Joanna James
Thailand's cuisine is famed around the world, but little is spoken about the equally strong beverage culture within the nation. There are so many fascinating and delicious drinks to indulge in.
A milky and orange beverage, it is commonly served in all Thai eateries; be it the restaurants in Hua Hin or the Thai places in New York. It is made of strong Sri Lankan tea and in some cases with native landrace. Rest assured, the final beverage looks nothing akin to black tea. Tempered with sugar as well as condensed milk, the rest of the ingredients consist of orange blossom water, tamarind seeds and colouring. Milk is added to the final drink for added flavour and to deliver a velvety look. In the event that you want your drink without sugar, request for it "mai waan" which roughly translates to "not sweet".
Cha Manao basically means lime tea. The ingredients and the technique used for this beverage is similar to Cha Yen but minus the milk. Instead, your drink is served with freshly squeezed lime juice. It is usually served sweet, but if you would rather not have sugar, ask for it "mai waan", similar to Cha Yen.
Also known as Thai limeade, it is an ideal beverage to accompany a spicy main dish. The Nam Manao drink consists of lime juice and sweetened water. As with most beverages served in the equatorial countries, it is a chilled drink that is meant to refresh you. As such, it is widely consumed during the warm days of the year. If you have the beverage from the street vendor, it will probably have sugar as the sweetener. On the other hand, if you are having it from a restaurant at a hotel or resort such as Anantara Hua Hin Resort, then it will most likely have sugar syrup added to it.
One of the most popular beverages in Thailand, it is widely consumed by Thais of all ages. You buy it by indicating what colour you want. For an instance, red signifies that you want a cherry flavoured soda. If you ask for green, you are given a lime soda and if you ask for orange, well, you get an orange soda. The flavour you choose is added to soda water to give a surprisingly refreshing drink. Ice is added to top it off.
Manao Soda is basically a blend of sweet sodas and Nam Manao. It is very similar to how sweet sodas are made, except instead of cherry flavours (and other flavours), fresh lime juice is added to the mix. It is generally served as an alternative to sweet sodas, and you can easily find it at any restaurant in the country.
Again, this beverage type closely resembles sweet sodas. As with Manao Sodas, the twist is the main ingredient used. Instead of fruity flavours, milk is used as the main flavour with coloured syrup of different flavours. This will probably not be everyone's cup of tea but it's a worthy experience to try out.
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