Some drinks feel so woven into American life that it is easy to forget their ingredients, techniques or original versions came from somewhere else.
Iced Tea
It feels quintessentially Southern, but tea originated in China. Iced tea recipes appeared in American cookbooks by the 1870s, and the drink was already spreading before the famous 1904 World’s Fair story often credited with popularizing it.
Coffee
Coffee is practically a daily ritual in America, but its roots trace back to Ethiopia, with cultivation and the development of coffee-drinking culture spreading through Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. American coffee culture came much later.
Hot Chocolate
The modern American version owes a lot to Europe, but the drink itself goes much further back. Mesoamerican civilizations were drinking cacao beverages long before Europeans introduced sugar and milk-based versions.
Root Beer
That frosty mug looks like pure Americana, but its roots reach into older herbal beverages. Sassafras and other roots were used by Indigenous peoples before commercial root beer emerged in the United States.
Ginger Beer
Despite its popularity in North America, ginger beer originated in England in the 1700s. It was traditionally fermented using ginger, sugar and water, producing a drink quite different from many modern commercial ginger beers.
Lemonade
Lemonade’s American image is misleading too. Versions of lemon drinks existed centuries before the modern American lemonade stand, with early forms documented in the Mediterranean and Middle East.
