8 AAPI-owned beverage brands to add to your drink rotation
Eat well, drink better.
Credit:Reviewed / Valerie Li Stack
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May isAsian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and to me, no celebration is complete without sipping on a tasty beverage. We rounded up eight brands that highlight unique flavors and cultural aspects of the AAPI diaspora. From coffee and tea to hard seltzer and small batch rum, here are some of the trendiest beverages we’ve tried that honor Asian American cultures and heritage.
1. Copper Cow Coffee
This pour-over set for Vietnamese coffee is perfect for coffee lovers.
Copper Cow coffee is the brainchild of Vietnamese-American Debbie Wei Mullin. Already a popular way to get a caffeine boost for busy office workers in East Asia, these single-serve pour-over packets are now making their way to the U.S., too. These packets are pre-ground, pre-measured, and individually packaged coffee, filter included. Similar to traditionalpour-over coffee, Copper Cow packets are perched over a mug after opening, then hot water is poured over the grinds until all the water passes through the filter. Then your coffee is ready to drink!
Get the Rose Latte Vietnamese Pour-Over, 5-Pack at Copper Cow for $17
2. Kasama
Kasama is a small-batch rum brand made in the Philippines.
Kasama, which means “together” in Tagalog, was founded by Alexandra Dorda whose Filipino mother inspired this small-batch rum. Aged in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, this rum has hints of pineapple, vanilla, and sea salt, which is quite unique for craft rum. Order directly from the brand’s website, then drink it neat or on the rocks to best appreciate its flavors. (Or, mix up a cocktail or two.)
3. Tippsy Sake
Known for its consumer-direct approach, Tippsy delivers fresh sake from Japan.
Contrary to popular belief, sake pairs well with all kinds of food—it’s not just for sushi! If you’re interested in diving deeper into the world of sake, we recommend thissake subscription servicewe’ve tested that sends a curated box of three bottles of sake from microbreweries in Japan. Each box comes with a card explaining the bottles, tasting notes, and food pairing recommendations.
Get a 3-month subscription to Tippsy Sake for $168
4. Driftaway
Driftaway offers a unordinary subscription model—you get four different varieties to try before deciding on which one is your favorite.
Unlike othercoffee subscriptionswe’ve tested, the Driftaway model puts the taster at the front and center of the coffee experience. Once subscribed, the first shipment is a four-bean tasting kit, which lets subscribers decide which one they like the most, and future deliveries will follow suit.
Co-founded by Suyog Mody and Anu Menon, Driftaway is an independent coffee roasting company based in Brooklyn, New York. The brand was born out of frustration that freshly roasted coffee wasn’t widely available. Today, Driftaway has grown from a spark of a business idea to one of the most popular coffee subscriptions in the U.S.
Subscribe to Driftaway Coffee of the Month Subscription for $17 per month
5. Tea Drunk
If you consider yourself a tea connoisseur, this subscription may be a nice treat!
我丈夫已经订阅几乎茶喝two years. His specialty taste for rare Chinese tea led him to this particular subscription that sends him samples of four bags of tea each month, curated by tea trade expert Shunan Teng. The subscription comes with a complimentary monthly webinar via Zoom, in which tea master Shunan walks you through tea tasting and talks passionately about the most sought-after teas from the Wuyi Mountains and beyond.
Subscribe to Tea Drunk for $50 per month
6. Lunar
Lunar just launched a limited edition line of seltzers in honor of AAPI heritage month.
Move over White Claw, there’s a new hard seltzer in town. Flavored with natural ingredients sourced directly from Asia, Lunar is a small-batch craft seltzer brand that draws inspiration from its founders’ childhood memories. Its latest launch, the limited edition Heritage Line, includes three new flavors added to pay tribute to well-known Asian foods, such the Vietnamese street snack of Mango with Chili Salt.
Get the Lunar Hard Seltzer Variety 12-Pack for $36
7. Sanzo
如果你感到无聊的作物ix, try lychee-flavored Sanzo instead.
If booze-free seltzer is more your speed, Sanzo is worthy of your attention. Founded by Filipino-American Sandro Roco, this seltzer brand offers refreshing sparkling water flavored with fruits from Asian countries, from lychee to calamansi—a tangy citrus fruit most commonly used in Filipino and other Southeast Asian cooking.
Get the 12-pack of Sanzo Lychee Flavored Sparkling Water on Amazon for $30
8. Bean and Bean Coffee
Bean and Bean is a mother-daughter-owned coffee shop and roaster in New York.
Rachel and Jiyoon Han, the Korean mother-daughter duo, started Bean and Bean Coffee in 2008 and have grown the brand to include four locations and one roastery in New York City. They believe a quality cup of coffee starts with sourcing, which is why they only choose organic and fair-trade coffee to ensure sustainability and fair compensation to the farmers. One percent of every online order goes to the Sloth Institute in Quepos, Costa Rica, a non-profit organization that tracks and cares for orphaned and injured sloths.
Get the 12-ounce bag of whole bean Peru Las Damas at Bean and Bean Coffee for $21
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