The idea
The wellness chapter of Trend Drinks is the author’s alcohol-free chapter. It promises drinks that feel good, are refreshing and fruity, and are full of energy. Almost every drink rests on a tea or a fresh fruit puree and one or two spices, and many of them are built on the same four elements as a cocktail with alcohol: citrus, bitter, fruit and sweetness.
The drinks
The Kimono is raspberry puree with jasmine tea, lemon and lemonade, a memory of the wild raspberries of the author’s childhood. The Soyokaze, Japanese for a breeze, combines ginger, wasabi paste and cucumber syrup with the Japanese yoghurt soda Calpico and a pinch of Madagascar pepper. The Tropical Mango mixes mango puree, coconut syrup, jasmine tea and ginger with cinnamon. The Ganesha, named after the Hindu god of beginnings and of obstacles, uses ginger beer, coriander and lemon with a few drops of old-fashioned bitters; the author says ginger, coriander and cinnamon are the spices to strengthen the body’s defences. The Ogimi is named after the Okinawan village known for the long lives of its inhabitants, and combines jasmine tea, lemon and eucalyptus syrup with grapefruit lemonade.
The Himalaya Pine, which the author counts among his best creations, is shaken from pineapple puree, lemon, Ceylon tea and blood orange syrup and served with a tea bag. The Cup of the Sultan is hot milk with pistachio syrup and rose water, served with rose petals. The Machagata Mamai is a flute of jasmine tea, cranberry juice and elderflower syrup topped with tonic water and finished with a hibiscus flower.
Why the author likes the format
He ties every drink to a feeling or a story rather than to a recipe alone, in the spirit of his foreword: a drink should give pleasure first and carry a memory. The Ogimi’s story makes the point that loneliness makes people ill and a community gives strength for a long life.
Recipes from this chapter
The eight drinks of the wellness chapter are collected on this site as drafts until we have permission to publish them.