persian beverages
Persian beverages in general are divided into two categories: hot herbal tea (damnoosh) and cold non-alcoholic sweet beverages called sharbat.
Persian Sharbat is prepared with sweetened fruit concentrate diluted with water and ice, or simple syrup with water ice and distillate or extract like mint extract, rose water or orange blossom extract. This kind of sharbat usually served with Persian chia seed (tokhme sharbati) or Sophia seeds.
Black Tea
benefits
black tea is a good source of antioxidant and it can lower the cancer risk, reduce blood pressure, protect from diabetes, and boost your heart health.
Black tea is the first-choice drink for Iranians. Black tea has its own tradition from brewing to serving, and according to the accession, its serving is very different. It is usually served in clear glass cups because Persians believe a good tea has to have a specific red brownish color and always served with sugar cubes or hard candy (nabaat).
Iranians usually infused their tea with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, rose water, fresh or dried Persian lime, and sometimes mint not only for flavor and aroma but also for health benefits.
how to brew
The basic way to make herbal tea is to pour boiling water into a pot containing the desired tea leaves and let it get brewed for 10-15 minutes on double broiler or on the kettle.
In big ceremonies or if you are one of those families whose tea always has to be ready to serve, you could use a specific kettle called samovar , which keeps your tea fresh and hot for a long time.
Borage Tea
benefits
Borage is a medicinal herb that has been associated with a number of benefits like decreasing inflammation, improving skin health, decreasing symptoms of asthma, boosting kidney health, and also helping with reducing stress, headache, and solving sleep problems.
how to brew
Borage tea can reduce the blood pressure; so, Persians usually brew it with other herbs like rose petal and serve it with a small piece of hard candy (nabaat). The brewing method is exactly like the black tea.
saffron sharbat
benefits
Saffron is a great source of antioxidants, vitamin A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, sodium, potassium, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, and folic acid.
It has lots of health benefits such as protecting against cancer, efficient curing the asthma, increasing immunity, busting mood swings, boosting memory, helping with digestion, and also having some beauty benefit like beating the dark circles and improving hair growth.
how to make
The saffron sherbet is a mixture of water, simple syrup, few drops of cardamom extract or crashed with saffron, bloomed saffron, rose water, ice, and sometimes Persian chia seeds.
It is one of the most beloved sherbets in Iran and usually served in especial accessions or for very dear guests.