Welcome back to the Learn English podcast, the podcast teaching English in context so you can learn naturally.
My name is Dr. C and on today's episode, we will be discussing seasonal drinks.
It is that time of year, it is that holiday season, somewhere between Halloween and New Years and with it comes some seasonal drinks that Americans usually only have at this time of year.
So today, I want to discuss a little bit about what drinks are customary, what drinks do people enjoy during the holiday season and a little bit about these drinks, what they're made of and how you can enjoy them.
So let's start off with probably the most popular, the juggernaut, the number one drink when it comes to the fall season.
And that is the pumpkin spice latte.
Now the pumpkin spice latte is usually associated with Starbucks, but pumpkin spice you will see everywhere at this time of year.
Once you start getting near Halloween, pumpkin spice is just everywhere.
Now Starbucks actually first developed this drink in 2003, but it wasn't until a few years later that it really caught fire and it really took off.
It's actually Starbucks's number one seasonal drink.
It's their most popular drink.
So when it comes to the fall season, people love it.
It has the coffee part, of course it's still a latte, but it has that pumpkin spice flavoring added in, and it is extremely popular.
I mean, even Taylor Swift included it in one of her songs.
So you right there can see the popularity of this drink.
It usually has whipped cream and syrup involved.
Starbucks has been at least somewhat responsible and taken out a lot of the artificial color and flavoring in it.
And when you have it, it's just supposed to remind you of that fall season, really get you in the fall mood.
People will say that it's officially fall when Starbucks starts having their pumpkin spice latte.
Now it is associated with Starbucks, Starbucks is the first one to bring it out, but a lot of coffee shops will have it now.
If you go somewhere besides Starbucks, you will probably be able to find a pumpkin spice something there.
Like I said, pumpkin spice is everywhere this time of year.
You'll see it in candles and in different foods and just everything because people like that fall smell and feeling like they're getting into that time of year where the leaves start changing and the weather starts changing and you getting into that fall mood.
So if you're here, if you're in the United States during the fall, definitely check that out and see what you think.
If you like coffee, maybe if you like cinnamon and nutmeg, this might be a great option.
Another kind of fall winter drink is the apple cider drink.
Apple cider has apple juice in it, but it's usually seasoned with some other stuff.
Again, like cinnamon, like clove, like all spice, you get different flavors involved with it.
You also serve it hot.
So when the weather starts getting cold, when you get to the holiday seasons, especially around Christmas time, that's traditionally when I've seen it around.
It's a nice hot drink, has those seasonal flavors and is a nice way to warm up when the weather is getting cold outside.
Traditionally apple cider is non -alcoholic.
There are some hard apple ciders and that hard part means that it has alcohol in it.
So if you see apple cider, usually it's alcohol free.
If you see hard apple cider in the name, just know that that has alcohol involved.
So again, this is a nice drink that you can have when you are celebrating holidays, when you're having get -togethers with your family.
And it's a nice seasonal warm drink to enjoy when that weather is getting cold outside.
Now one thing that happens is sometimes people get sparkling apple cider and apple cider confused.
The sparkling part, it means that it's carbonated, which means that it's a gaseous drink, it's a carbonated drink.
So you have that acid in it, that carbonic acid, that carbon dioxide in it.
And that makes it a little bit different.
Carbonated apple cider traditionally is apple cider with the spices, that just has carbonation.
But again, this can be a little bit tricky.
You can have something called sparkling apple cider where it's really just an apple juice.
There's no other spices, it's just apple juice with the carbonation.
Now the most popular brand, I would say, is Martinelli's.
Here in the United States that's a very popular brand.
It calls itself sparkling apple cider.
You'll see that on the bottles, but again it's just apple juice with the carbonation.
You're not getting those spices in it, so the flavor is very sweet.
Now sparkling apple cider is usually served as an alcohol -free option for people who don't drink alcohol.
You'll see it at maybe more formal events like weddings, for example.
They'll give it to children or people who just don't drink alcohol instead of champagne when they're doing the toast.
But you'll especially see it during Thanksgiving, Christmas and especially on New Year's.
So my family, for example, we always had Martinelli's on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
With our families, you would come and have your food and then have your Martinelli's or whatever sparkling cider with your meal as your drink option.
And then during New Year's, people usually celebrate with a champagne toast.
And again, Martinelli's or a sparkling cider is a popular option for people so that they can have a sparkling drink, they can have a gaseous drink without the alcohol option.
So if you're at a supermarket, if you're at a grocery store at this time of year, you will definitely see different options.
Probably the most popular, again, is Martinelli's.
You'll see that browned around the grocery stores, but there's other brands and there's other options.
Sparkling grape juice, for example, is another popular one for people who, I guess, want to have maybe like a wine, alcohol -free option.
So you'll see these around grocery stores at this time of year, and you'll see it at parties and get -togethers.
For the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's.
And the last drink we'll talk about is eggnog.
Eggnog is definitely associated with wintertime here in the United States.
It's a traditional drink that people have around December and New Year's.
It, like the name says, involves eggs and dairy.
So it's usually a sweet drink that you serve cold or chilled.
And what it involves is it involves mixing egg yolks and milk and cooking it to make a custard.
Then you add sugar and spices, and then egg whites to give it this kind of creamy, frothy texture.
Again, just like with apple cider, you can have hard versions that have alcohol.
You can have soft versions that are alcohol -free.
It's up to you what you prefer.
Usually the ones that you find at the grocery store are alcohol -free.
And then, of course, you can add to it whatever you would like.
Usually people add brandy or whiskey or rum to it and make it an alcoholic drink that way, but you don't have to.
Personally, I love eggnog.
I am one of those people who loves this time of year when I can go to the grocery store and get some eggnog.
And I like having the version without alcohol, but again, up to you what your choice is.
Sometimes you'll see people put a little bit of nutmeg on top or a little bit of cinnamon on top just to make it look more visually appealing, make it look really cute.
When you're looking at the drink itself, you can usually see the spices in it and see some spices.
Again, you're getting those fall, winter, all spice cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon spices in it.
And you, again, can put some whipped cream on top of it or whatever kind of little decorations to make it look as cute as you would like.
So eggnog is usually had, again, in December or maybe Christmas time, maybe a little bit around New Year's.
You can also see it in other desserts, though.
So people will use eggnog as an ingredient for baking or for making another dessert.
For example, I really like eggnog pudding.
So in the United States, our pudding is very different from the one in Great Britain.
It's like this soft custard that we have.
And so I like taking eggnog and putting it in that and making an eggnog pudding dessert.
But there's other things that people put it in, cookies or cakes, just to use it as a flavoring besides just serving it as a drink.
So again, it's one of those seasonal flavorings, seasonal foods that you will only see this time of year.
No one's drinking eggnog in spring or in summer.
That would be very odd.
But it's perfect to go around the holiday season.
Well, those are the four drinks, the four cultural drinks that I wanted to talk about today.
They are definitely very traditional to this time of year.
You will only find them or hear about them around this time of year.
So if you're here in the United States, try them, check them out.
Go to a restaurant and see if they're on the menu.
Go to Starbucks and order your latte or go to a grocery store and buy them so you can try at home.
Tell me about them and let me know what you think.
Do you like eggnog?
Do you like pumpkin spice lattes?
Tell me about it because I know not everybody does.
Personally, I do love eggnog but I'm not a fan of hot apple cider.
But to each their own, I'd love to hear your opinions and what you think of these drinks.
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