Herbal Drinks

🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda

Antiguan Sorrel

Sorrel

A ruby hibiscus drink steeped with warming spices and citrus, sweetened and served cold in Antigua and Barbuda, especially through the Christmas season.

🇮🇳India

Bel Sharbat

बेल का शर्बत

A cooling summer drink made from wood apple pulp. It is tangy, sweet, and digestive.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Blossom Water Drink

ماء زهر

Hot water with a spoonful of orange blossom water, drunk after a heavy meal or given to settle a stomach.

🇨🇳Guangdong, China

Cantonese Herbal Tea

凉茶

A dark bitter decoction of medicinal herbs drunk to counter what Cantonese tradition calls internal heat, sold from shopfront counters by the bowl.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Cerasee Tea

Cerasee

Infusion of wild bitter melon vine, drunk as a cleansing bush tea and famously unpleasant.

🇨🇳China

Chrysanthemum Tea

菊花茶

Dried chrysanthemum flowers infused to a pale gold liquor, drunk sweetened with rock sugar and often with goji berries.

🇰🇲Comoros

Comorian Herbal Tea

Thé Comorien

Herbal infusions made from native plants rather than true tea; popular varieties include cinnamon leaves, lemongrass, mfandrabo, and other local herbs; a daily beverage with deep cultural roots and believed health benefits.

🇵🇪Peru

Emoliente

Traditional herbal infusion of roasted barley, flaxseed, horsetail, alfalfa, and boldo. Sold by emolienteros since colonial times.

🇪🇬Egypt

Erk Sous (Licorice)

عرق سوس

Erk Sous is an Egyptian and Syrian Ramadan drink made from sweetened licorice root and served chilled.

🇪🇨Ecuador

Guayusa Tea

Guayusa

An Ecuadorian Amazonian herbal tea from guayusa leaves

🇪🇬Egypt

Helba (Fenugreek)

حلبة

A Egyptian hot fenugreek drink with sugar or honey, a winter and medicinal classic

🇱🇧Lebanon

Herbal Flower Infusion

زهورات

A mix of dried chamomile, rose, lemon verbena, hibiscus and other flowers infused as a hot drink after a meal.

🇮🇩Indonesia

Herbal Spice Drink

Wedang Uwuh

Javanese herbal spice drink with complex blend of spices, warming and medicinal.

🇬🇼Guinea-Bissau

Hibiscus Juice

Sumo di Ondjo

Guinea-Bissau hibiscus infusion sweetened and served cold as a ruby-red drink.

🇬🇲The Gambia

Hibiscus Juice

Bissap

Dried hibiscus calyces steeped with sugar, mint and sometimes orange-blossom water into a deep red drink served ice-cold.

🇪🇨Ecuador

Horchata

An Ecuadorian herbal infusion of aromatic plants and flowers, naturally pink, served cold as a refreshing drink. Different from Latin rice horchata.

🇮🇳India

Jal Jeera

जलजीरा

A spiced, tangy Indian drink made with cumin, mint, tamarind, and black salt. It is cooling and aids digestion.

🇮🇩Indonesia

Jamu

Traditional herbal medicine drink made from turmeric, tamarind, ginger, and other medicinal plants.

🇸🇩Sudan

Karkade (Hibiscus Tea)

كركديه

Egypt's beloved hibiscus tea, served hot or cold with sugar, a national and hospitality icon

🇨🇫Central African Republic

Karkanji

Dried hibiscus calyces and fresh ginger steeped in hot water, sweetened and served chilled; a deep-red, tart and refreshing drink found at markets and roadside stalls.

🇧🇼Botswana

Kgomodimetsing

Traditional Botswana herbal tea — leaves of the kgomodimetsing plant mixed with regular tea for a fragrant, scented brew; a traditional beverage of the Batswana, drunk for both flavour and medicinal properties.

🇮🇳India

Khus Sharbat

खस का शर्बत

A green, fragrant summer drink made from vetiver grass syrup. It is cooling and earthy.

🇰🇳Saint Kitts and Nevis

Kittitian Sorrel

Sorrel

Drink prepared by steeping the petals of the sorrel (roselle) plant, a species of Hibiscus; the red-coloured liquid is flavoured with ginger, cinnamon, clove, and lime; rum can be added to make it alcoholic; a traditional Kittitian drink, especially at Christmas; the sorrel of Saint Kitts and Nevis; a festive, tangy beverage.

🇲🇾Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Longan Drink

Air Mata Kucing

Dried longan drink with rock sugar, cooling beverage, clear broth with sweet longan flavor and not too syrupy.

🇧🇼Botswana

Longman

Traditional Botswana herbal tea — leaves of the longman plant mixed with tea for a scented brew; one of the herbal beverages of Botswana, alongside kgomodimetsing.

🇧🇴Bolivia

Mate de Coca

A traditional Andean herbal tea of coca leaves, slightly bitter and used to combat altitude sickness. Common in the Peruvian highlands.

🇮🇱Israel

Mint Tea

תה נענע

A glass of black tea or hot water with a whole handful of fresh spearmint stems pushed into it, drunk after meals.

🇲🇸Montserrat

Montserrat Sorrel

Sorrel

A festive drink made by steeping hibiscus flowers (roselle) in hot water with spices like cloves, cinnamon, and ginger; a Christmas tradition throughout the Caribbean; in Montserrat, sorrel reveres cloves almost to the point of complete numbness; served chilled, sometimes spiked with rum; a festive Montserrat beverage.

🇦🇱Albania

Mountain Tea

Çaj Mali

Herbal tea from wild Sideritis plants growing in Albanian mountains, believed to have health benefits and served especially in winter, dried wild mountain herbs with aromatic golden brew, a beloved traditional tea.

🇦🇲Armenia

Mountain Tea

Τσάι του βουνού

Greek herbal tea of sideritis (ironwort) flowers, dried and brewed in hot water. A national and healthy drink, aromatic and soothing, a winter and home staple, served with honey and lemon.

🇽🇰Gjakova, Kosovo

Mountain Tea

Çaj Mali

Golden herbal tea brewed from Sideritis, gathered wild in Kosovo's mountains.

🇧🇬Rhodopes, Bulgaria

Mursal Tea

Мурсалски чай

Infusion of Sideritis scardica, a mountain herb picked in the high Rhodopes, drunk hot with honey and credited locally with curing everything.

🇲🇰North Macedonia

Planinski čaj

Планински чај

Planinski čaj is a North Macedonian Sideritis infusion brewed from dried mountain stems and yellow flowers.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Roots Tonic

Roots wine

Bark, roots and herbs — sarsaparilla, chainey root, strong back — boiled down with molasses into a dark bitter tonic sold from roadside stands.

🇬🇹Guatemala

Rosa de Jamaica

A Guatemalan cold hibiscus tea with sugar and cinnamon, a daily and refreshing classic

🇱🇨Saint Lucia

Saint Lucian Sorrel

Sorrel

A Saint Lucian hibiscus drink steeped with spices and citrus, sweetened and chilled for the Christmas season, sometimes finished with rum for adults.