Cold drinks are life savers in summers, or in the scorching hot tropical Indonesia. No wonder Indonesia has a set of drinks that are cold, delicious and totally meant for the summertime. Depending on your preference, you can choose amongst the list of cold sweet drinks that can even pass for desserts;
Here are the choices of cold beverages in Indonesia:
Who doesn’t know es cendol? Es cendol is one of the signature Indonesian drinks made from rice flour that is served with coconut milk, brown sugar and shaved ice. Because of the fame that it has garnered, it’s easy to find in almost every province in indonesia.
Es Kolak
Es kolak is one of the Indonesian drinks with many variants. This is because the fruit used to make es kolak can be changed according to preference. You can choose to eat either banana kolak, jackfruit, sweet potato, pumpkin, apple, and even durian. The fruit is fresh, served with coconut milk and palm sugar. Different to cendol, kolak must be boiled in the process. Even more, kolak can be served warm but tastes much better when mixed with ice.
Es Dawet
Es dawet has also become a famed drink. This dessert can even be found all over Indonesia. There are two types of es dawet, which is the dawet ayu from banjarnegara dan es dawet from jepara. The only thing that differentiates both of these drinks, is that es dawet ayu uses rice flour and glutinous rice flour. This dessert is served with liquified brown sugar and can be added with jackfruit, to add flavour.
Es Teler
Es teler is a dessert with various toppings. Es teler is also very easily found throughout Indonesia. Es teler is usually a mix of avocado, jackfruit, mutiara, agar agar with syrup, milk and shaved ice. Sometimes, es teler is added with small pieces of bread. This dessert is very fresh due to the amount of fruits in it, along with the delicious ice.
Limun Sarsaparilla
Sarsaparilla lemon is a special drink that is especially drunk by royals in yogyakarta. The main reason is because the price of the drink is not cheap. Only the wealthy were the people who could drink it in the past. Sarsaparilla lemon is a carbonated drink, it taste more like soda when drunk. Other than that, the fragrance of mint in this drink makes this very healing for the throat and nose. Sarsaparilla lemon can now be drunk by everyone, as it becomes a signature drink given as gift for those who are visiting Yogyakarta.
Es Doger
Es doger is one of the desserts that is usually served at special occasions in Indonesia, especially the betawi area. The dessert is made from doger mixed with coconut water. As time goes on, es doger began to have additional toppings such as avocado, pacar cina (tapioca balls) to sticky rice, in order to make it taste more delicious. All of this is served with shaved ice, making this into a fresh drink that everyone likes.
Pisang ijo or es pisang ijo is a type of dessert that originates from south Sulawesi, especially in the city of Makkasar. This drink is made with banana that is covered with a layer of flour in a green color. How to cook it is by steaming. The layer or green mixture is made from flour, water, food coloring. The food coloring itself is made from water mixed with suji leaves or pandan.
Es Campur
Es Campur, one of the typical Indonesian drinks that is made by mixing various types of ingredients in a sweet syrup. The ingredients used as basic ingredients usually taste sweet or sour. Es campur can be found in various regions in Indonesia with different flavors and ingredients. Therefore, the origin of the mixed ice is difficult to determine.
Es Buah or Sop Buah
Es buah is an ice-based dish that combines various kinds of fruit into one bowl. It is then mixed with sliced ice or ice cubes and sweeteners such as syrup and liquid sugar. The fruits used in making es buah can vary greatly, such as pineapple, grape, strawberry, jackfruit, watermelon, mango, and many other types of fruit in one serving of the es buah.
Es Cincau
Cincau is a jelly-like gel obtained from soaking certain leaves or plants in the air. The gel is formed because the leaves of the plant contain carbohydrates that are able to bind air molecules.
The word “cincau” itself comes from the Hokkian sinchau dialect which is commonly pronounced among Chinese in Southeast Asia. Cincau is actually the name of the plant (Messina spp) which is the material for making this gel. Cincau can be added with syrup, coconut milk (or milk) and shaved ice so that it becomes a refreshing drink. The grass jelly used varies depending on the leaves of the plant it uses.
When the weather is hot and humid, all anyone needs is a cool drink to refresh their mind. Especially with the heatwave that has been happening, a cool and sweet drink may be exactly what you need. Your body will be cooled down, thirst quenched and energy restored!
Have you drank any of these beverages? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
