"In the evening while watching TV, I like to sip a nice glass of ______"

July 17, 2023 5:22 PM

I'm looking for some new sipping beverages to try. Not high calorie, not caffeinated, not carbonated, non-alcoholic. Not Tea. Unfortunately, I apparently hate all Tea unless it is a Tea-Milkshake. What should I try? Is there anything left? I do like water, but I need flavor!
posted by bluesky78987 to Food & Drink (40 answers total)

Best answer: We do water with a ton of frozen fruit in it, tall glass, metal straw. Strawberries, mangoes, blueberries, mixed berries… whatever. Guests love it too, it feels very fancy and special.

Water with a splash of juice in it is good too.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:25 PM on July 17, 2023 [6 favorites]

Does the "no tea" rule out non-tea infusions like barley, corn, or ginger?
posted by esker at 5:27 PM on July 17, 2023 [11 favorites]

Best answer: For commercial products, I'd look at Hint or the Mio (check for caffeine!) flavor squeezes.

if you find something you like, then you can have a good idea for search terms for home recipes
posted by DebetEsse at 5:33 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Spa water (i.e. water with cucumber slices, citrus and any other fruit of your choice, along with mint if you like) is really nice and feels fancy.

Is decaf coffee decaffeinated enough for you? If so, you could make some decaf coffee ice cubes and have some fancy iced coffee. Or hot coffee if you prefer that.

I really like almond milk for drinking - the unsweetened kind is low calorie and you can add a little vanilla extract, pinch of instant coffee, or other flavorings to customize it.

So, tea-adjacent, but how do you feel about kombucha? It doesn't taste like tea to me, and the level of carbonation varies a lot by brand -- the crunchier brands in glass tend to be less carbonated than the canned brands, so might meet your requirements. I especially like Health-Ade kombucha (tropical punch, pink lady apple, and grape are all delicious and only a little fizzy).

You can also get diet juices (diet cranberry juice is not bad), non-iced tea snapples (diet cran-raspberry is pretty great), and zero/low calorie gatorade and vitamin water.
posted by snaw at 5:43 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I like to keep these three highly concentrated, unsweetened items on hand:

1) Pure cranberry juice (not cocktail)
2) Lime juice (Key lime is nice, but any will do)
3) The Ginger People ginger juice (I don’t really care about the organic-ness per se, but have found it to be less sediment-y and better for mixing than the non-organic)

About an ounce of any of these, or two together, or all three, mixed with 10-16 oz. of water (I use seltzer but you said non-carbonated), makes a tasty, almost zero-calorie beverage. They’re expensive per volume, but you go through them pretty slowly using them a shot at a time, and they keep for months in the refrigerator.
posted by staggernation at 5:46 PM on July 17, 2023 [12 favorites]

Best answer: +1 for Ginger People ginger juice in water (I like it in hot water). I also like tonic water for the bitterness; you could let it decarbonate so it isn't fizzy.
posted by third word on a random page at 5:53 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: Add garnish and ice to your water. Start with cucumber, lime, and mint. Or lemon, blueberry, and mint.

Remember the old adage about cocktails- 2 ingredients is an emergency, but 3 is a cocktail. Since you have no booze, keep adding garnish.

You can add a small amount of simple syrup to your drinks to balance the flavour. I like lavender simple syrup, 2 ingredients in one. Since you’re pouring the simple syrup, you control the calories.
posted by shock muppet at 5:54 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Pero
posted by H21 at 6:09 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Lemon oil is a fantastic and underrated water garnish; shockingly different from adding a lemon wedge.

Also, assuming you mean 'tea' strictly and are open to non-tea infusions: cold barley tea is amazing and nothing like black or green teas, or even most herbal infusions. You can buy products ready to go or do it yourself: https://www.ohhowcivilized.com/barley-tea/
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:12 PM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Shrubs! That link leads to a recipe, but you can buy all kinds of premade drinking vinegars if you fancy. An ounce in a glass of water is delicious.

Also, adding a vote for cucumber water. I like mine with only cucumber slices, personally.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:13 PM on July 17, 2023 [16 favorites]

Best answer: Chai might give enough of a sense of tea-milkshakeness without actually being that high calorie (make the concentrate yourself and mix with hot water and regular milk, low-fat is fine).

For cooler months there may be hot mulled cider or hot chocolate (with skim milk - mix cocoa powder and your preferred amount of sugar rather than using a packaged mix).

