The Drink Portal

A portal dedicated to all beverages

Introduction

Tea is the second‑most‑consumed drink in the world, after water.

A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.

In addition, alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer, and liquor, which contain the drug ethanol, have been part of human culture for more than 8,000 years. Non-alcoholic drinks often signify drinks that would normally contain alcohol, such as beer, wine and cocktails, but are made with a sufficiently low concentration of alcohol by volume. The category includes drinks that have undergone an alcohol removal process such as non-alcoholic beers and de-alcoholized wines. (Full article...)

In the Vedic tradition, sóma (Devanagari: सोम) is a ritual drink of importance among the early Vedic Indo-Aryans. The Rigveda mentions it, particularly in the Soma Mandala. Gita mentions the drink in chapter 9. It is equivalent to the Iranian haoma.

The texts describe the preparation of soma by means of extracting the juice from a plant, the identity of which is now unknown and debated among scholars. Both in the ancient religions of Historical Vedic religion and Zoroastrianism, the name of the drink and the plant are not exactly the same.

There has been much speculation about the most likely identity of the original plant. Traditional Indian accounts, such as those from practitioners of Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, and Somayajna called Somayajis, identify the plant as "Somalata" (Cynanchum acidum). Non-Indian researchers have proposed candidates including Amanita muscaria, Psilocybin mushrooms, Peganum harmala and Ephedra sinica. (Full article...)

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... there is a white variety of Tempranillo grapes?
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Toll Gate Saloon, Black Hawk, Colorado circa 1897
Toll Gate Saloon, Black Hawk, Colorado circa 1897
Credit: Unknown
A picture of the Toll Gate Saloon in Black Hawk, Colorado, circa 1897

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Orangina bottles, which Beton introduced in 1951.
Jean-Claude Beton (January 14, 1925 – December 2, 2013) was an Algerian-born French businessman, agricultural engineer and entrepreneur. Beton was the founder of the French soft drink maker, Orangina. He is credited with transforming Orangina from a little known citrus soda first manufactured by his father, Léon Beton, into a major global brand. Beton launched Orangina's iconic, signature 8-ounce bottle in 1951, which became a symbol of the brand. The bottle is shaped like an orange, with a glass texture designed to mimic the fruit. In 2009, Beton called Orangina the "champagne of soft drinks," saying that "It doesn't contain added colorants. It was and still is slightly sparkling. It had a little bulby bottle." (Full article...)

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You can no more keep a martini in the refrigerator than you can keep a kiss there. The proper union of gin and vermouth is a great and sudden glory; it is one of the happiest marriages on earth, and one of the shortest-lived.
— Bernard DeVoto
Harper's Magazine (December 1949)

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Malted barley
Malted barley
Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further by drying/heating with hot air. Malting is thus a combination of two processes; namely the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring to the field of brewing for batches of beer or other beverages as they provide more in-depth information. Malted grain is used to make malt beer, malt whisky, malted shakes, malt vinegar, and some baked goods, such as bagels. Malting grains develops the enzymes that are required to modify the grain's starches into sugars, including monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, etc.) and disaccharides (sucrose, etc.). It also develops other enzymes, such as proteases which break down the proteins in the grain into forms which can be utilized by yeast. Barley is the most commonly malted grain in part because of its high diastatic power or enzyme content. Also very important is the retention of the grain's husk even after threshing, unlike the bare seeds of threshed wheat or rye. This protects the growing acrospire (developing plant embryo) from damage during malting, which can easily lead to mold growth. It also allows the mash of converted grain to create a filter bed during lautering (see brewing). Other grains may be malted, especially wheat. (Full article...)

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WikiProject Food & Drink is an association of Wikipedians with an interest in culinary-related subjects. They have come together to co-ordinate the development of food and drink articles here on Wikipedia as well as the many subjects related to food such as foodservice, catering and restaurants. If you wish to learn more about these subjects as well as get involved, please visit the project.

WikiProject Beer – covers Wikipedia's coverage of beer and breweries and microbreweries

WikiProject Wine – aims to compile thorough and accurate information on different vineyards, wineries and varieties of wines, including but not limited to their qualities, origins, and uses.


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