Local Drinks

1. 冬瓜茶

   Tang-kue-tê

   Winter melon tea

   Usage

   Winter melon simmered at length with rock sugar; held to quench thirst and cool the body, and a fixture of the Taiwanese summer

   Grammar Note

   Taiwanese 茶 tê covers any decoction, not just leaf tea; neither 冬瓜茶 nor 麥仔茶 contains tea leaves

2. 青草仔茶

   Tshenn-tsháu-á-tê

   Herbal cooling tea

   Usage

   A decoction of several medicinal herbs, drunk in summer to cool the body. Also read tshinn-tsháu-á-tê; 青草茶 is also a synonymous form

   Grammar Note

   青 has the regional readings tshenn and tshinn, both correct

3. 米漿

   Bí-tsiunn

   Rice milk

   Usage

   Rice ground with water. At Taiwanese breakfast shops it stands alongside soy milk and is usually served warm

   Grammar Note

   漿 takes the colloquial reading tsiunn here; the literary reading tsiong appears in other compounds

4. 豆奶

   Tāu-ling

   Soy milk

   Usage

   Ground soybean drink, classically paired with a steamed bun at breakfast shops. Also read tāu-ni

   Grammar Note

   Taiwanese writes 豆奶, not Mandarin 豆漿.

5. 烏龍茶

   Oo-liông-tê

   Oolong tea

   Usage

   A semi-fermented tea (60-70%), the first tea Taiwan produced for export. Best known are Dongding oolong from Lugu, Nantou, and white-tip oolong from Beipu and Emei, Hsinchu, also called Oriental Beauty

   Grammar Note

   烏 oo means "black" in Taiwanese; it is a different word from 鳥 tsiáu, "bird"

6. 包種茶

   Pau-tsióng-tê

   Pouchong tea

   Usage

   A semi-fermented tea. The name comes from the old practice of wrapping four taels of roasted leaf in two squares of paper stamped with the tea's name and the merchant's seal. Wenshan pouchong is the best known

   Grammar Note

   A tea named after its packaging. 包 pau is also an everyday verb, "to wrap"

7. 麵茶

   Mī-tê

   Toasted flour drink

   Usage

   Wheat flour toasted in oil and blended with fine sugar or sesame powder; hot water is stirred in to make a paste. A nostalgic evening street-stall item

   Grammar Note

   Closer to a paste than a drink, but usually listed among the beverages on a menu

8. 杏仁茶

   Hīng-jîn-tê

   Almond drink

   Usage

   Made two ways: apricot kernels ground to powder and mixed with hot water, or ground kernels stirred into rice milk with sugar and brought to a boil. Also read hīng-lîn-tê

   Grammar Note

   The j / l alternation in 仁 jîn / lîn is a general regional feature of Taiwanese; both are correct

9. 麥仔茶

   Be̍h-á-tê

   Barley tea

   Usage

   An infusion of roasted barley, caffeine-free and drunk with meals

   Grammar Note

   The same 麥仔 be̍h-á yields 麥仔酒 be̍h-á-tsiú, "beer"; keep the two apart when ordering

10. 茶米

    Tê-bí

    Tea leaves

    Usage

    The leaves themselves; tea brewed from them is 茶米茶 tê-bí-tê. The word to use when buying tea as a gift. Synonyms include 茶心 tê-sim and 茶葉 tê-hio̍h

    Grammar Note

    In Taiwanese 米 bí extends from rice grains to grain-like things generally, hence "tea grains" for tea leaves

11. 粉圓

    Hún-înn

    Tapioca pearls

    Usage

    Balls of sweet-potato starch and brown sugar that turn translucent when boiled; eaten cold in summer and hot in winter, and added to milk tea to make bubble tea

    Grammar Note

    The word to use when asking a drinks shop to add pearls; larger pearls may be named differently from shop to shop

12. 甜湯

    Tinn-thng

    Sweet soup

    Usage

    A general term for sweet dishes served as a soup: red bean, mung bean, taro or rice balls in sweetened liquid. Synonyms include 甜茶 tinn-tê and 甜路 tinn-lōo

    Grammar Note

    A category name on dessert-shop signs; what goes in it varies by shop, so check the fillings individually

13. 汽水

    Khì-tsuí

    Soda, fizzy drink

    Usage

    Carbonated water with sugar and fruit juice. 荷蘭水 is an older synonym, still used by some older speakers

    Grammar Note

    水 has a colloquial reading tsuí and a literary reading suí; everyday words, including drink names, use tsuí

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