Local Drinks

1. Rooibostee

   Rooibos tea

   Usage

   Tea from the shrub Aspalathus linearis, which grows in the Cederberg mountains of the Western Cape. Caffeine-free, so it can be drunk late. Also called naaldtee, speldtee or koopmanstee

2. Heuningbostee

   Honeybush tea

   Usage

   Tea from shrubs of the genus Cyclopia, part of the fynbos vegetation of the Western and Eastern Cape. Caffeine-free like rooibos. Also called heuningtee or boertee

3. Koeldrank

   Soft drink

   Usage

   The general word for a cold soft drink, usually fizzy. On a menu it heads the non-alcoholic section. South African English uses "cool drink" the same way

4. Gemmerbier

   Ginger beer

   Usage

   A fizzy ginger-flavoured drink. The bottled kind is a soft drink; home-brewed versions also exist. Floated with vanilla ice cream it becomes a roomysvlot

5. Maas

   Maas (thick soured milk)

   Usage

   Thick soured, cultured milk. Drunk on its own, and also served with spicy chakalaka or mieliepap to cool it down. Also called amasi. Note that the same spelling is the name of a West European river, so context matters

6. Magou

   Magou (fermented maize drink)

   Usage

   Fermented maize porridge thinned down into a drink. Very low in alcohol. Nowadays it is factory-made and sold bottled. Also spelled mageu, mageeu or mahewu

7. Karringmelk

   Buttermilk

   Usage

   The tart milk left after churning butter. Drunk as it is, and used in the dough for karringmelkbeskuit (buttermilk rusks). Note the Dutch spelling is karnemelk

8. Hanepoot

   Hanepoot (Muscat of Alexandria grape and its sweet wine)

   Usage

   The name of the Muscat of Alexandria grape and of the sweet wine made from it, matured about four years in wood. On a tasting sheet it sits in the sweet section

9. Soetwyn

   Sweet wine

   Usage

   The general term for sweet wine. Cellar labels and tasting sheets often use the plural form Soetes

10. Vonkelwyn

    Sparkling wine

    Usage

    Sparkling wine. On a wine list it forms its own column beside rooiwyn (red), witwyn (white) and rooswyn (rosé)

11. Boeber

    Boeber (warm sweet milk drink with vermicelli)

    Usage

    Vermicelli and sago simmered in milk with sugar and flavoured with cardamom, cinnamon and rosewater, with sultanas and almonds added. Served warm. Contains dairy and wheat

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