Local Drinks

1. kvass

   Kvass (fermented rye bread drink)

   Usage

   A sweet-sour non-alcoholic drink made from dark rye bread or rye flour and malt. In summer it is sold by the cup from street barrels. A berry-and-fruit version fermented with yeast also exists

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, 1st declension; the accusative you order with is "kvasu" (Vienu kvasu, lūdzu.)

2. bērzu sula

   Birch sap

   Usage

   It is collected in early spring, before the leaves come out. It carries sugars (mainly glucose and fructose), organic acids and potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Bottled sap appears in markets and supermarkets in March and April only

   Grammar Note

   "sula" is feminine, 4th declension. "bērzu" is the genitive plural of "bērzs" (birch, masculine 1st declension)

3. rūgušpiens

   Soured milk

   Usage

   One of the staple dairy items of the Latvian table: drunk alongside boiled potatoes or herring, and used as the base of "aukstā zupa", the cold beetroot soup. Every supermarket dairy aisle has it

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, 1st declension; the stem "rūguš-", derived from "rūgt" (to turn sour, ferment), plus "piens" (milk)

4. paniņas

   Buttermilk

   Usage

   The by-product of butter-making, 0.4–0.7% fat. A thin, tart drink, also used in pancake batter

   Grammar Note

   A plurale tantum (feminine, 4th declension): there is no singular "paniņa", so "a bottle of buttermilk" is "viena pudele paniņu", with the genitive

5. kefīrs

   Kefir

   Usage

   A soured-milk drink made by fermenting milk with a pure culture of a particular fungus. Sharper and slightly more effervescent than rūgušpiens

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, 1st declension; the accusative is "kefīru"

6. dzērveņu sula

   Cranberry juice

   Usage

   The "dzērvene" is an evergreen creeping subshrub with pink flowers and red, juicy, sour berries. Cranberries are the signature bog berry of Latvia; the unsweetened juice is genuinely sharp

   Grammar Note

   "dzērvene" is feminine, 4th declension; the genitive plural palatalises n to ņ, giving "dzērveņu" — never "dzērvenu"

7. ābolu sula

   Apple juice

   Usage

   Latvia grows a lot of apples and farm-pressed cloudy juice is sold at markets. Note that fermented apple juice becomes "sidrs" (cider) and is alcoholic — check the label if you need something non-alcoholic

   Grammar Note

   The genitive plural "ābolu" of "ābols" (masculine, 1st declension) plus "sula"

8. piens

   Milk

   Usage

   To ask for it in your coffee, say "ar pienu" (the preposition "ar" plus the accusative). Supermarket shelves sort it by fat content, e.g. 2,5%

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, 1st declension: accusative "pienu", genitive "piena". It is the second element of "biezpiens" (curd) and "rūgušpiens" (soured milk)

9. kafija

   Coffee

   Usage

   You order it in the accusative: "Vienu kafiju, lūdzu." With milk it is "kafija ar pienu"

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, 4th declension: accusative "kafiju", genitive "kafijas"

10. bezalkoholiskais alus

    Non-alcoholic beer

    Usage

    "bezalkoholisks" means containing no alcohol. Latvian bars and supermarkets stock it as a matter of course. As a product name it takes the definite adjective "bezalkoholiskais"; the indefinite "bezalkoholisks alus" would just mean "a non-alcoholic beer"

    Grammar Note

    "alus" is masculine, 3rd declension, with accusative "alu". "bezalkoholiskais" is the definite adjective in the masculine nominative singular; the accusative is "bezalkoholisko" (Vienu bezalkoholisko alu, lūdzu.)

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