8 of Brazil’s Best Drinks
So everyone knows about caipirinhas, Brazil’s godly cocktail. What many people don’t know though is that there are numerous other amazing drinks being made in Brazil. So if you find yourself in Brazil soon for either the World Cup, the Olympics or just a nice holiday at the beach, or at your favorite local churrascaria, growing a bit tired of drinking caipirinhas, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Below are some of the best drinks to come out of Brazil. Just be careful not to try all of them in one night. And don’t worry, we’ve also included some non-alcoholic drinks.
Cachaça Pura
For people who don’t like messing with great liquor by mixing it with sugar and fruit, you can drink Brazil’s favorite sugar cane liquor neat. There are thousands of different brands, some of which are great, others which are quite bad. Do your research about which ones are the best quality and do a bit of cachaça tasting once you’ve arrived in Brazil. You’ll find a few good ones in the U.S. as well if you search around a bit.
Batidas
Batidas are made by mixing cachaça, ice, fruit and cane sugar. You can get them with any fruit you like, with coconut and passion fruit being very popular. The caipirinha is basically a type of batida.
Caju Amigo
You can find another great cachaça combination in caju amigo, a mix of cachaça and cashew nut extract. An unusual but delicious blend.
Meia de Seda
This one is a bit of a girly drink (translated it means “silk stocking”), but if you like it sweet, don’t feel ashamed to order a meia de seda. There are different versions, but the recipe usually involves sweetened condensed milk, cognac and cacao liqueur.
Beer
While Brazil isn’t quite known for its beers, they do produce a number of decent lagers. Some of their more popular beers are Brahma, Bohêmia and Antárctica. Try a local beer of the region you are in. Some are quite nice, others not so much.
Chimarrão
For those who prefer to keep it non-alcoholic, Brazil has plenty of great drinks on offer. Chimarrão is a warm drink that looks a bit like green tea. It’s brewed by adding hot water to leaves of the yerba mate bush. It’s usually served in a cool looking bulb-shaped cup with a stainless steel straw.
Caldo de Cana
Another one for those who like it really sweet. Sugar cane juice is quite tasty, but obviously extremely sugary. Make sure to brush your teeth after drinking one of these.
Coffee
This one’s pretty obvious. Since Brazil produces about a third of all thecoffee in the world, it’s not a bad place to enjoy a good cup of coffee. Brazilians like their coffee strong, usually drinking espresso type cups of coffee.
As you can tell, if you’re traveling to Brazil there are plenty of options to choose from to stay hydrated. If you’re going for the World Cup, try to change it up a bit between alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, in case you want to remember if your country won or not at least.
Zane Schwarzlose is a writer at Estancia Churrascaria, an Austin Brazilian steakhouse. Zane thinks that all of these drinks sound great.
