It is crucial to keep our body fit and healthy, and there are many ways we can do to achieve that. Besides doing exercises and having a healthy lifestyle, you can consume some types of healthy and traditional drinks to keep your body fit. There are many variants of healthy traditional drinks you can try that come from Indonesia, and the plus point is that it is easy to make at home and perhaps you should try it. Next, in this article, we have concluded several healthy traditional drinks that you can prepare by yourself. Let’s check it out!

STMJ

STMJ is a common abbreviation that is familiar for some Indonesians, and this stands for susu as “milk,” telur as “egg,” madu as “honey,” and jahe as “ginger.” This drink is believed to keep your body fit and healthy plus it is very easy to make. STMJ comes from Malang, which is located in one of the provinces in Indonesia that is East Java. You can easily find this drink on Java island. Here are some ingredients and ways to prepare STMJ.

Ingredients:

• 300 ml of liquid milk
• 5 cm of crushed ginger
• 3 tbs. of honey
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ tsp. of pepper

How to make it:

• Boil some water with the crushed ginger.
• Pour the water into a glass.
• Mix the water with the egg yolk then stir fastly to avoid clods.
• Add some pepper and honey, stir well.
• Serve STMJ when it is warm.

Wedang Uwuh

Wedang uwuh is another traditional drink that you can have and make by yourself. The words come from Javanese language, the word wedang means “drink” and uwuh means “trash” in English. But no need to be bothered about the word “uwuh” because this drink is just the same as other proper drinks that are safe to consume. The word uwuh is used because wedang uwuh contains many ingredients that are mixed together in a glass that somehow it can give a look of a bunch of trash. The rich use of herbs in this drink makes wedang uwuh contains high antioxidants that can help you from having high levels of cholesterol in your body. As the words derived from, wedang uwuh is a signature drink from Bantul, one area that is in Yogyakarta. Let’s find out the herbs used and steps to make it!

Ingredients:

• Gingers
• Cloves
• Clove’s leaves
• Dried cinnamon’s leaves
• Dried nutmeg’s leaves
• Sappan wood
• Lump sugar

How to make it:

• Grill ginger on the stove or charcoal fire then crush it.
• Boil the water then put ginger inside, wait for a moment. Then add cloves, clove’s leaves, cinnamon’s leaves, nutmeg’s leaves, and sappan wood.
• Let the water change into a reddish color.
• Serve in a glass when it is warm.

Bandrek

This drink is also from one area in Java, which is West Java. It is a traditional drink that is consumed by Sundanese people who are used to living in cold weather. Then they drink this to keep themselves warm and healthy. Bandung, which is located in West Java, is one area where you can find bandrek. Because more and more people consume this drink, bandrek now is packed in an instant sachet, so you can serve it quicker and easier. But, if you want to make it by yourself, here are the herbs used and things to do to prepare it.

Ingredients:

• 1 L of water
• 350 gr of brown sugar
• 3 pieces of crushed lemongrass
• 80 gr of grilled crushed ginger
• ½ tsp. of salt
• 1 piece of pandan leaf
• Condensed milk

How to make it:

• Boil the water.
• Tie a pandan leaf and put them in the pot. Add grilled ginger and lemongrass and stir well.
• Add salt and stir again.
• Taste bandrek until it tastes good and if it is good, turn off the stove.
• Add condensed milk accordingly and the bandrek is ready to serve.

Bir Pletok

Bir pletok is made as another creation of beer but contains no alcohol. Back in the colonial era, the Dutch often drank beer or wine, and because of the curiosity from Betawi people about these drinks but it is prohibited to drink beer or wine in their religion, so Betawinese made bir pletok using many kinds of herbs as the alternative. Then, here comes the bir pletok. There are two stories about the word “pletok.” The first version is because the process of making bir pletok includes shaking the drink in a container and it makes the sound of “pletok.” Another version is because when the Dutch opened wine, here came the sound of “pletok.” That was where the word pletok came from. Meanwhile, the word “bir '' by some people is believed to come from the word bi’run which means abyar or spring. Bir pletok itself represents luxury, success, and prosperity just like wine.

Ingredients:

• Gingers
• Cloves
• Nutmegs
• Pepper
• Lemongrass
• Cardamoms
• Cinnamons
• Sappan woods
• Pandan leaves
• Lime leaves
• Sugar

How to make it:

• Crush some gingers, nutmegs, cardamoms, and lemongrass.
• Put all those herbs in a pot and heat it at medium temperature.
• Add the other herbs, like pandan leaves, sappan woods, and cinnamons.
• Add sugar accordingly.
• Let it boil at low temperature for around 20-25 minutes.
• Serve bir pletok when it is warm or cold based on your preference.

Teh Talua

If you get the chance to visit West Sumatra, spare your time to go to Bukittinggi to taste
this drink. This drink is called teh talua and it is famous in this area. It is a traditional
drink that is made from simple ingredients, but it is believed can keep the body fit and
healthy. Teh talua is said to have existed since the Dutch colonial era. The history came
from the prohibition from the Dutch to drink coffee to West Sumatra people and builders,
as a result, they found another way to enjoy this drink by making tea from coffee leaves
or from dregs from a factory and mixed it with an egg yolk and signature herbs from
West Sumatra. The other version of the story was when the builders made Jam Gadang,
to build the tower they used calx, white sand, and egg white. Since the egg yolk is not
used, therefore the builder mixed it with the tea, then here came the origin of egg tea. At
first, teh talua could be consumed only by elite people like officials, rich tradesmen, rich
entrepreneurs, and rich nomads, or certain groups of people. But, nowadays it can be
consumed by all kinds of people. If you are interested to know how to make this tea,
below are some steps you can do.
Ingredients:

• two egg yolks
• two bags of tea
• 2 tsp. of sugar
• 30 ml of condensed milk
• One lime
• 1 tsp. of cinnamon powder
• 500 ml of water

How to make it:

• Boil the water and the tea.
• Whisk egg yolks and sugar fastly until it becomes thick.
• Pour the egg yolk dough in a container then pour condensed milk.
• Pour the boiled tea into the container that contains egg yolk dough and condensed milk, then add lime and cinnamon powder accordingly.
• Serve teh talua when it is warm.
  
  

As you can see, there are many variants of traditional healthy drinks that you can try at home. You can choose which one you feel curious about or try all of them. These drinks can be an alternative to those vitamins you usually consume daily, plus it contains no chemicals, so it is supposed to be healthier. Besides making your body healthy, you can also elevate your knowledge about some signature drinks from Indonesia.