Nonalcoholic

(Coffee with Whipped Cream)

This chai recipe—inspired by versions in India—combines black tea, spices, and milk. The savory notes from black pepper and cardamom in this version give it a wonderful aromatic complexity.

Yogurt drinks, known as lassi in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, are served in New York City's numerous Indian restaurants. Salty and sweet versions accompany spicy meals to cool the heat.

Nahm Takrai This lightly sweetened drink, served with both lunch and dinner in Thailand, is very cooling with spicy foods.

If desired, the smoothie can be strained to remove the berry seeds, but the seeds contain lots of beneficial dietary fiber.

Named for the four fruits that go into this recipe, the drink is a refreshing accompaniment to brunch at Sarabeth's restaurant in New York.

This recipe was created to accompany Sophisticated Stir-Fried Rice and Szechuan -Flavored Country Style Spareribs .

Aam Lassi I guarantee that even if you think you don't like yogurt you will love this shake. Combined with mangoes and blended until frothy, lassi is always refreshing, not just at mealtime. The bubbly froth subsides when lassi stands awhile, so whip it again in the blender or whisk it just before serving.

Today, Mexico's best coffee is ripened and dried along the roadways in the cloud-blanketed highlands of Chiapas and over through Veracruz and Oaxaca. The prime beans are usually roasted a little darker than ours — almost a Viennese roast — and they brew a nice, medium-bodied liquid with some spunk. They tell me it's the second-class beans that get roasted darker, to a mahogany black with a shining sugar coat. The steam-powered espresso machines in the city cafeterías extract a trio of ethnic brews: espresso, straight, foamy and Italian; café con leche, mixed with hot milk, French-style (but so common one would mistake it for purely Mexican); or americano, simply diluted with water. The more rural brew leans toward the Spanish, the history books say, but it seems like a Mexican-flavored campfire version to me. Café de olla at its best is pot-boiled in earthenware with molassesy piloncillo sugar and spices like cinnamon, anise or cloves. These days, many traditional city restaurants offer the dark, delicious drink more regularly, served in old-fashioned earthenware mugs at the end of the meal.

This distinctive fat-free drink is a great change of pace from coffee or tea.

A lovely change of pace from café au lait, cappuccino or hot chocolate, and lower in fat and calories, too.

Crushed berries and cream over ice — of all the frappés, this is my favorite.