Or hot milk with just a dab of sugar and vanilla extract.
posted by sesquipedalia at 6:25 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Are you also trying to avoid artificial sweeteners? If not, there's a fair amount of low-calorie "juices" and sports drinks out there you could try. For a while I was drinking quite a bit SunRype Slim. Minute Maid has a line of zero/low-sugar "juice" as well, but I've never tried them myself. I do like a Gatorade Zero every now and then.
posted by cgg at 6:26 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: You can make simple syrup and muddle any number of things into it to make flavored syrup. Thyme simple with ginger beer is a mocktail I rely on. Cucumber simple in orange, grapefruit, or almost any fruit juice brings a fresh, almost V-8 effect. There are also boozeless versions of many classic cocktails, try a virgin mary (add just a little grapefruit juice if the slimy aspect of tomato juice bugs you), mint julep, or my famous fudgesicle.
posted by vrakatar at 6:27 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: club soda with lime and (your favorite) bitters over heavy ice.
posted by j_curiouser at 7:08 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: Miso.
posted by lulu68 at 7:11 PM on July 17, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: - sorrel
- Teecino (especially with macadamia milk)
- macadamia milk with a pinch of salt and vanilla extract
- apple cider vinegar based drinks
- fresh fruit and vegetable juices
- maybe some less common herbs can work for you as tisanes? I find the taste of some herbs not... tea-y, if that makes sense
- bitters in a glass of water
- water with lemon, honey/maple syrup, and salt
- biosteel

Sometimes I like to decarbonate drinks by blowing into them with a straw. I would also recommend going to a health food store and seeing what options they have
posted by wheatlets at 7:21 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: Ice water with a splash of apple cider vinegar (and honey if you want it).
posted by Charity Garfein at 7:42 PM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: i just had lavender milk (hot milk with culinary lavender steeped in it then strained, with a little bit of honey and a drop of vanilla, and a dash of salt.) It was good. Might be more calories than you want. But might be ok cut half and half with water, I haven't tried yet.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:22 PM on July 17, 2023

I have a whole collection of bitters. Fee Brothers grapefruit is one of my favorites, but there are all sorts of brands and flavors. They’re also fun to combine. I have cola, sarsaparilla, and root beer syrups as well which I like with sparkling water, but they may be just as good with still. Some have alcohol but that isn’t their main purpose.
posted by Gusaroo at 10:13 PM on July 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: My evening unwinding drink, when I don't want caffeine or alcohol, is usually chocolate milk. This may or may not meet your threshold for "high calorie" or "caffeinated".

I also really like savory beverages. Sometimes I go for a cup of broth. And I enjoy fresh tomato juice some afternoons & evenings, but I a) Have a good source for it locally so I don't have to make it myself all the time, and b) Don't have GI issues that make drinking a glass of something that acidic that close to bed a bad idea.

Pure fruit juice cut 50/50 or 40/60 with water and poured over crushed or cracked ice is also great--I use carbonated water, you don't have to.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:38 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: Trader Joe's has a powdered ginger drink.

When I was in Austin last month I saw that waterloo has come out with a bunch of still flavors but I haven't seen them in NY, Boston or LA. They were 12 packs and I was just there for a few days so i didn't try them. They're not yet listed on the waterloo site.

hint also has a line of still waters.
posted by brujita at 10:40 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: If artificial sweeteners are ok with you, the syrup lines that coffee places use usually have sugar free versions, Torani for instance. I've been having iced strawberry milk lately with their sugared strawberry syrup and it's pretty tasty. I have not tried it straight in water. Seconding or thirding Hint water, I don't know how they do it but they do a great job imo of having the scents of the fruit, which is a large part of taste.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 11:50 PM on July 17, 2023

Best answer: I had this remarkable drink in China that was apple cider vinegar wine or apple cider vinegar juice, I can't remember the translation, it was like vinegar that was allowed to mature and be sweet, but it wasn't alcoholic and it still had a little bit of vinegar flavor. So unbelievably delicious and full of apple flavor, like the flavor of the apple was allowed to be developed and well rounded.
posted by yueliang at 11:50 PM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Calamansi juice (a citrus fruit from the Phillipines with a lovely snappy taste like a tangerine-lime mix).
posted by fairmettle at 1:00 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I’ve been avoiding caffeine, alcohol and carbonated beverages to deal with GERD symptoms. Recently I happened upon coconut water, specifically the C2O brand in Pineapple and Mango flavors. It scratches my itch for a nice beverage!
posted by girlalex at 1:01 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Dorset Ginger
posted by Chenko at 1:49 AM on July 18, 2023

