Hot Drinks to Spice Up your Cold-Weather Routine

Icy wind blowing through your coat, fumbling for your keys or ID as you try to squeeze back inside where you’ll be warm and happy. Hot drinks can be spicy and sweet, creamy and fruity, and they can definitely be more interesting than your regular old hot chocolate mix. Here are fun hot drinks to warm you up this winter, with both familiar Western drinks and interesting non-Western ones included.

Mulled wine is an ancient European drink typical around the celebration of Christmas. Pinches of peppercorn, nutmeg, and cinnamon add a nice winter spin to a simple drink. This recipe gives quite a few examples beginning with recipes from the 1300s. 

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In contrast, three-ingredient ginger latte is a simple modern drink. It’s dairy-free, vegan, and gluten-free, and super simple to make. All you need is almond milk, ginger, and cane sugar. Leftover ginger syrup can be used for a variety of drinks, including cocktails and ginger soda. Recipe here.

For a hot drink that isn’t limited to Western palettes, Kopi Telur (Padang-Style Egg Coffee) is a twist on your morning coffee. While Thai iced tea and Vietnamese coffee are beloved in mainstream America, Kopi Telur is a lesser-known Indonesian delight. Foamy egg yolk is layered with coffee sweetened by honey and vanilla extract. The condensed milk adds a creamy texture and creates a sort of custard with the egg. Raw yolk adds a lot of nutrients, but be wary of the dangers of consuming raw eggs. Recipe here.

Haldi Doodh, or Turmeric Milk, is an Indian drink that can be used to help treat a cold or cough—perfect for this weather. All that is needed is a bit of turmeric, and the rest is quite easy: just add some honey and pepper. Recipe here.

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The last candidate: simple hot water. For some reason, Americans are reluctant to drink anything hot that’s not also sweetened to heck. But some hot water after a day out in the cold can be just the thing you need to get your blood flowing again. Just as cold air makes the muscles of your hands stiffer and less dexterous, cold or even room-temperature water may do the same to your stomach. Chinese folk knowledge holds that hot water can help with digestion, period cramps, and other internal discomfort, since it helps maintain the high internal body temperature for optimal internal-organ function. Other folklore holds that it can even help cure the hiccups, which I can testify to. Here is an interesting article on the phenomenon in China.

I hope you enjoy all of these hot drinks! Many of these simple recipes can be riffed upon to create delicious new variations. Let us know how you enjoy these, and stay warm!

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