Drinks in Jordan

Tea – شاي

Tea is a very common drink for all kinds of occasions. It is either served in a cup or more often in a short, small glass without handle called “Istikan”, probably derived from East-Tea-Can. Some Arabs drink tea extremely dark, here in Jordan they tend to add a lot of sugar. When you are asked, how you want your tea, you can say “bedun”, meaning without or “khafif”, light (a little sugar) or “thaqil”, heavy (a lot of sugar).

Very often fresh mint leaves are added to the sugar, even without asking for it. In most places, you will be able to order “Chai bil Na’ana”, tea with mint. It is very tasty and nice after lunch or dinner or even just alone.

Coffee – قهوة

Coffee or “Qahwe” in Arabic is also very common in Jordan. Often referred to as Turkish coffee, although coffee is originally Arabic, if I am not mistaken, it is a coffee with a blend of cardamon, grinned very finely, and drunk out of a small cup called “Finjan”. The coffee is cooked on the stove together with sugar according to your likeliness and poured into the cups before it is really boiled.

Similar to the tea, you can order your coffee “bedun” or “sade”, black or you want a little sugar you can say “wassad”, something in the middle, although it might probably already be too sweet. There are plenty of recipes and videos on the web and instructions differ slightly among them. It depends a little bit on the region and taste, I assume.

Lemon Juice with Mint – لمون و نعنا

A very typical choice of drink in Jordan that I really like is fresh lemon juice with mint. You can get it nearly in every place and it usually tastes great unless they put too much sugar, which ruins it. Mostly it is a smoothy with crushed ice, and fresh mint added. it is a really refreshing drink.

Alcoholic Drinks

Alcohol is not very obvious to find in Jordan since it does not go conform to the beliefs of Islam. Therefore, in most places including restaurants, no alcohol is served. However, in the hotels and in some dedicated restaurants or bars and pubs you can find alcohol. If you want to buy alcohol for your home, you have to go to a bottle shop or liquor store. The only bottle shop inside a supermarket is (to my knowledge) inside Cozmo at the 7th circle. There are onlt very few Arabic Restaurants that serve alcohol. On my list of the best Arabic restaurants, I indicated those serving alcohol.

Local beer in Jordan

On the other hand, there are plenty of liquor stores around the city. One location I would like to make you aware of is the Carakale Brewery in Fuheis. It is Jordan’s first microbrewery according to its website. They also offer tours, have a wonderful tasting room with an awesome view and you can even buy cases of their great beer for a more affordable price than anywhere else.

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Also, have a look at my article about Petra Beer Jordan. They have a Lager, a Weizen, and an Amber and they taste really great! You will find them at several locations such as Cinco de Mayo – InterContinental Amman, Black Iris Bar, Rustic Bar and Eatery, Shrubs, Somewhere Else, and many others.

Alcohol Delivery in Amman

If you that is still not enough, I can recommend Get Spiritz – an App for Drinks Delivery. You can order alcoholic drinks through their app and let them get delivered to your home or friend’s place etc.