Drinks and beverages play important roles in the Iranian lifestyle. Like many other nations, Iranians have special drinks for socializing, relaxing, and even healing some pains. The variety of Iranian drinks helps you to find your favorite one. So traveling Iran, do not miss this delicious part of your trip!
In this article, you can find different renowned drinks and beverages in Iran and also the places you can find these tasty options besides Iranian delicious foods. Different kinds of shakes, tea, Sharbet, damnoosh, juice, and distilled water are on the table. You can also taste different kinds of coca, doogh, and ma’osha’ir with your meals.
So let’s begin this healthy tasty article by introducing a list of Iranian drinks and beverages that worth tasting. You can book our culinary tour and have a great experience in Iran.
Read also: Top 20 Iranian Foods You Should Not Miss!
Chai, an Iranian drink that you cannot overlook!
In most Iranain houses, there is chai, hot black tea with a deep reddish-brown color as a drink that paves the way for socializing, fatigue relief, and also served during breakfast in Iran.
It is mostly served with a sugar cube. It is an interesting activity to learn how to drink tea while you keep the sugar cube in your mouth. Don’t forget to try it!
Sometimes Iranians flavored their tea with pieces of Persian dried lime (limu Omani), dried bitter orange, or a piece of cinnamon stick. Sugar cube, rock candy, and different kinds of dates are the main companions of tea in Iran. It is traditionally served in glass cups saucers since tea lovers believe that they should see the color of tea while drinking it!
Read also: Top 20 Iranian Foods You Should Not Miss!
Damnoosh, an Iranian drink that makes you feel better
Damnoosh, or herbal tea, is another favorite drink in Iran. There are a variety of herbal teas in Iran that you can use it whether you want to relax, as pain relief or feel fresh!
The most popular ones are babooneh (chamomile), avishan (thyme), gol gav zaban (echium), behlimoo (lemon beebrush), ustukhudus (lavender), and panirak (mallow).
Grandmothers in Iran use these herbal teas to cure pains.
They knew their characteristics and brew them to heal the pains and make the body more relax. You can find a variety of these tasty hot drinks on the menu of most coffee shops in Iran as well.
Distilled water, Iranian drinks use as remedies
Distilled waters from herbs are very popular to mix with water using for different purposes.
Some of the renowned distilled waters are mint, chicory, and pussy willow.
Common fumitory, bitter orange, and rose water are other distilled waters using in Iran.
They are mostly mixed with water and sometimes is a base for sharbats, chill sweet drinks.
With their hot or cold characteristics, they balance your body and make you feel better.
Sharbat, an Iranian drink that cools!
A chill sweet drink, sharbat, is a great choice to make you relax in the hot weather. There are some kinds of sharbat for summertime. Here we can take a look at them.
Sharbat-e sekanjebin
Made of honey, vinegar, sekanjebin is a favorite summer sharbat in Iran. Most of the time, it is seasoned with mint. You can mix one part of sekanjebin with two parts of water in order to have a sweet sharbat for hot days of summer.
You can also put some pieces of cucumber or leaves of mints to Sharbat in order to have better taste. This magic mixture makes you feel fresh and healthy!
Sharbat-e tokhm-e sharbati
tokhm-e sharbati (basil seed) is the main ingredient of this exotic sharbat. It is mostly mixed with rose water and sugar. It is a great sharbat in hot weather.
Sharbat khakshi
Khakshi or khakshir (herb-Sophia) are little red-brown seeds. The Sharbat Khakshir is the sweetened cold water, and rose water. The seeds are settled on the bottom of the glass, so it is better to stir it up before drinking.
Read also: Some 15 Best Things to Do in Iran
Juices, according to Iranian taste
Carrot juice, pomegranate juice, barberry juice, cantaloupe juice, and apple juice are some of the drinks that you can in every juice shop.
Most of the time, you can order a mixture of different juices to experience a new taste.
The juice shops most of the time served ma’joon, a kind of shake mostly composed of milk, ice cream, dates, bananas, and nuts, shir moz (a mixture of milk and banana), and shir pesteh (a mixture of milk and pistachio).
The mixture of carrot juice with ice cream is another favorite choice for Iranians. Try this juicy mix during your travel to Iran.
Drink with meals in Iranian styles
Doogh is one of the most favorite Iranian drinks serve with most meals. It is the combination of curdled milk and water, and is seasoned with mint and dried rose most of the time. A different version of this salty drink exists in different countries but do not forget to try the Iranian version while you are here in Iran.
Ma’o shair or Islamic beer, with 0.00 percent alcohol, is another option that you can try in Iran. It is available in different flavors including apple, lime, and others. The classic type is bitter. You can find it in every grocery all around Iran. Delester is another brand that you can find for Islamic beer in Iran.
Coca is another option that you have in Iran. You can find Coca Cola, Fanta, and sprite in Iran. They are available as the canned drinks in Iran as well.
The story of coffee in Iran
Like many other countries, coffee was the regular hot drink in Iran before the Safavid era (1501-1722) and there are qahveh khanehs (coffee house) in Iranian cities. However afterward, tea becomes popular in Iran. Today you can find different kinds of coffee in Iranian coffee shops.
But if you travel southern Iran, do not miss Arabian coffee. It is served with some rituals and traditions.
There are some codes and signals that you should observe while the coffee is served. Do not miss this unique experience during your travel to Iran!
All things you should know about alcohol in Iran
Is alcohol prohibited in Iran? The answer is definite YES! Consuming, buying, and selling alcoholic drinks are illegal inside the borders of Iran. Hence, there is no bar or liquor shop inside Iran providing alcohol.
As a tourist, there is no exception for using alcohol in Iran. It is a law in the country, which banned drinking, buying, and selling alcohol in this land for everyone. Maybe you heard about the myth that hotels and cafes in Iran provide alcohol for foreigners. It is not true! There is no place that you can order alcohol in this country.
As you may see bringing or drinking alcohol is illegal as it may result in some punishment in Iran. So do not disregard this law while staying in Iran!
Like other illegal products, you may find some alcoholic drinks produced or smuggled in Iran. Besides the legal consequence, these products may threaten your health. So it is better to plan for an alcohol-free vacation while traveling the country!
Here in this article, you can find a great list of Iranian drinks that you can try while traveling the country, some of them you cannot find in other parts of the world. So forget about alcohol and find more drinks here!
Read also: Travel to Iran: Tips for First Travelers
Where can you find Iranian drinks and beverages?
To taste these delightful Iranian drinks, you can spend time in places like sharbatkhaneh (house of sharbat), chaikhaneh (house of tea), and also coffee shops.
You can find tea and hookah in qahveh khaneh (coffee houses). Juice shops are other options you have to try juices, ma’joons and shakes in Iran.
Last but not the least
Sometimes drinks and foods have a lot to say about a country’s culture, habit and even society more that any travel guide book! And as you read, Iran is land of tasty experiences. You can find tea with different flavors in sharbats, damnoosh, juices and other drinks in Iran. You can find your favorite taste and have a great experience to taste them during your trip to Iran.
