What Everybody Ought to Know About Indian Beverages By David H. Urmann

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.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=319895&ca=Food

Learn About Wine Connoisseurs and Consumption By Daniel Millions

Wine has been around for thousands of years, and has been produced through the simple fermentation of grapes. Many adults like to drink wine with their dinner, as not only does it have an enjoyable taste, the fact that there is alcohol present makes wine a relaxing and fun beverage. Wine enthusiasts who want to collect and specialize in wines must amass a vast amount of knowledge. In fact, there are even adult education classes that focus solely on wine, and even include wine tasting.

The grape is not the only fruit that can be used to make wine. Other fruits, such as apples, can be fermented to produce wine. When a fruit besides the grape is utilizing, that fruit's name is usually implemented in to the title of the wine. For example, if wine was created from an apple, it would be called apple wine. Wine without a preceding descriptor is assumed to be grape wine, as that is the most common type.

While many people avoid alcohol because of its detrimental health effects, research has revealed that the moderate consumption of alcohol can yield several health benefits. The most beneficial form of alcohol has been found to be red wine. This is because red grapes are packed with antioxidants, and those stick around during the transformation from grapes to wine. The primary benefit of regular red wine consumption is cardiovascular protection. This means a lower risk of stroke and heart attack. Antioxidants improve cardio health by decreasing bad cholesterol, increasing good cholesterol, and reducing blood clotting (which is the ultimate reason that heart attacks and strokes occur).

Wine contains a special antioxidant called resveratrol, which has incredible, positive health effects. It has anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties, and has even been shown to extend the lives of certain species. Resveratrol also facilitates nerve production. Due to the chemical's properties, it has been theorized that the antioxidant is effective in preventing diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's.

If you are purely interested in health, then you should choose a red wine with the most antioxidants. The less sweet the wine, the more antioxidants it has, so that is the type of wine you should secure. Avoid white wine altogether, as while it does have some benefits, they pail in comparison to that of red wine.

Wine is a somewhat expensive commodity, which has led many people to begin brewing their own wine. The process of creating homemade wine is fun, not as expensive as one would think, and the final product can be as high a quality as the best wine on the market. You can find plenty of guides on exactly how to create wine on the Internet, but make sure to invest time in to identifying the best one. Not many materials are needed for this activity.

All you need is a large bucket, a hydrometer, a few wine-enhancing chemicals, an air tight mechanism, and of course either grapes or grape juice. There are vineyards that will sell fresh grapes and grape juice, and although taking this route is the most expensive, the final expenses still fall short of the cost of buying pre-bottled wine.

Whether you choose to make your own wine or buy it, it is important to store the product in a wine rack. A wine rack maintains the wine at a forty five degree angle, which is necessary to keep the seal strong and effective.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=292420&ca=Food