We are pretty spoiled these days with the many different non-alcohol beverages options when going out. But have you ever considered having a night in and making your own fancy drink incorporating botanicals you have in your backyard?
The botanicals and herbs all around us provide many flavours. When you know what to look for you can make a delicious beverage to enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
What is a Non-Alcoholic Botanical Beverage?
Non-alcoholic botanical beverages or wild-brew sodas are fizzy drinks made from seasonal shrubs.
Commercial sodas require yeast to create the fizzy taste. Non-alcoholic botanical beverages derive its natural yeasts through flowers and fruits, which are fermented. The taste is similar to kombucha – it’s simultaneously sweet and sour.
Benefits from making a non-alcoholic fizzy drink are plenty. The health properties from the fruits and flowers used are paired with the benefits of fermentation bacteria. Both can improve the gut and immune system. Not only that, you can learn to use different parts of a botanical and be less wasteful.
5 Tips for Tasty, Yummy Botanical Mocktails
Here are some tips to kickstart your journey in creating a delicious non-alcoholic botanical drink.
It’s all in the seasons
Look at what is currently blooming around you. Did you know that here in Perth, you can make use of syrup from the lemon-scented gum tree (Corymbium citriodosa) to create flavour?
Aside from that, plants like the bottlebrush (Callistemon) provide a great base for cold-water infused botanical soda recipes. Here at the Farm, we use the gluts of fruits like mulberries to make vinegar or the shrub needed for fizzy drinks.
It’s always good to also know the basics of several popular herbs and when to use them within the yearly seasons. For instance, mint is a refreshing flavour fitting for the sunny days whilst cinnamon is a classic flavour for the cold, winter days.
Experiment, experiment, experiment!
There are so many different ways to create varying flavours from the botanicals and herbs in your garden. You can choose to boil them, infuse them with cold water or crush the leaves to extract the flavour. To create a flavour profile that is just right, don’t forget to have fun and experiment!
Decorate with edible flowers
Take it up a notch and make use of edible flowers to garnish your glass. Flowers like nasturtium, borage and chamomile can make your serving of botanical drinks pop.
You can also opt for flowers that exude a specific kind of aroma. This will enhance the experience of the drinker as they can inhale the scent of the flowers before sipping on the delicious beverage.
Sugar + Water = Magic!
For the magic of your botanical fizzy drink to occur, you will need two things: sugar and water. These two ingredients when combined with the botanicals of your choice will start the chemistry of fermentation creating that good flavour when it is ready to drink. Some or all of the sugar is eaten up by the fermentation bacteria, so there will be less sugar in the finished product.
Patience is key!
The making of a non-alcoholic botanical beverage requires a waiting time of up to several days to allow the fermentation to occur and the carbonization for the fizzy taste to appear. You will need to occasionally open the jar and stir through the contents of your botanical jar using a clean spoon.
Why not put on a ‘mixologist’ hat and learn how to make your own refreshing, non-alcoholic beverage in our non-alcoholic cocktail-making workshop, hosted by Tim Greaves. Across 2.5 hours Tim will guide you step-by-step on the basics of fermentation including choosing local plants and creating with seasonality in mind. Not only that, you will get to learn with fellow attendees, enjoy tasters and most importantly bring home jars filled with delicious botanical beverages.
We’d love to see your creations, feel free to share your non-alcoholic beverage drinks on social media and tag us at @perthcityfarm!
Written by our lovely volunteer Fannisa Assyilah