Cheers to You! Celebrating Beverage Day on May the 6th

     This weekend, lift your flask or cup and make a toast to whatever inspires you -- May 6th is Beverage Day!  Beverage Day is a delightful opportunity to kick back and relax with your favorite tasty beverage.

"Beverage Day should be a day of pleasure and relaxation.  Grab a bottle, can, a glass, or  a six-pack of your favorite beverage. Sit down in a comfortable chair... indoors or out. Slowly sip and savor your drink. ...Take advantage of Beverage Day to try a beverage that you have never had before."

     Tea your beverage of choice?  The Cup that Cheers has everything you could ever wish to know about tea, including over a dozen links to other blogs about tea.  They also have a section on how to create Victorian soft drinks, which includes recipes for Lemon Kali and Ginger Beer Powders.  That get your attention? I thought it might.

From The Cup that Cheers:

"Soft drinks, as we know them (i.e. soda, soda pop, cola, etc.) seem to have been invented in the early 19th century as a health drink; mineral waters had been touted as a healthy liquid for bathing in (the origin of spas), and were recommended health-giving beverages, as well. Some mineral water was naturally fizzy or carbonated, and the custom of making fruit-flavored or herb-flavored fizzy beverages began in imitation of these fizzy mineral waters. Recipes for these drinks, which could be compounded at home, rather than at the apothecary or druggist's shop, involved the combination of cream of tartar, baking soda, and water with sugar and flavorings. The prepared powders were often called "sherbet" or "kali", and were meant to be assembled in advance, and then mixed with cold water immediately before serving."  Yum!

     A history of the consumption habits of the era,"London's Light Refreshments," an article by George R. Sims, appeared in the periodical "Living London" in 1902. The author describes the places and the times Londoners sought out light refreshment in the bustling city, as well as what foods and drinks were popular.

"Londoners of all classes have frequently need of light refreshment, and as demand invariably creates supply, caterers are to be found in every quarter of the Metropolis who have made this special need their study."

So whether a cup of brown joy, a pint of bitter, or a touch of the Green Fairy strikes your fancy, do try enjoy it thoroughly on May 6th, Beverage Day!