Embark on a sensory journey through the African continent, where diverse cultures intertwine to create a rich tapestry of flavors, beautifully expressed in traditional non-alcoholic beverages. From the spiced warmth of teas to the tropical sweetness of fruit juices, each drink tells a story of cultural richness and culinary craftsmanship.
East African Delights
Embark on a journey through the diverse and culturally rich East African region. East Africa's non-alcoholic beverages offer a refreshing glimpse into the region's diverse and vibrant culinary traditions.
Kenya: The Beloved Chai
Our exploration begins in Kenya with the beloved Chai, a spiced tea that holds a special place in Kenyan culture. Chai is made by brewing a robust black tea with a blend of aromatic spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. The tea is then enriched with milk and sweetened with sugar, creating a warming and flavorful beverage.
Tanzania: Tangy Tamarind Juice
Travel to Tanzania and refresh your palate with Tamarind Juice, a tangy and revitalizing drink made from the pulp of tamarind pods. The tamarind pulp is extracted and combined with water, creating a unique balance of sweet and sour flavors. Sugar is often added to enhance the drink's sweetness. Tamarind Juice is celebrated in Tanzania for its natural refreshment and is a popular choice during warm days.
Uganda: Tropical Mango Juice
Indulge in the tropical sweetness of Mango Juice in Uganda, where the abundance of ripe mangoes makes this beverage a popular and flavorful choice. To prepare Mango Juice, ripe mangoes are peeled, pitted, and blended to create a smooth and luscious puree. The puree is then strained to remove any fibers, resulting in a vibrant and refreshing drink that captures the essence of Uganda's tropical climate.
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Somalia: Cooling Suugo
Conclude our East African non-alcoholic drink journey in Somalia with Suugo, a cooling and aromatic beverage made from hibiscus flowers. To create Suugo, dried hibiscus petals are steeped in hot water, creating a vibrant red infusion. The drink is often sweetened with sugar and sometimes flavored with a hint of cardamom. Suugo is appreciated for its floral notes and is commonly served cold, making it a popular choice during warm days in Somalia. This beverage showcases Somalia's use of local flora to create drinks that are both visually stunning and delightful to the taste buds.
Southern African Refreshments
Embark on a sensory journey through the Southern African region, where diverse cultures intertwine to create a rich tapestry of flavors. Southern Africa's non-alcoholic beverages offer a refreshing glimpse into the diverse and vibrant culinary traditions of the region.
South Africa: Healthful Rooibos Tea
Our exploration begins in South Africa with the iconic Rooibos Tea, a herbal infusion celebrated for its unique flavor and health benefits. Indigenous to the Cederberg region, Rooibos tea is made from the leaves of the Aspalathus linearis plant. The leaves are harvested, fermented, and dried, resulting in a caffeine-free tea with a distinctive reddish-brown hue.
Botswana and South Africa: Nutritious Mageu
Discover the nutritious and traditional Mageu, a fermented drink enjoyed in both Botswana and South Africa. Mageu is made from fermented sorghum or maize, providing a mildly tangy and effervescent beverage. Often consumed as a refreshing drink or a porridge-like consistency, Mageu is rich in probiotics and essential nutrients. This traditional drink reflects Southern Africa's reliance on staple crops and fermentation techniques to create both a cultural staple and a nourishing beverage.
Zambia: Thobwa Infusion
Conclude our Southern African non-alcoholic drink journey in Zambia with the Thobwa Infusion, a captivating twist on the classic local beverage. Made from fermented maize and enhanced with a blend of indigenous herbs, this drink showcases Zambia's cultural richness by infusing traditional elements into a refreshing and unique experience.
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West African Beverages: A Taste of Tradition
Over the last couple of years, West African cuisine has become more popular, although emphasis has been on West African food such as Jollof rice, egusi, fufu, pounded yam, and tomato stew. However, not much attention has gone to West African drinks. These drinks are (mostly) healthy, full of nutrients, and made from whole grains.
How to Make Zobo Drink
Ghana: Zoomkoom and Asaana
Zoomkoom is a mildly fermented sweet and spicy drink that originated in present-day Northern Ghana and Southern Burkina Faso. Its original recipe featured guinea corn, which is also known as sorghum and jowar. However, modern traditional recipes use millet in place of guinea corn. Zoomkoom made following the original recipe is noticeably brown, but that made with millet features a creamy whiteish colour.
