Sober Thoughts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kombucha

A fermented tea originating in China although now more popular in the West. It is made from a sweetened tea by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (or SCOBY). Kombucha may refer to the tea or the SCOBY, which is also called Manchurian mushroom or tea fungus.

It may be spiced or flavoured with fruit juices. It has claimed health benefits. Commercial versions may have minimal amounts of alcohol in them.

Answer: Horchata

Brought to Spain by the Moors who invaded the Iberian peninsula in the Middle Ages, the drink is made out of tiger nuts. It is not a nut as such but the tuber of Cyperus esculentus, a plant species from the sedge family. Grown for its edible tubers, these are striped and give rise to the name.

It is grown widely for animal feed but, in Hispanic countries, is mostly used to make horchata, the sweet milk-like beverage.

Answer: Ayran

First developed in Central Asia by Turkic tribes, a Turkic dictionary from about 1,000 AD defined ayran as a "drink made out of milk". The main ingredients are yoghurt, chilled or iced water, and salt. Mint has been used as a seasoning and it is sometimes carbonated. It has been promoted as a national drink in Turkey. There are many variations to this cold savoury drink.

Answer: Sarsaparilla

There are around nine plant species called sarsaparilla, however it is mainly the Smilax ornata species of vine which was originally used. This is native to Mexico and Central America. The US version was a soft drink similar to root beer in flavour and made with birch oil and sassafras, the dried root bark of the sassafras tree (not the sassafras seasoning used in Cajun cooking), rather than the tropical vine. Deemed carcinogenic, food use of sassafras oil was banned by the FDA in 1960.

Other ingredients are used now.

In the 19th century, it was sold as a medicinal tonic.

Answer: Switchel

With various names such as switzel, ginger-water or haymaker's punch, this diluted vinegar drink is often spiced with ginger and sweetened with molasses, honey or the like. In Vermont, USA, oatmeal and lemon juice was sometimes added. Possibly of Caribbean origin, switchel became popular on the American mainland in the 17th century.

The haymaker's punch name possibly arose from being served to farmers during haymaking harvests.

Answer: Lassi

This yoghurt-based drink is from the Punjab region of India. It has a smoothie consistency and is watered-down yoghurt with spices. In Punjab, it was traditionally made from water buffalo milk. Cardamon and cumin are the spices typically used though there are a number of variants such as namkeen lassi, lassi masalewal and bhang lassi which use other additives. It is served chilled.

Answer: Masala chai

Masala chai, meaning mixed-spice tea, comes from India and is made by brewing black tea in milk, sweetening with sugar and adding aromatic herbs and spices. The word 'chai' refers to the tea part of the drink, coming from the Chinese word for tea, although in English 'chai' or 'chai latte' usually refers to the spiced drink as a whole, typically made using a spiced tea concentrate.

The spice mix varies but usually includes cardamon, ginger and cinnamon amongst others.

Answer: Kava

Kava (Piper methysticum), or kava kava, is a species of tropical plant belonging to the pepper family found on Pacific islands. Kava is also the psychoactive drink made from the root of the plant. In traditional preparation, the root is crushed and mixed with water or coconut milk before being strained to remove the solids.

It has had a long traditional of ceremonial and recreational use in the Pacific islands.

Answer: Chicha morada

Originating in the Peruvian Andes, it is widely consumed in Peru and has been since pre-Incan times. The main ingredient is a Peruvian variety of corn which is commonly referred to as purple corn. One method of preparation is to boil the purple corn in water along with some pineapple peel and pieces of quince, spiced with some cinnamon and cloves. Sugar is added once it has been strained and cooled.

There are ready-mix powder versions as well as syrups to short-cut the process and it can be bought bottled or in cans.

Answer: Rooibos

A member of the legume family, rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is a broom-like plant which grows in South Africa and is the source of rooibos tea. Rooibos tea is a caffeine-free herbal tea also known as red bush, bush tea or red tea. The colour comes from allowing the green leaves to oxidise, which enhances the flavour.

When it was initially being commercially grown, germinating the seed proved to be a problem until it was realised that the seed casing needed to be scarified or damaged. Finding seeds in the wild was not easy although there is a story of how one local followed some ants to find a granary's-worth of seeds stored in an ants nest.