In the remote mountainous regions of Oaxaca, Mexico, you can get a kind of lemonade made with whole chia seeds. It's called "chia fresca."
The chia seeds float around in the liquid and the gelcoat becomes concentrated with lemonade flavor. The seeds slide down real easy, and the drink is delicious and refreshing. (I've made it for a few friends who have said they really enjoy it.)
In the glass, chia fresca looks something like this:
But this is a photo of an entirely different drink; a drink that's made from seeds grown in Thailand.
It's Basil Seed Drink (with Honey)!
I found this drink at my local Asian market and tried it and like Lori in Champaign, Illinois, I found the drink to be a little too sweet for my liking, with a very strong artificial banana flavor from isoamyl acetate (which, BTW, was not listed on the label!!!)
Botanical fact: Chia and basil both belong to the mint family.
Which raises some interesting questions:
- Do all members of the mint family have these gelcoated seeds?
- Are seeds of other members of the mint family made into drinks?
- If basil seeds are used in any other food products (like ice cream), can chia seeds be used in the same way?
- Did the inventors of basil seed drink get the idea from chia fresca? (Or was it the other way around?)
- Do a taste test: Basil seed drink or chia fresca? Which tastes better? Which is most nutritious?