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List of national drinks facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

A national drink is a distinct beverage that is strongly associated with a particular country, and can be part of their national identity and self-image. A beverage can be considered a national drink for a variety of reasons:

  • It is a common drink, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be prepared in a distinctive way, such as mango lassi that uses dahi, a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from the Indian subcontinent, usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk, goat milk or camel's milk.
  • It contains a particular 'exotic' ingredient that is produced locally.
  • It is served as a festive culinary tradition that forms part of a cultural heritage.
  • It has been promoted as a national dish by the country itself.

In some cases, it may be impossible to settle on a national drink for a particular country. In the realm of food at least, it may be impossible to choose a single national dish, even unofficially, for countries such as Mexico, China, or India because of their diverse ethnic populations and cultures. Though Tadi has been termed as national drink of India. At the other end of the spectrum, sometimes different countries see the same beverage as their national drink (e.g., pisco sour in Peru and Chile).

The national drinks below are categorized within geo-political regions modified from the United Nations' five "regional groups".

America

Caipirinha picture
Caipirinha is the national drink of Brazil and is made from cachaça, lime, and sugar.

North

  •  Canada: A Caesar is a cocktail that originated in Calgary, and is widely drunk in all parts of Canada. Similar to a Bloody Mary, it contains vodka, a blend of tomato juice, clam broth, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and is served with ice in a salt-rimmed glass, typically garnished with a stalk of celery and wedge of lime. What distinguishes the two is that only the Caesar contains clam broth. Calgary officially celebrated an anniversary of its creation and launched a national petition for it to be recognized as the official cocktail of Canada.
  •  United States: Coffee was defiantly adopted as an alternative to British tea in the period leading up to the American Revolution. Coca-Cola is America's iconic soft drink, with the name of the drink referring to two of its original ingredients: coca leaves and kola nuts (a source of caffeine). Pepsi is another popular soft drink. Bourbon (whiskey), named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, is a corn whiskey aged in charred oak barrels. It was proclaimed the U.S. National Spirit by an act of Congress in 1964.
  •  Mexico: Tequila is a liquor distilled from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, of the central western Mexican state of Jalisco. In 2018, the Mexican government approved a proposal to celebrate every third Saturday of March as National Tequila Day. Aguas frescas are also quite popular, two notable ones being Jamaica and horchata. Margarita.

Central and South

Mate en calabaza
Mate, a traditional beverage in southern South America, especially in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay

Europe

Red Wine Glass
Red wine is popular in many European countries, notably France and Italy.
Shops in Baščaršija, September, 2017
Bosnian Coffee accessory manufacturers' small shops in Baščaršija - drink is important part of country's culture, and was major part of its economy in the past.
Vodka with pickled cucumber
Clear vodka served with pickled cucumber – the usual way of consuming it in Slavic countries of the so-called "vodka belt".
Бочка кваса Белгород
A kvass street vendor in Belgorod, Russia, 2013
Glencairn Whisky Glass
A Glencairn whisky glass.
Rize tea
Per capita, Turkey drinks more tea than any other nation.

Africa

ET Amhara asv2018-02 img077 Lake Tana at Bahir Dar
A berele glass containing tej, which is a mead or honey wine brewed and consumed in Ethiopia.

