What Everybody Ought to Know About Indian Beverages

India is famous for their tasty, refreshing, cheap and easy to make drinks. They have developed a wide array of interesting drinks that reflective of their culture.

Beverages are flavored drinks for human consumption. It can be any drink prepared in different ways in order to satisfy a quenching thirst. Since alcoholic drinks are not good, especially in many ethnic cultures in India, Indiansdeveloped a multitude of non-alcoholic beverages. Here are some of the famous Indian beverages:
Tea
Tea or Chai is a North Indian beverage made from leaves, twigs or buds of a tea bush called Camellia Sinensis. Indian tea processing procedures includes fermentation, heating and drying. Herbs, flowers, fruits and other spices are being added as an added appeal.

Chai is known throughout many countries. It comes in different flavors and strengths. Some of the Indian teas are the Darheeling Tea, Assam Tea and Nilgri Tea. Most people use tea as a natural hair conditioner, skin vitalizer and a cure for arthritis. To make an Indian tea, it's helpful to understand the basics.

Basic tea ingredients:
• plain or non-flavored Tea (loose leaf tea or tea bags)
• 2% Whole or skimmed milk
• Sugar
• Spices (optional)
• Hot or cold water
• Tea press or squeezer (for tea bags)
• Tea strainer (for loose leaf)
• Cup and saucer

Masala tea or Garam Chai is the most popular Indian beverage. Spices include ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorn, cloves, Saunf (fennel seeds) and Khus-khus.

How to make a Masala Chai
Ingredients:
• 4 single tea bags or 3 teaspoons of un-perfumed black loose tea
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 6 tsp. sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1/4th tsp. of Masala Tea mixture (a pinch of Cardamom powder and
2 in. piece of fresh ginger)

Method:
o Boil 1 ½ cups water and add the Masala tea mixture.
o Boil again for 1 minute. Add milk and sugar and simmer.
o Throw tea bags or leaves and let it set for 2 minutes.
o Strain the tea.

Coffee
Coffee is made from roasted seeds of a cocoa plant. It is served either hot or cold. It is a black beverage that is common in India. Indian coffee has its own varieties which includes the following:
1. Moonsooned coffee
2. Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold
3. Robusta Caapi Royale
4. Orange coffee
5. Choco-coffee Shake.

o Monsooned coffee - Moonsooned coffee has a unique natural element. It has a moonsooned flavor (mellow taste) with a golden appearance.

o Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold - This is premium quality coffee that exhibits a full aroma, good acidity and fine flavor. These very large blush green beans grown in the Mysore region.

o Robusta Kaapi Royale - This coffee is bold, gray to bluish colored beans from Robusta Parchment AB. It is grown from the regions of:
• Mysore
• Wynad
• Pulneys
• Coorg
• Shevaroys
• and Barbabudans

Robusta Kaapi Royale gives a soft, full bodied and mellow flavor.

Coffee preparation includes the following:
• 1 ½ cups milk
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
• 3 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. coffee

Mix together sugar and coffee. Add a few drops of water to make it fluffy. Add another two to three drops of water to get a creamy color. Add one teaspoon of coffee. Boil milk and pour in cups with a pinch of chocolate powder on top.

Orange coffee is a mixture of hot chocolate and strong coffee. Orange slices are placed into the cup with a garnish of whipped cream and cinnamon.

Other Indian traditional beverages are Lassi, Chach, Sharbat, Thandai, Shikanjami and Kanj.

India's popularity extends to its various types of refreshing drinks, all reminiscent of their deeply-rooted culture. They are fond of non-alcoholic drinks due to health issues.