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.
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreFennel
The anise-scented seeds and crisp bulb of a Mediterranean perennial herbSeed · Anise and liquorice · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreBasil
A tender culinary herb with glossy leaves and a licorice-like aroma, native to tropical Asia.Leaf · Anise and liquorice · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreCalifornian white sage
An aromatic desert shrub whose seeds flavour maize foods and roots make tonic teaSeed · Herbal and green · Sharp and pungent
🇲🇽 MexicoPineapple sage
A Mexican shrub with leaves that smell of pineapple and flowers that feed hummingbirdsLeaf · Citrus and bright · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreEast Indian arrowrootകൂവ
A wild South Asian ginger valued for its turmeric-scented foliage and starchy rhizome.Root · Earthy and deep · Herbal and green
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreMuña
An Andean aromatic herb brewed into tea across Peru and BoliviaLeaf · Herbal and green
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreSpearmint
The square-stemmed herb with pointed leaves used for tea and flavouring oil.Leaf
🇲🇦 Morocco and 2 morePeppermint
A hybrid mint with a sharp cooling taste, used in teas, oils, and flavourings.Leaf
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 morePandan
The fragrant leaf of a sterile screwpine, used to scent rice and desserts across Asia.Leaf · Sweet and mellow · Floral and perfumed
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreRoselle
The deep red calyx of a hibiscus plant, steeped into a tart drink or cooked as a leafy green.Fruit · Sour and tart · Citrus and bright
🇺🇸 United StatesMrs. Burns' Lemon Basil
An heirloom sweet basil cultivar from New Mexico with intense lemon flavor and large leaves.Leaf · Citrus and bright · Floral and perfumed
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLemongrasssereh; tanglad; takhrai; sera
A tropical grass with citrus-scented stalks used in Asian soups and herbal teasLeaf · Citrus and bright · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFenugreekحلبة (hilba)
The cuboid seed of an annual legume, prized for its bitter warmth and maple aroma.Seed · Bitter · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreCorsican mint
A tiny creeping mint from the Mediterranean islands, known for its strong peppermint scent and low-growing habit.Leaf · Sharp and pungent
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSassafras
An aromatic tree of North America and East Asia, famed for filé powder and root teaLeaf · Citrus and bright · Anise and liquorice
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreKencur沙姜
A stemless ginger-family rhizome with a peppery, camphorous biteRoot · Sharp and pungent · Herbal and green
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Pandan: Zuhairali, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fennel: Elekes Andor, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sassafras: Randy Everette, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kencur: Hariadhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Corsican mint: SB Johnny, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pineapple sage: Eric Hunt, CC BY 2.5, source
- East Indian arrowroot: Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Californian white sage: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spearmint: Simon Eugster -- Simon 13:07, 2 July 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fenugreek: Yak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Peppermint: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lemongrass: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Roselle: Bamouzou, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Basil: Castielli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source