Asia

East

Chinese tea set and three gaiwan
Classical Chinese tea set and three gaiwan
Chu Yeh Ching Chiew in glass bottle (20191118165928)
Bottles of Zhuyeqing (Chu Yeh Ching) baijiu produced in Shanxi, China
  •  China: Tea has been a vital part of the Chinese culture for thousands of years. China is considered to have the earliest records of tea consumption, with possible records dating back to the 10th century BC. Depending on different traditional methods in processing the tea leaves, Chinese tea can be classified into at least six distinct categories, namely white tea, yellow tea, green tea, oolong tea, black tea and post-fermented tea (dark tea).
The Chinese national liquor, Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: báijiǔ; literally "white (clear) liquor") is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from various types of grains, including rice, glutinous rice, wheat, barley, and millet. Baijiu was first made 5,000 years ago. Baijiu can be broken down into five main aroma categories: strong, light, sauce (soy, specifically), rice, and mixed.
  •  Hong Kong: Hong Kong-style milk tea
  •  Macau: Coffee (typically served with condensed milk) and tea
  •  Taiwan: Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, or boba) is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in the 1980s.
  •  Japan: Green Tea. Tea consumption became popular among the gentry during the 12th century, after the publication of Eisai's Kissa Yōjōki. Uji, with its strategic location near the capital at Kyoto, became Japan's first major tea-producing region during this period. Beginning in the 13th and 14th centuries, Japanese tea culture developed the distinctive features for which it is known today, and the Japanese tea ceremony emerged as a key component of that culture.
Sake, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is a beverage made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran.
  •  Mongolia: Airag (Mongolian: айраг [ˈai̯rəɡ]) or, in some areas, tsegee is a fermented dairy product traditionally made from mare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes, of Huno-Bulgar, Turkic and Mongol origin: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and Yakuts. A 1982 source reported 230,000 horses were kept in the Soviet Union specifically for producing milk to make into kumis. Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying, says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process. In Mongolia, the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 litres of milk, of which about half is left to the foals.
  •  North Korea: On June 18, 2019, Kim Jong-un designated Pyongyang Soju an alcoholic beverage that embodies the "innocent and tender hearts" of the North Korean people as the national beverage of North Korea, according to a state propaganda service. Soju is a clear, colorless distilled beverage of Korean origin.
  •  South Korea: Soju (/ˈsoʊdʒuː/; from Korean: Hangul: 소주; Hanja: 燒酒 [so.dʑu]) is a clear, colorless distilled beverage of Korean origin. While soju is traditionally made from rice, wheat, or barley, modern producers often replace rice with other starches such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.

Southeast

Singaporesling-march2017
Singapore Sling
JOH 5217 - Lotus of Siam
Thai iced tea is a popular drink in Thailand and in many parts of the world.
  •  Brunei: No national drink, however Air Batu Campur (ABC) is popular among citizens.
  •  Cambodia: Sombai infused rice wine.
  •  Indonesia: Es teler, a sweet iced concoction created by Murniati Widjaja, who won a competition to come up with a national drink for Indonesia in 1982.
  •  Laos: Lao-Lao (Lao: ເຫລົ້າລາວ) is a Laotian rice whisky produced in Laos. Along with Beerlao, lao-Lao is a staple drink in Laos. The name lao-Lao is not the same word repeated twice, but two different words pronounced with different tones: the first, ເຫລົ້າ is pronounced with a low-falling tone in the standard dialect, while the second, ລາວ, means Laotian ("Lao") and is pronounced with a high(-rising) tone.
  •  Malaysia: Teh tarik (literally "pulled tea") is a hot milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams. Its name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation. It is made from a strong brew of black tea blended with condensed milk. It is the national drink of Malaysia.
  •  Myanmar: Lahpet yay is brewed from a mix of fermented or pickled tea, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. It is traditionally served hot in Burmese tea houses - open air, bustling, street corner places.
  •  Philippines: San Miguel Beer.
  •  Singapore: Kopi is a type of traditional highly caffeinated black coffee, sometimes served with milk and/or sugar. This drink has Hainanese roots, many of which migrated south to Singapore during the 19th to 20th centuries. It is also otherwise known as Nanyang coffee. Nanyang means ‘South Sea’ in Mandarin, and usually references to Southeast Asia. The Singapore coffee is recognized to be culturally significant and part of the everyday diet and lifestyle of many Singaporeans.
  • The Singapore Sling is a gin-based sling cocktail from Singapore. It was created before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon (Chinese: 严崇文; pinyin: Yán Chóng-Wén), also of Hainanese descent, at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, Singapore, and is considered the national cocktail.
  • Tiger Beer is considered the national beer of Singapore.
  • The Milo dinosaur is a Singaporean chocolate malt–based beverage composed of a cup of iced Milo with undissolved Milo powder added on top of it. It is usually served cold to prevent the powder from immediately dissolving in the drink. It originates from Indian Singaporean eateries in Singapore during the 1990s, and it is now most commonly found in mamak stalls, kopitiams and hawker centres from all ethnic groups in Singapore.
  •  Thailand: Thai tea is a Thai drink made from tea, milk and sugar, and served hot or cold. It is popular in Southeast Asia and is served in many restaurants that serve Thai food. When served cold it is known as Thai iced tea. Another highly popular drink is Krating Daeng, an energy drink which was first introduced in 1976. In Thai, daeng means red, and a krating is a large species of wild bovine native to South Asia. Krating Daeng inspired the creation of the Western drink Red Bull.
  •  Timor-Leste: Cachaca
  •  Vietnam: Rượu nếp, Vietnamese rice wine, made from glutinous rice that has been fermented with the aid of yeast and steamed in a banana lea.

