Hot drinks without booze, dairy, or apple?

January 4, 2023 3:24 PM

I want to serve a gallon of something hot around a campfire. It will be made and heated ahead of time and kept hot in a airpot. Can’t be boozy or contain apple, and I’d prefer it to be dairy-free. Coffee would be fine, I did that before, but making a gallon is annoying. I’m not the biggest fan of tea. What am I not considering?

Can one make spiced pear cider the same way as hot apple cider? Like, pear juice and spices, heated?

posted by supercres to Food & Drink (35 answers total)

yes of course you can treat pear cider the same way.

cranberry juice cocktail (diluted a bit) also works the same way.

or you can make hot cocoa, or another creamy sweet hot drink, with a dairy free milk. I like oat milk.
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:28 PM on January 4, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Cocoa made with a plant milk? I'm a dairy fiend and I find the flavor of unsweet plain oat milk to be least objectionable.

Be careful of non apple juices, SO many non apple juices bulk out with apple juice. When you're shopping, it's not enough for it to be 100% juice, you'll have to check the label carefully.

A mulled fruit tea (citrus maybe, or berry) might be really nice though I'll fully admit this is just an idea in my head and not anything I've done in reality.
posted by phunniemee at 3:29 PM on January 4, 2023 [10 favorites]

Best answer: Brew ginger root (grated is the best way) with a copious helping of honey and lemon -- so pour boiling water over proportions of this mixture scaled up to a gallon (there are plenty of recipes for a glass). It has a great kick and would be wonderful on a cold night.
posted by virve at 3:40 PM on January 4, 2023 [19 favorites]

Best answer: I really like virgin hot toddys; lemon juice, honey, hot water. Optionally add some bitters or extracts or a cinnamon stick or five for extra depth of flavor (technically both have alcohol in, but not in quantities I consider to matter; YMMV).
posted by contrarian at 3:40 PM on January 4, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Cinnamon ginger tea. There are various recipes online but the basic idea is to boil cinnamon sticks and finely chopped ginger for about 20 minutes. Strain out the solids and add sweetener to taste. I typically use 3-4 cinnamon sticks and an inch of peeled ginger in eight cups of water then add about a tablespoon of sugar or honey.
posted by plastic_animals at 3:43 PM on January 4, 2023 [5 favorites]

You can make mexican Atole without milk. There's plenty of vegan recipies abound.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:46 PM on January 4, 2023

Best answer: Can it be savory? If so, I'm thinking a nice miso broth. Without the other ingredients that usually go into miso, it becomes easily drinkable from a mug.

If you are worried about sodium content, there are reduced sodium miso pastes out there. There's also miso pastes out there that don't have the added fish ingredients, if you want to keep it vegan.
posted by spinifex23 at 3:53 PM on January 4, 2023 [11 favorites]

A nice chai with alternative milk?
posted by raccoon409 at 3:56 PM on January 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

Golden milk/Turmeric latte made with an oat milk.
posted by hydra77 at 3:57 PM on January 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have been drinking Trader Joe's miso ginger broth on cold days, so another vote for miso.
(But would also love vegan hot cocoa or chai with oat milk.)
posted by Glinn at 4:00 PM on January 4, 2023 [4 favorites]

Horchata served warm! You can do it plain with just cinnamon and vanilla or mix in some blended strawberries or other favorite fruits for a colorful version. A lot of recipes include condensed milk but you can find plenty of dairy free recipes. I’ve also had good ones that use coconut cream to great effect. It’s a great excuse to use whole spices and since it’s mild and refreshing, even hot, it goes with a big array of foods.
posted by Mizu at 4:21 PM on January 4, 2023 [8 favorites]

I can't find the exact recipe but my mom used to make something like this orange juice tea around the holidays. She used black tea bags, though, and not instant tea. I think you could go lighter on the tea, though, if you want, but it does help round it out (you do need to not just have hot OJ).

Also a big fan of a mix of ginger, lemon, and honey as others have said. Even mint can be a great addition there.

But yeah, almost any juice can be "mulled" overall.
posted by edencosmic at 4:24 PM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice Tea is like a chai, but tastes sweet, but...isn't sweet. It's just got a tonne of cinnamon in it, so it tastes really sweet, but not in a sickly way. The trick is to overdo it on the steeping and on the teabag to water ratio (more teabags = good) otherwise it's just another gingery herbal tea.
posted by stray at 4:37 PM on January 4, 2023 [15 favorites]

I'd do chai with coconut milk or contrarian's virgin hot toddy. I sometimes make my hot toddy with lemon ginger tea, I think that might be nice, too. (I don't like black or green tea, but sweetened herb tea is very different).
posted by gideonfrog at 5:17 PM on January 4, 2023

Mulled grape juice, same sort of spices as you‘d use for mulled wine, perhaps some orange juice as well. I‘d start by not adding any sugar because grape juice is sweeter than red wine and add any additional sweetener (if required) to taste.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:21 PM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ginger-heavy is a really good idea! On the herbal tea note, I’m also now remembering that I drank a lot of fresh mint tea on a chilly vacation in Amsterdam ten years ago which might hit the spot too. Will try a few different concoctions in this vein, and look for those particular tea bags. Any other suggested directions to take would be greatly appreciated!
posted by supercres at 5:21 PM on January 4, 2023