Best answer: Another "I know you said you don't like tea, but…" answer: have you tried rooibos? It's from a different plant and has a very different flavour - sweet, floral and warming.
posted by dudekiller at 2:23 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Korean citron or ginger tea and barley tea don’t contain any actual tea. The first two are similar to jam in texture and can be stirred into water. Barley tea comes in a teabag-like package and has a toasty flavor.
posted by tchemgrrl at 3:56 AM on July 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Yet another "you don't like tea, but..." offering: Herbal infusions are also described as herbal teas, but there is no actual tea in them. There are some pretty imaginative blends out there. For instance:

• Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer, whose listed ingredients are: eleuthero, peppermint, cinnamon, ginger, chamomile, lemongrass, liquorice, catnip, tilia flowers, natural lemon flavour with other natural flavours, hops and Vitamins B6 and B12
• Yogi Tea Choco Chai, containing: cocoa shells, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, roasted chicory, cloves and black pepper
• Twinings Buttermint, peppermint with added vanilla, inspired by a traditional British candy
• Pukka Peace Tea, containing: chamomile flower, spearmint leaf, licorice root, lavender flower, ashwagandha root and hemp seed oil granules.

If you give one a go and find it doesn't have much flavour, try infusing it for longer; unlike black or green tea, they won't generally become bitter if left to infuse. Also, to stave off a possible concern, even if you don't like black liquorice candy, you may like liquorice in a herbal tea: it adds sweetness and an aniseedy flavour, often quite subtle.

Some full ranges, if you're interested in finding out more:

Celestial Seasonings herbal teas
Yogi Tea herbal teas
Yogi Tea spice teas
Twinings herbal teas
Pukka herbal teas (NB some of those do contain actual green tea).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:01 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Someone mentioned miso upthread, and I'd like to second any kind of broth, if you're having a hot drink. It's surprisingly satisfying to sit back with a steaming mug of salty, savory beef broth.
posted by Night_owl at 5:19 AM on July 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: There's a Canadian company called Blume that sells natural powders to make flavoured lattes. You just add them to whatever milk-like substance you have on hand, and they come in many flavours. I've got some and they are pretty good.
posted by winterportage at 5:21 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My evening unwinding drink, when I don't want caffeine or alcohol, is usually chocolate milk. This may or may not meet your threshold for "high calorie" or "caffeinated".

Big fan of hot cocoa here. Using 1% milk when making it cuts down on the fat content while retaining some creaminess.

Sillycow is my go-to brand. High sugar content per suggested serving, as you'd expect, but a very good hot cocoa if you only want to use a small amount, just enough to give the milk a hint of chocolate flavor.
posted by May Kasahara at 5:58 AM on July 18, 2023

Best answer: Belvoir Ginger Beer. Bundaberg is also very good, but my second choice.
posted by emelenjr at 6:23 AM on July 18, 2023

Best answer: 3rd miso suggestion. Trader Joe's (usually) has a miso ginger broth I sometimes sip at night. 60 calories in the whole box - I usually get 3 tall mugs out of it.
posted by Glinn at 6:33 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Cordial*, a concentrated liquid added to water, is quite popular in the UK and can be drank hot or cold. You can get it with artificial or regular sugar and since you control the amount, you can control the sugar content.

Popular brands: French brand 'Teisseire', Supermarket brands such as Sainsburys or Waitrose, Robinsons, MiWadi

*Also known as 'squash' 'diluting juice' and a number of other names.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 8:12 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Brewed cacao. It's cacao nibs brewed like coffee. The brand i tried was called Choffy, but i think there are more. It's not sweet or creamy. i was using it as a replacement for coffee, but I found that i liked it in the evening time.
posted by BlueBear at 10:35 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you have an Asian market near you, drinking vinegars are really nice mixed with cold water.
posted by kathrynm at 11:48 AM on July 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: When I'm taking a bourbon break, this chocolate oat milk drink from Trader Joe's, with a bit of cinnamon and honey, does the trick.
posted by simonelikenina at 1:05 PM on July 18, 2023

Best answer: Another one: Black Sesame Latte. You can buy it as the pre-mixed latte OR buy the Black sesame powder instead and add milk and/or small amounts of sugar to taste.

Starbucks Japan apparently adds coffee (and milk) to make a coffee + sesame + milk combo.

(Thanks for this thread by the way - I can't have caffeine and I'm trying to cut back on sugar.)
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 11:07 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've been using a lot of limes in cooking lately, cut in half and pressed with one of those lime squeezers that pushes the lime inside out. I keep the squeezed halves in the fridge and.drop one or two into my big Yeti tumbler with lots of crushed ice and filtered water. I can keep refilling with water and ice and still get the flavor. It's more the flavor of the peel/zest so more of a bitter profile than sour. I'm really liking it. Enough that I had to search this question out to tell you all to try it. I don't add anything else so no calories.
posted by BoscosMom at 11:57 PM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]