Some of the more unique drinks I discovered while in Ethiopia…
Areke – a traditional alcoholic beverage. When I tried a shot of it, it tasted like a pretty mild tequila. That flavor can be deceiving, though. Supposedly it can run up to 80 proof pretty regularly. The distillation process did look a lot like tequila’s.
Negus/Sen’q/etc. – One of the more popular soft drinks are carbonated malt beverages, and some are given a little bit of a coffee flavoring too. I definitely developed the taste for this stuff while I was there.
Special Tea – even its Amharic name translates to Ethiopian Special Tea. This was a very bright tea made from citrus and ginger, and heavily sweetened to the point that it tasted like a creamsicle. Honestly it was quite good.