Orange Juice

I've spoken elsewhere about juices in Egypt but orange juice deserves its own post. The local oranges here are fabulous almost year-round. They squeeze into fresh juice so fabulously and make a superb way to start your day.

Egyptian tea

Like most things in Egypt: Strong - and packed with sugar.

Hibiscus

The Hibiscus flower (called "karkaday" by the Egyptians) is not only gorgeous, all over the place in Egypt, but also made into a fabulous drink which can be served both hot and cold. Drinking it hot is a great natural remedy for lowering your blood pressure. The drink is prepared with quite a bit of sugar, and it is really refreshing in both summer (cold) and winter (hot). The hot version is interestingly a bit like German gluhwein, minus the wine.

Hibiscus comes also in other variations of color, such as pink, white and even blue, but the most common variety here in Egypt is red.

Arabian coffee

Yesterday, I tasted "arabic" coffee for the first time, and I start to understand why the Egyptian version of Turkish coffee is so flavorful - because it seems to be a blend of the two of them. Traditional arabic coffee seems to be made entirely from cardamom (hebaham). It is served with sweet delights (nuts covered in dates and then covered again in either sesame or caraway seeds). Combined, the coffee leaves this smooth and mesmerizingly warm all over feeling - refreshing especially after a day of fasting.

Almond Milk (yummy vegan alternative to rice and soy milk)

For people who are lactose intolerant, vegan, or just enjoy a nice sweet drink, then smooth and creamy Almond milk will tantalize your taste buds. This healthy alternative to milk and other milk replacements (like soy and rice) is a great source of protein and is just plain delicious. Visit the Alf Hana blog for a recipe on how to make almond milk.

Tamarind, Carob, Hibiscus, Apricot mmmmmmmmmmmm yummy drinks

I love this. In Arabic Tamarind is Tamra Hindi.
In Egypt they boil the Tamarind and make a delicious and very refreshing drink with it. Other similar traditional oriental health drinks (?I think? depending on the amount of sugar!) those made from Carob, and also from apricots and hibiscus. You can buy them easy peasy (like I do) at the grocery store in cartons such as the below, or bottled, or make it the natural way yourself.

A man walking through the streets selling cups of Tamarind drink

Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee is fabulous. Next to it, Nescafe (or American coffee) seems like flavored stale water. As they prepare the Turkish coffee in Egypt, it is so incredibly flavorful and strong, they add amazing spices which include delicious cardamom in the coffee grind.


The best made coffee has a nice little thick bubbly layer on top, called wissh (or face in English). You can put a few drops of cold water into this with your finger - I am not sure why this is done, but I think it has something to do with getting the grains to settle at the bottom.

Be careful, do not drink the cup to the bottom! Leave the grains behind!

Interesting facts:
- in Albania they drink the same coffee but with milk

- if you get tummy troubles while traveling in Egypt, be sure to ask for a cup of Turkish coffee prepared with lemon - all of the Nile cruises are well acquainted with this natural remedy.

- Egyptian fortune-telling is done by turning the remains of a clear glass of coffee cup upside down and reading the patterns in the grains.

Juice Shops

The fresh juices in Egypt are faaa-bu-lous!

For any inductee to Egyptian juice stands, there is one which is very delicious and a must-try is a drink called Fahfahina, which features a blend of seasonal fruit (but usually something like banana and strawberries, mango juice, guava juice, melon, apples, maybe pomegranate seeds, even some crushed nuts and icecream)

My personal favorite is Asab juice (sugar cane). (This guy has captured an awesome photo of it here: Shawnbaldwin.com) They literally take the whole sugar cane stalk and push it into a big juicer that churns out this green yummy sugary and refreshing drink.