Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with beverages

Help! Electric kettle conundrum!

faeuboulanger — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:08:22 -0800

Is it ok/safe to heat non-water beverages (apple cider, namely) in my Krups electric kettle? I'd really like to both preserve the integrity of my tasty apple cider and my expensive electric kettle, but I'm going to need to heat moderate quantities in a location without a stovetop or microwave. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I need famous drinks from famous books.

Sully — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:16:33 -0800

I need famous drinks from famous books. Kind of like how Holden Caulfield always drank Tom Collinses in Catcher in the Rye. Or how the Famous Five always had Tea with their scones. Thanks!

Got Anise- and other extract-based bevvies?

shelbaroo — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:31:01 -0800

At the home of a French (Normandy-area) couple, our hosts offered us a beverage made from an anise extract/tincture and water (not pastis, as it wasn't a liqueur and didn't turn milky/yellow). This was unexpectedly yummy and refreshing and sophisticated for a simple, (mostly) non-alcoholic bevvy. I'd love to try this at home and expand my non-boozer horizons! So: (1) Recommendations for the type/brand/sources for the extract? Seems like it needs to be higher-quality stuff; and (2) What other extracts make simple refreshing beverages when added to water?

Chocolately goodness!

gilsonal — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:28:10 -0800

Does anybody know of someplace online I can purchase hot chocolate with extra caffeine in it? Looking online all I can find are a bunch of posts on how much normal hot chocolate has (not much). I'd like a warm caffeinated pick me up without having to drink coffee or tea.

How should a college kid store his coffee?

mccarty.tim — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:48:24 -0800

Coffee beans behave like busses apparently. I went with preground for a year, and then I got a 5lb bag and a 1lb bag of roasted coffee beans and a grinder today for Christmas. How should I store them, accounting for my specific situation? Here's my situation, which complicates things: I'm a college student, and I am on break until the 23rd, practically a month. I'd freeze it, but I've heard letting beans thaw after their frozen ruins them, which they would do on the trip back to school, which is about 45 minutes. Keep in mind I have a tiny college freezer, so I couldn't keep much that way, even if I were to bring over the coffee in a cooler or something. Or is freezing so bad for the beans, I should skip it altogether? What should I do?

Drink, drank, but not yet drunk

Ogre Lawless — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:26:25 -0800

Its sparkling or perhaps plain water, its fruit and sometimes flowers, its mighty tasty, lightly so, and occasionally seen at art galleries by me on show days, but what the hell is it -called-?

Diurnal refrigeration: harmful?

silby — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:53:41 -0800

Can I unplug my refrigerator full of beverages overnight? I've got a small refrigerator in my dorm room whose exclusive purpose is to keep some bottles of Bawls cold. I don't need cold Bawls while I'm asleep. The fridge makes breathing noises which creep me out slightly. Is there any earthly reason why I couldn't unplug it every night before I go to sleep, and plug it in again in the morning? I doubt my tasty beverages could be adversely affected by fluctuating temperatures, but I don't want to hurt the (borrowed) refrigerator. It'll certainly save some electricity.

Straws that exist only in artwork

chef_boyardee — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:54:23 -0800

Do these diagonal-striped drinking straws actually exist in real life? I've always been intrigued by the ubiquity of diagonally-banded drinking straws in artwork, marketing, cartoons, and even Norman Rockwell type art, but I've never in all my years actually encountered such a straw in real life.

I believe very much in visual presentation being half of the food experience, and this design's popularity in idealized artwork clearly shows it has a lot of visual appeal. Yet no matter where I go or no matter how legendary a restaurant's milk shakes are, the only kind of straws I've ever seen are clear ones, red ones, or the parallel striped supermarket ones.

Has anyone seen such an animal?

What's your favorite little-known soda pop?

Bookhouse — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:50:13 -0800

What's your favorite regional or "indie" soda pop on bottled non-alcoholic beverage (available in New York City or online, preferably)? Like many a drinker before me, I'm lookng to cut my quantity of consumption in favor of quality. What are some of your favorite obscure bottled non-alcoholic beverages? I'm already a big fan of Boylans, Blenheim spicy ginger ale, D&G Ginger Beer, and of course Jones. I'm particularly interested in regional brews.