South

7 color tea, Sylhet
The 7-layered tea of Bangladesh.
Mango Smoothie
The popular Indian drink mango lassi.
  •  Bangladesh: Tea (Bengali: চা, romanized: Cha) is considered to be the national drink of Bangladesh, with government bodies such as the Bangladesh Tea Board and the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute supporting the production, certification, and exportation of the tea trade in the country. Recently, new types of tea, such as the seven color tea or seven-layer tea, (Bengali: সাত রং চা, romanized: Shat Rong Cha) has popped up as a well-known beverage of the country's Sylhet Division. Romesh Ram Gour invented the seven-layer tea after discovering that different tea leaves have different densities. Each layer contrasts in color and taste, ranging from syrupy sweet to spicy clove. The result is an alternating dark/light band pattern throughout the drink, giving the tea its name.
  •  Bhutan: Ara, or Arag, is a traditional alcoholic beverage consumed in Bhutan. Ara is made from native and high-altitude tolerant barley, rice, maize, millet, or wheat, and may be either fermented or distilled. The beverage is usually a clear, creamy, or white color.
  •  India: Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in India. Lassi or Chaas is another yogurt-based drink and can be sweet or salty. Lassi or Chaas is a blend of yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit like mango. While the Masala chai is a hot, sweet tea popular throughout the subcontinent and is a combination of brewed black tea, aromatic spices, and herbs, milk and sugar. In southern India, the iconic beverage is Kaapi, also known as Indian filter coffee, which is made by mixing frothed and boiled milk with coffee brewed through a metal filter.
  •  Maldives: It can be said that the Maldives have two national drinks. Firstly, due to their history and location near the Indian Subcontinent, sai (tea) is a Maldivian favorite. Secondly, as the Maldives are truly an Island nation, raa (toddy tapped from palm trees) is also has its place in the national identity of the Maldives. Sometimes raa is left to ferment and is thus slightly alcoholic.
  •  Nepal: Raksi is a strong drink, clear like vodka or gin, tasting somewhat like Japanese sake. It is usually made from kodo millet (kodo) or rice; different grains produce different flavors. The Limbus, for whom it is a traditional beverage, drink an enormous amount of Tongba and raksi served with pieces of pork, water buffalo or goat meat sekuwa. For the Newars, aylaa is indispensable during festivals and various religious rituals as libation, prasad or sagan.
  •  Pakistan: Sugarcane juice, Chai.
  •  Sri Lanka: Tea

Central

West

Oceania

Gallery

  • 15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0098

    Coca-Cola is thought by many to be a symbol of the US.

  • Guinness

    Guinness, a dry stout beer, is strongly associated with Ireland.

  • Filter kaapi

    Kaapi, Indian filter coffee.

  • Faikava

    A typical informal faikava in Tonga with the touʻa serving the men.

  • Peach kompot

    Peach kompot, traditional to several countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

  • 2017 Likier miodowy Krupnik

    Krupnik, a national drink of Poland.

  • HBH Juozo Gira (9617424290)

    Kvass, popular in the Baltic and Slavic countries.

  • Thai red bull

    Krating Daeng, an energy drink, created in Thailand.

  • 10 layer tea,Srimongol

    The new Seven Color Tea, a recent competitor for national drink of Bangladesh.

  • Chai In Sakora

    Indian Masala chai served in a red clay tea cup.

  • Pisco sour 20100613b

    Many in both Peru and Chile think that pisco sour is their national drink.

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List of national drinks Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.