Best answer: Non-alcoholic version of gløgg
Allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon, orange peel, and fresh ginger, on a choose-your-own-juice base; add raisins and slivered almond after the spices are strained out, if you like.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:29 PM on January 4, 2023 [5 favorites]

Tart Cherry juice is tasty warmed up,spice it with a sprig of basil or coriander.
posted by hortense at 5:38 PM on January 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

Hot jamaica (hibiscus) tea is fantastic. The easy route is Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea. Otherwise, hit up a market that sells Mexican/Hispanic ingredients and get some dried jamaica. You can steep it with the spices of your choice and sweeten to taste.
posted by jenquat at 5:44 PM on January 4, 2023 [4 favorites]

What about hot stock? Chicken, beef, vegetable? When prepping for a colonoscopy I found heated bullion or stock to be wonderfully satisfying. It can be pretty salty, and of course is not vegan in any way, shape or form, but it's not alcoholic, dairy, apple, coffee or tea.
posted by lhauser at 6:00 PM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Sachlev!
posted by atomicstone at 6:13 PM on January 4, 2023

Here in Scandyland it’s common with just warm cordial or you can go the extra bit and make “blueberry soup”, about fifteen minutes work.
posted by Iteki at 6:25 PM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mulled "wine" made with any kind of berry/cherry/grape/pomegranate juice. Can do a mixture of juices to get the flavour you want.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:57 PM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

I’m guessing apple cider vinegar is out? I love a good switchel (I use black tea, ginger, honey) and then acv at the end. Rice vinegar might work instead.
posted by mermaidcafe at 9:06 PM on January 4, 2023

Soy milk, Chinese style, aka doujiang. You can drink it sweet, or add some salt, chopped scallions, and use it to dip you-tiao (sometimes called Chinese donuts) and sau-bin (Chinese biscuits) for breakfast. :)
posted by kschang at 9:16 PM on January 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Speaking of mint tea, I had a delicious one at a Morrocan restaurant. Morrocan Mint Tea is what to look for, many brands have that variety as a tea bag. Or you can look for homemade recipes made from gunmetal green tea and spearmint leaves. Make it strong. Also look for the ceremonial way to serve it.
posted by CathyG at 9:31 PM on January 4, 2023

I drink a lot of a "winter punch blend" tea when it's cold out: hibiscus, cinnamon, star anise, orange peel, lemon peel, and ginger. Mine also has dried apple pieces but you could just leave that out, or I bet dried pears or some dried berries would work great.
posted by 4rtemis at 12:54 AM on January 5, 2023

I’m realizing that if the apple is an allergy limitation rather than preferences, to double check a lot of the juices mentioned in this thread which are often mixed with apple juice as a base.
posted by raccoon409 at 3:42 AM on January 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

So many good suggestions upthread (I'm a big fan of Bengal Spice tea/chai, hot cocoa, and horchata), and nth'ing all suggestions of tisanes (which by definition FYI is a "tea" of... Not tea. Herbs and the like).

You may have a similar vendor by you, but here's one local to me and one of their more popular blends.
posted by OhHaieThere at 5:59 AM on January 5, 2023

How about Chinese tong sui 'sugar water'? I like the black sesame drink (example recipe but you may be able to buy it in packets). The Chinese style drink does not have milk; people also make it as a latte but you can substitute non-dairy.

Or there's this drink with red dates, dried longans and goji berries. Some recipes will also have snow/white fungus.

There's a heap of Chinese herbal "teas" if you wanted to explore that avenue, but I don't have any specific recommendations.
posted by pianissimo at 7:01 AM on January 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

This Honey Ginger drink is really amazing. My local Whole Foods has it, but looks like you can purchase online, too. It is an instant drink, so just add water. It is like crystalized honey/ginger of some sort so it makes a very pleasant spicy gingery drink. The only downside I see is that it comes in individual sachets, so you'd have to open and empty a bunch which is kind of annoying.
posted by LKWorking at 8:29 AM on January 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

Mulled grape juice. Made like mulled wine but with grape juice. Use the red variety not the purple concord grape one as in my opinion it tastes better.
posted by wwax at 9:40 AM on January 5, 2023

I used to get an incredible warm apricot/cranberry punch at the dearly departed Popovers Cafe in Manhattan that I have been fairly successful in recreating at home. The hardest part is finding apricot nectar, but simply do a 2:3 ratio of apricot to cranberry (or whatever ends up tasting the best to you) plus some mulling spices. A couple orange slices steeped in the cocktail are nice but not necessary.
posted by CookieNose at 5:38 PM on January 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Korean honey citron tea (not at all like ordinary tea) is delicious and easy. Any store that carries Korean products will have several brands of the mixture in jars. Just check the ingredients labels for one that's mostly made of citron and honey. It's a jelly-like consistency, with pieces of citron. You just mix some from the jar with hot water. It's amazing when you feel like you're coming down with a cold or sore throat, but aromatic and delicious for sipping any time, too.
posted by daisyace at 6:24 PM on January 6, 2023

Response by poster: The non-apple-ingester didn’t attend so I made my normal spiced apple cider. (Local cider is almost over for the season, felt like I needed to.) It was a hit.

I have some pear juice that I’ll spice up soon, and definitely going to try a hot ginger tea. Will almost certainly try sipping on a dashi at some point too; just started a new outdoor group hobby in rainy western WA.

Thanks!
posted by supercres at 4:14 PM on January 9, 2023