Asaana is another mildly fermented drink originating in Ghana. To make Asaana, the fermented and germinated corn is dried and roughly ground to break it up into smaller pieces. This ground corn is then cooked in boiling water for about an hour and sieved. The water strained out of the ground corn is harvested and combined with freshly caramelised sugar to make the cola-looking drink known as Asaana.
Nigeria: Zobo, Kunu Aya, and Chapman
Zobo: It is a popular drink across West Africa. However, the general/average recipe differs with country. The Nigerian recipes for zobo often include cloves and ginger. To make the average Nigerian zobo, the hibiscus calyces are washed thoroughly and placed in a large pot with the spices. The fruits are also washed and cut into large chunks. The pineapple rind is often added too. Water is added to the pot and the mixture is left to simmer for 30mins to an hour. Towards the end of the simmering stage, the pineapple flesh, ginger, and orange/lemon pieces are taken out, blended, and stirred back into the pot. The mixture is left to cool and then it is sieved to ensure the drink is smooth.
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Kunu Aya: Kunu aya, also known as, ‘tigernut milk,’ is a drink that originated amongst the Hausa people of Nigeria. It is made by combining freshly made tigernut milk with freshly made coconut milk and blending the mixture with dates, and ginger before straining it. The resulting drink is creamy, delicious, refreshing, and very nutritious.
Chapman: Chapman is a quintessential Nigerian mocktail which originated in Ikoyi Club in Lagos, Nigeria (Western Nigeria). It is believed to have been named after a member of the country club who asked one of the restaurant staff to surprise him with a new and refreshing drink. Despite its delicious taste that keeps people coming back for more, Chapman, is probably one of the least healthy West African drinks die to its high sugar content and low amount of fresh ingredients. This mocktail is made by combining grenadine with Ribena (or a similar blackcurrant cordial), Fanta, Sprite, Angostura bitters, freshly sliced cucumbers, and freshly sliced lemons and/or limes.
*Disclaimer: Although Chapman is classified as a mocktail, Angostura bitters is alcoholic (44.7% ABV). Only a dash of Angostura bitters is added to the Chapman. Thus, the final drink has a negligible amount of alcohol despite having the required flavour from the Angostura bitters. In Nigeria, this drink is considered to be child-friendly (in controlled quantities due to its sugar content) and halal (as the alcohol content is as negligible as that of cakes made with vanilla extract).
Northern Ghana: Rice Lamurgee and Emudro
Rice Lamurgee: Rice Lamurgee is a spiced rice drink that originated amongst the Hausa people of Northern Ghana. It is made by blending soaked rice with fresh water, fresh ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, and chilli powder. The blended mixture is strained through a fine cheesecloth so the drink is smooth. Tamarind pulp is dissolved in water then strained and stirred into the spiced rice mixture, to taste, to add a sweet and sour flavour, as well as a range of additional nutrients and fibre.
Emudro: Emudro, also known as, ‘Hausa Beer,’ is a non-alcoholic Northern Ghanaian spiced tamarind drink. It is made by combining freshly made tamarind juice (from dissolving tamarind pulp in water) with a blended and strained mixture of ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, and dried chillies.
As seen in the Hausa Beer (Emudro) recipe, drinks referred to as “beer” in West Africa are not always alcoholic (although the majority of them are).
Ginger Beer
This fruit-flavored and non-alcoholic Ginger beer is very famous in Africa, especially in the Western regions. It is typically made up of pounded ginger roots and lime mixed with water and sugar and served over ice. This recipe could be fermented or matured for a few hours, but I made it the unfermented version. The sweetness of the pineapple with the spicy ginger almost reminded me of the sugarcane juice that I used to drink back in India. People give this drink to children to cure minor stomach ailments. Some also use a bit of peppercorn in the drink, but I did not use that here.
Garri
Garri is on this list solely because of the phrase, “drink garri,” which is what Nigerian say when referring to eating garri made this way. Some might argue that garri is a cereal as it has toppings and is often served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon although it can also be served in a cup. Garri is dry granulated cassava. It is made by washing, peeling, grating, and mashing/roughly grinding fresh cassava. To make drinking garri, the garri is mixed with ice cold water and sugar. It is often mixed or topped off with roasted groundnuts (roasted peanuts) and/or shredded, chopped, or desiccated coconut. Over the years, variations of drinking garri have been made by individuals to suit their preferences.
Groundnut Milk
Groundnut milk is a Nigerian drink made from peanuts (groundnuts). Groundnut milk is made by blending soaked and peeled raw peanuts with water, sieving the mixture through a cheesecloth then sweetening the milk or adding flavours such as vanilla extract.
Article by Samantha Onyemenam.