I'm in New York, so things available online or in specialty stores are best, although I'm interested either way.

I want to be a Pepper, but caffeine gives me headaches

commander_cool — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 06:58:38 -0800

I want to be a Pepper, but caffeine gives me headaches. My local Pepsi bottler stopped bottling Caffeine-Free Diet Dr Pepper. Do I have any options?

As business decisions go, it seems inexplicable: the stores that carried it always sold out, if only because I bought every bottle whenever I saw it in the store, and had to regularly rotate supermarkets to satisfy just my own demand. But perhaps they got fed up with all the Dr Pepper brand extensions that no one is drinking.

Other caffeine-free soda choices are inferior (Diet Sprite, Caffeine-Free Diet Coke) or undrinkable (Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi, generic caffeine-free diet cola). Is it possible to get another bottler to ship, say, two or three cases a month to me at a non-arm-and-a-leg price?

I'm in the Washington DC Metro area. (And, yes, I know this is trivial, and it won't kill me to switch to another beverage. I'm just curious what my options are or if anyone in the Meta-community has had a solution to a similar idiosyncratic taste.)

Micro-brew American shandy?

OmieWise — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 09:48:44 -0800

Is there an American maker of good ginger Shandy? I can get the Carib brand in my neighborhood, but the ginger flavor is kind of sucky. Alternatively, is there such a thing as an alcoholic ginger ale made in the US? I know it's easy to make a decent shandy, I'm just curious about this.

Is in any way dangerous or unhealthy to drink very old/expired soda?

boscord — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:46:27 -0800

Is in any way dangerous or unhealthy to drink very old/expired soda? I heard somewhere that very old soda can potentially be harmful to drink, by separating or some other method. Does the AskMeFi nation have any wisdom to shed on the topic?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

What are some Basic (higher-pH) beverages?

chrisamiller — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:22:52 -0800

Digestive chemistry: I have a mild case of Crohn's disease, and one of the things that seems to exacerbate my condition is eating or drinking things that are highly acidic. Other than milk, what are some higher-pH drinks that I can use to replace corrosive beverages like soda, coffee, and cranberry juice? Water is the obvious choice, and I drink lots of it, but I crave flavor once in a while. Unfortunately, beer is out too, as I'm looking for something I can drink at work.:)

What else can I drink all day without gaining weight?

cgg — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:34:42 -0800

Aspartame-free low-calorie beverage suggestions needed. Does such a thing even exist? Recently I've cut out all aspartame from my diet, as it aggravates my headaches. Previously, I'd had a 4 or 5 Coke Zero a day habit, which upgraded a similar Diet Coke addiction. I sit at a desk all day, and I need to have something (preferably cold) to drink at my desk at all times. (Otherwise, I'll just end up snacking instead). Trouble is, I'm now completely sick of water. Obviously, regular soft drinks are out, and even that quantity of juice has way too many calories. Is there anything else out there I can drink? I've tried (sweetened) iced tea, but it's almost as bad as the soft drinks. I hate coffee and all it's derivatives, and I'm not a big fan of unsweetened tea. Don't worry - I'm not planning on cutting out water entirely, but I do need to mix things up a bit.

To summarize, I need cold beverages that meet these criteria:
* does not contain aspartame or other manufactured sugar substitutes
* low calorie
* no coffee flavoring
* Available in Canada (bonus points for locally in Vancouver)

I'm sure I'm asking too much, but if anyone can help me figure this out it's the hive mind... thanks in advance!

Kvas?

:-) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:56:40 -0800

Is it possible to purchase authentic Kvas around Boston or Chicago? I've heard that most of the Kvas for sale now is pretty disgusting– more like soda than the real thing. I've only had it once, so I wouldn't be a good judge, but the person I want to buy it for as a gift would definitely be able to tell if it was too far "off." Any sources in Boston (next to the T is a plus) or Chicago would be swell, but an internet source is okay too.

