Spices for drinks
Chai, mulled wine, spiced coffee, golden milk and the cordials of the world.
Spiced drinks are among the oldest uses of spice, from mulled wine and masala chai to Mexican hot chocolate, Arabic coffee and Caribbean sorrel.
Hot drinks
Masala chai combines black tea with ginger, cardamom, clove, cinnamon and pepper. Arabic coffee is flavoured with cardamom, sometimes saffron. Mulled wine and wassail use cinnamon, clove and orange, and Mexican hot chocolate takes cinnamon and sometimes chilli.
Cold drinks
Sorrel, a hibiscus drink with ginger and clove, is served at Christmas in the Caribbean. Jamu in Indonesia uses turmeric and ginger, and tamarind drinks are sold across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Spirits and bitters
Spices flavour spirits and liqueurs, such as anise in ouzo, pastis and arak, juniper in gin, and clove, quinine and gentian in bitters.
Drinks on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
馃嚧馃嚥 Oman and 3 moreDried lime
Sun-dried limes from the Persian Gulf, used whole or ground to add sour depth to Middle Eastern dishes.Fruit 路 Sour and tart 路 Earthy and deep
馃嚠馃嚛 Indonesia and 3 moreTemulawak
The rhizome of a Javanese ginger relative, used for its earthy flavour and traditional wellness drinks.Root 路 Earthy and deep 路 Bitter
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreCommon prickly ash
An aromatic North American tree whose bark and berries give a sharp, numbing biteBark 路 Bitter 路 Numbing and tingling
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 5 moreGrains of Selimdiarr
The dried fruit of a West African shrub, used as a peppery spice and coffee flavouring.Fruit 路 Sharp and pungent 路 Bitter
馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreMastic螠伪蟽蟿委蠂伪
A bitter-sweet resin from the mastic tree, used in desserts and traditional medicine.Bitter 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreFenugreek丨賱亘丞 (hilba)
The cuboid seed of an annual legume, prized for its bitter warmth and maple aroma.Seed 路 Bitter 路 Warm and sweet-spiced
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 1 moreChenpi闄崇毊
Sun-dried mandarin orange peel aged for use in Chinese cooking and medicineFruit 路 Sweet and mellow 路 Sharp and pungent
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 4 moreHops
The green female flower cones of a climbing vine, used to bitter and flavour beer.Flower 路 Bitter 路 Sharp and pungent
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Grains of Selim: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chenpi: Dboxes, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hops: LuckyStarr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Mastic: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Temulawak: Ariyanto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Common prickly ash: A. Barra, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fenugreek: Yak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dried lime: Theinfo, CC BY 3.0, source