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Pakistani drinks
Pakistan runs on doodh patti, strong tea boiled with milk and sugar until it turns the colour of toffee. Ramadan evenings belong to Rooh Afza, a rose syrup stirred into cold water or milk; birthdays and biryani come with Pakola, Karachi’s bright green ice-cream soda; and in Peshawar a big meal ends with kahwa, green tea brewed with cardamom.
Each drink below has its own page, and our guides show how to make them at home with the same Pakistani brands.
4 things
Green ice cream soda
Karachi’s bright green ice cream soda.
Rose and herb syrup for cold drinks
The ruby-red syrup that opens the fast in every Pakistani home.
Photo: Miansari66The real thingStrong black tea for milky Pakistani chai
The strong, granular tea behind Pakistan’s milky, sugary doodh patti.
Green tea with cardamom
Green tea with cardamom, poured in Peshawar’s Storytellers’ Bazaar.
Guides
Gifts & guides
What to bring back from Pakistan, what to send to someone who misses it, and what to order if you have never been. Twenty-eight gifts, from a two-dollar box of spices to an heirloom quilt.
Food & drink
A spoonful of ruby-red syrup, a glass of cold water or milk, and the fast is broken. The story of Rooh Afza, why there are three of them, and how Pakistanis drink it.
Food & drink
No spices, no tea bags, no shortcuts: strong granular tea, whole milk and sugar, boiled until the colour is just right. Here is how Pakistanis make the tea they drink five times a day.
Craft & culture
Peacocks, flying horses, eyes against envy and a line of poetry on the tailgate. How Pakistan’s working trucks became the country’s most famous folk art.
Questions
Tea. Most of it is doodh patti: strong granular black tea boiled with milk and sugar, drunk several times a day.
Rooh Afza is the traditional iftar drink, mixed with cold water, milk or lemonade, alongside fresh juices and lassi.
A green, ice-cream-flavoured soda made in Karachi since 1950, and one of the few Pakistani soft drinks sold abroad.
For makers in Pakistan
If you already sell abroad, on Etsy, Amazon, your own shop or Instagram, we would like to tell your story. Listing is free.
Newsletter
One story from Pakistan each month, with where to find the thing it is about.
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