Tuesday, September 1, 2009

6 Most Popular Non-Alcoholic Drinks In The World

It’s a very interesting to know about the most popular non-alcoholic drinks in the world. Where are they from, what are their compositions and some special features about them.


1. TEA

Tea is a drink made by infusing leaves of the tea plant in hot water. The name ‘tea’ is also used to refer to the leaves themselves; and it is also the name of a mid- to late-afternoon meal in the British Isles and associated countries, at which tea (the drink) is served along with various foods.
Tea has been an item of trade and tribute for at least three thousand years. It was first cultivated and brewed in China, and many of the best varieties still come from China. Some of the finest oolongs in the world are grown in Taiwan. Japan also produces a considerable amount ofgreen tea, most of which is consumed domestically.
After the British took up tea drinking, they began cultivating the plants native to India in order to have more control over the trade. India, Sri Lanka, and other South Asian countries produce a large portion of the world harvest.
Standage says tea played a leading role in the expansion of imperial and industrial might in Great Britain many centuries later. During the 19th century, the East India Company enjoyed a monopoly on tea exports from China.
As the Industrial Revolution of 18th and 19th centuries gained steam, tea provided some of the fuel. Factory workers stayed alert during long, monotonous shifts thanks to welcome tea breaks.
The beverage also had unintended health benefits for rapidly growing urban areas.



2. WATER

Water (H2O) is often perceived to be ordinary as it is transparent, odorless, tasteless and ubiquitous. It is the simplest compound of the two most common reactive elements, consisting of just two hydrogen atoms attached to a single oxygen atom. Indeed, very few molecules are smaller or lighter.
From a biological standpoint, water has many distinct properties that are critical for the proliferation of life that set it apart from other substances. It carries out this role by allowing organic compounds to react in ways that ultimately allow replication. All known forms of life depend on water. Without water, your body would stop working properly. Water makes up more than half of your body weight and a person can’t survive for more than a few days without it. Why? Your body has lots of important jobs and it needs water to do many of them. For instance, your blood, which contains a lot of water, carries oxygen to all the cells of your body. Without oxygen, those tiny cells would die and your body would stop working. In addition to being an important part of the fluids in your body, each cell depends on water to function normally.



3. COFFEE

Coffee is a well-known beverage prepared from coffee beans, of the coffee plant.
The story of how coffee growing and drinking spread around the world is one of the greatest and most romantic in history and starts in the Arabian Peninsula, where roasted beans were first brewed around A.D. 1000. Sometime around the 15th century coffee spread throughout the Arab world.
When coffee arrived in Europe it was similarly hailed as an “anti-alcohol” that was quite welcome during the Age of Reason in the 18th century.
Coffee raises capacity for work, gives strengths and energy and topes up. But there is a negative coffee’s influence in the human’s health because of its caffeine.
Coffee also fuelled commerce and had strong links to the rituals of business that remain to the present day.



4. KVASS

Kvass is a very refreshing Russian beverage which is made in many Russian households about once a week. Kvass is a lacto-fermented beverage made from stale rye bread. It tastes like beer but is not alcoholic.Kvass is considered a tonic for digestion and excellent thirst. It is also recognized that kvass is safer to drink than water.
Kvass protects against infectious disease, there is no worry about sharing the glass. In wealthy households, various kinds of kvass were made either with rye bread or with currants, raspberries, lemons, apples, pears, cherries, bilberries and lingonberries.
Real bread kvass using natural ingredients in its production technology – dried rye bread, sugar and water. As a result of the fermentation process, a thirst-quenching drink is obtained, with a distinct bread aroma and a strong rye bread taste. Unifying modern production technology with ancient fermenting methods, a flavor composition is obtained reflecting a product of a completely new quality, which pleasantly quenches thirst.Recommended to be used chilled!
The alcohol content is so low (0.05-1.44%) that it is considered acceptable for consumption by children. It is often flavoured with fruits or herbs such as strawberries or mint.


5. JUICE

Juice is a liquid naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue. Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fresh fruits or vegetables without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree.. Juice may be prepared in the home from fresh fruits and vegetables using variety of hand or electric juicers.
Popular juices include but are not limited to apple, orange, prune, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, tomato, carrot, grape, strawberry, cherry, cranberry, celery and pomegranate. It has become increasingly popular to combine a variety of fruits into single juice drinks.
Juices are often consumed for their health benefits. For example, orange juice is rich in vitamin C, while prune juice is associated with a digestive health benefit. Cranberry juice has long been known to help prevent or even treat bladder infections, and it is now known that a substance in cranberries prevents bacteria from binding to the bladder.



6. LEMONADE

Lemonade is a worldwide non-alcoholic drink. Summer is the best time of drinking it especially with the mint. Iced lemonade always will slake and will raise your mood.
It’s a drink made of lemon juice (fresh better), water and sugar or honey. Lemonade much better and healthy than any soft drink. To prepare lemonade is so easy as preparing tea or coffee.
In the US, a drink made of lemon juice, sugar and water in the UK, a carbonated drink that doesn’t necessarily contain anything closer to a lemon than a bit of citric acid.