Hot drinks: 7 delicious drinks for winter

Christmas markets are just as much a part of winter as Christmas itself. If you’d like to experience the cosy atmosphere of a Christmas market within your own four walls, you can easily bring that special atmosphere into your home. Warm candlelight, wintery decorations and matching dinnerware create the perfect atmosphere for a peaceful time with your loved ones.

It’s particularly easy to create that Christmas market atmosphere with a combination of festive decorative elements in green, red or gold and natural decorations such as pine cones or sprigs of mistletoe. Whimsical Christmas decorations, wintry snow globes and music boxes, as well as the matching Christmas tableware, round off the décor and transform the afternoon coffee table into a veritable winter wonderland. Tea and coffee cups featuring enchanting winter landscapes and Christmas motifs complement the décor perfectly. Finally, the right lighting is essential: warm fairy lights, festive candles and table lights are ideal for enjoying a warm punch or mulled wine in the comfort of your own home.

Punch is a delight thanks to its versatility: as a Christmas drink with alcohol in the form of rum punch or as a non-alcoholic version with fruit juices, cinnamon and star anise. Punch can be tailored to suit individual tastes and occasions. This is why it is particularly popular for family gatherings and Christmas parties. Large quantities of this popular Christmas drink can be easily prepared with or without alcohol, meaning even children can enjoy it.

If you like your coffee a bit stronger, enhance it with cinnamon, cardamom or a hint of vanilla. Spiced coffee is a wonderfully aromatic hot drink for winter and, with just a few ingredients, adds a whole new dimension of flavour to your daily cup of coffee. This coffee is particularly enjoyable when paired with delicious shortbread or spicy speculoos. On the coffee table, wintery cups with matching coasters and whimsical cookie jars are the perfect finishing touch to your daily moments of indulgence.

Golden Milk is one of the more extravagant hot drinks that is currently very much in vogue. It is characterised by its uniquely spicy-sweet flavour and its vibrant colour. To make it, milk or a vegan plant-based drink is brought to the boil with pepper, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric. The drink owes its vibrant yellow colour to the intensely coloured turmeric root.

Traditionally, golden milk is prepared with the following fresh ingredients for a particularly intense flavour: Puree a small piece of turmeric and a small piece of ginger (each about 2 cm in size) with 300 ml of milk, then heat the mixture with a teaspoon of cinnamon and honey or agave syrup for sweetness, as well as a pinch of black pepper and nutmeg. If you like, you can froth the golden milk with a milk frother to give it a particularly creamy texture.