3 rmb.

6. Mai Dong Sports Drink 

This sports drink in a blue bottle comes in a number of fruit flavors and is China's version of an enhanced fitness water. It has just a slight touch of sweetness that pleases the taste buds but does not overdo it for the perfect post-exercise thirst quencher.

7. Tsingtao beer

Easily the most popular Chinese beer domestically and worldwide, there is no shortage of the German-style beer anywhere you go. With its light taste and low alcohol content, it's a highly drinkable beer whether you're looking for a single happy hour drink or enjoying a night on the town. 

8. Baijiu 

China's national liquor is not for the faint of heart. Ranging from 40 to a whopping 60% alcohol by volume content, it's a drink you won't soon forget, though the same thing may not be said of a night of baijiu consumption.

See more: Best 10 famous signature dishes of China

Source: chinahighlights