Big Apple Cider?

themadjuggler — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:23:05 -0800

My girlfriend and I miss the countryside of upstate New York where we went to school. Specifically, we long for the region's excellent, home-made, freshly pressed, piping hot, unpasteurized [!] apple cider. We're now in New York City looking for that wonderfully nostalgic autumn taste. Where should we go?

Picky beverage question

garethspor — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:16:01 -0800

Picky beverage question: I like hanging out with my friends in bars and such but I'm rather limited in what I'll drink. I don't drink alcohol for one, or caffeine or sugary beverages for that matter... Mostly I get soda water with lime and bitters (I know bitters is alcohol, but it's not enough to concern me) what I'm wondering is what else I might be able to order.

Also, I'm confused as to what the difference between all the carbonated waters is (i.e. soda water, club soda, seltzer and such).

Thanks in advance for any help.

How to bottle and distribute a yummy drink?

oissubke — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 11:15:18 -0800

A friend of mine has a tasty drink which he sells from his store (a little tourist shop). Folks love it and keep asking him to bottle it and sell it online, but he has no idea where to get started. Here's specifically what he's trying to find out:

- Are there particular legal restrictions on sending beverages through the mail? (It's non-alcoholic and doesn't contain any weird substances.)

- How would he go about getting bottles and labels?

- Most drinks seem to have preservatives to give it a longer shelf life. Should he look into this as well, or just sell the stuff as-is with a "best if used by" date?

Thanks!

Kool-Aid and Other Childish Things

boombot — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 16:49:52 -0800

A recent burst of unseasonably warm weather kicked me Proust-style back to the childhood joy of well made Kool-Aid. Who hear would care to share their personal favorite recipes for Kool Aid, Jell-O drinks, etc.? Eccentric and unexpected combinations happily welcomed; I would like to keep things on the Shirley Temple side, though, so no Kool Aid cocktail recipes please.

African beer in the DC area

Amizu — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 16:01:48 -0800

African beer - does anyone know a liquor store that sells it in the DC area? In particular I'm looking for Guinean (Guinea-Conakry) beer, but would settle for Senegalese, or Ghanian beer.

What's the best coffee-maker?

thinkpiece — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 05:42:06 -0800

CoffeeFilter: The best automatic maker, straight up -- no double-teaming, grinding or frothing -- please?

Can I import some Coca-Cola Light?

eschatfische — Sun, 05 Dec 2004 08:59:06 -0800

NotQuitePepsiBlueFilter: Vacationing in Europe, I was surprised and pleased by the flavor of Coca-Cola Light, which is not made with the same formula as the rather dire-tasting American Diet Coke. The drink tastes pretty much the same as Coke's new C2, but instead of that soda's bizarre half-sugar, half-sweetener compromise, the European Coke Light does it with no sugar or calories. Why they don't sell this stuff in America is truly beyond me.

Thing is, I'd like to import some -- and while imports of other (slightly stiffer) European beverages are common, I can't find anywhere locally or on Google who will sell it to Americans. Then again, my EU language skills are lacking. Anywhere I can have a 12-pack of this stuff shipped to me?

Nicotine Beverages?

interrobang — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 23:50:46 -0800

Why are there no nicotene beverages? Wouldn't this be a good way to eliminate lung cancer? Why is no one selling "Nico-Tea"?

Is milk really that good for an adult, and if so, how much?

benjh — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 07:18:14 -0800

Got Milk? It does a body good? But is it true? There have been things recently, studies and such, that say milk may be better all around than people thought 10 years ago. But is it that good for an adult, and if so, how much should an adult have? I rarely drink milk, when I do it is 1% milk.

replacement to soda

drezdn — Sun, 14 Dec 2003 22:56:35 -0800

I'm interested in no longer drinking soda, because I've started to get headaches when I drink it. The problem is, not much comes in easy to carry multi-packs like soda does. What are tricks to giving up soda, and what's a good replacement that sidesteps high sugar and caffeine?