We are writing this article to help anyone who is a little behind the trends but decides to unravel them. Perhaps you want to find a common language with a young child and understand his tastes or diversify your gastronomic everyday life by switching from the usual cup of cappuccino to something more interesting.
We’ve brought together the trendiest drinks and told you what’s going on.
Number 1: Bubble tea.
Iced tea with jelly tried to conquer Moscow ten years ago, but then failed. Now it has gained new popularity due to the spread of Korean culture among young people and the large number of businesses with Korean cuisine. The drink was invented relatively recently – only about 40 years ago.
Cold bubble tee is a tea-based drink to which syrups, fruit puree and special balls are added: tapioca (made from cassava starch) or juice balls in agar-agar peel. Sometimes milk and condensed milk are optionally added. It is drunk from a wide tube so that the balls, which are a pleasure to bite and chew, go to the mouth with the drink. Tapioca, which is mostly found in cafes, turns out to be satisfying on its own, as its nutritional value and calorie content are high. By the way, if the balls with juice inside are liquid, then tapioca is more like a mixture of jelly and gum, it has a completely unique texture. This drink can be called beneficial with a stretch, but it is perfect as a dessert.
Number 2: match.
Although everyone seems familiar with the matches, let’s talk about it. Although matcha (or matcha) entered the menu of Russian cafes only five years ago, Japanese powdered tea dates from 9-10 AD. It has been known for many centuries.
They started making powdered tea for ease of storage and transportation. The tea leaves are steamed, dried and ground and then brewed if necessary. Meanwhile, one of the popular brewing methods was the brewing method with mint and salt.
The right quality of matcha has a sweet taste – this is because of the special harvesting method. Even a few weeks before harvest, the bushes are protected from the sun, which helps them develop additional amino acids and develop a deeper green color.
You can still find blue and pink matcha in many cafes. Nice, but not really matches. Blue tea is an anchan flower powder that, despite its unusual color, is absolutely natural. It has a rather peculiar taste, but most importantly it is caffeine-free, which is certainly a plus for many over coffee and tea.
Pink matcha is a drink based on freeze-dried vegetables or fruits. Most often, pitahaya, beetroot and even raspberry powder are used.
Number 3: cheese drinks.
You can now find coffee or tea with cheese caps on the menu. What else is this? What it’s made of: gouda or parmesan?
Actually, everything is simple. About 15 years ago, a cheesecake, later known as cheesecake, that fell in love all over the country also surprised everyone. Here the meaning is the same – the “cheese” caps are made from curd cheese whipped with cream or milk and powdered sugar. Recipes may differ slightly from institution to institution, but the meaning is the same. It turns out a thick, viscous sweet mass that can be mixed with a drink, eaten with a spoon or sipped through a wide tube. It turns out very high-calorie, satisfying and at the same time really tasty. The drink turns into more of a dessert.
Considering that drinks with cheese caps are usually made on a fairly good tea and coffee basis, which can be a bit bitter and not everyone’s taste, (this is especially important in CIS countries, where milk drinks are more preferred), the cheese cap also performs a smoothing effect.
Number 4: kombucha.
Many have heard, but not everyone knows that fashionable kombucha is actually Kombucha familiar to the Soviet people, and many grandmothers grow it at home in a jar.
Perhaps this is the oldest drink of our choice: its first mention dates back to 200 BC. But despite such a solid age, the drink is distributed in the European part of the world only in the 20th century.
Many think that kombucha is an almost miracle drink that literally cures all diseases, which, of course, is not true. But like any fermented product, it certainly has beneficial properties.
Often people wonder why you buy small bottles in a store for 150-200 rubles, when you can make a drink at home for much less than a liter. But there are already purely pragmatic considerations here: this is labor-intensive work that requires attention, does not allow you to go far like taking care of any pet, and even looks quite ugly. Sometimes it’s easier to pamper yourself with a store-bought version, which makes it a whole lot of different tastes.
Number 5: alternative coffee.
In emergencies, we are used to coffee with milk being cappuccino and black being Americano or espresso. But a few years ago, terrible and incomprehensible words such as “nitro coffee”, “Chemex”, “V60” and others began to appear on the menu in all modern coffee houses. What is it and do you ever need to drink it?
In fact, all this is black coffee brewed with various devices. Filter through paper filter, siphon back brew, cold brew – and many more to help bring out certain flavor nuances.
The world of coffee is complex and diverse, professional baristas are constantly striving to improve their preparation art, hence new methods of brewing, processing and roasting grains.
Everyone decides for himself whether you need to understand this or not. If you are an explorer by nature, this will be an interesting experiment, and if you need to wake up urgently, get a filter or flat white and do not torture yourself.
Number 6: thump.
From English, the bumblebee is translated as “wasp”. This is a drink based on freshly squeezed orange juice (sometimes grapefruit is used), in which espresso is poured. You can add syrup or caramel for sweetness. Many of us like to order coffee and orange juice for breakfast, and that’s why someone came up with the idea to combine the two in one glass – and thanks for that!
We hope that with this small list, you have made the choice of cafe easier for you and you are not lost among the names you do not know anymore. Have fun exploring the world of drinks!