Exotic fruits are definitely hot this summer as every single beverage is being mixed with some kind of fruit.

THIS summer's thirst quenchers come combined with fruit or fruit flavours, and the more exotic the better.

As any thirsty person scanning the drink aisle for something refreshing can tell you, drinks from bottled waters to beers and sodas are being mixed with some kind of fruit.

"Fruit is a downright trend," said Sepp Gail of Germany's drink retailer's association in Munich.

The current accompaniment to the summer months, however, is not orange or strawberry flavours, but mango, passion fruit, lime and guarana, the seed of a climbing plant of the same name.

Among the fruit flavoured bottled waters on the market, lemon and orange flavours are history. Today there are combinations such as lemon-lime, apple-mint and apple-pear.

Gail said the so-called near waters have the best chance of landing on this year's trend drink hit list. These drinks had the highest growth rate in 2007 - 56 per cent, according to the association.

The variety of drinks that combine sparkling mineral water with fruit juice has grown also. Trendy cafes have been offering sparkling water combined with exotic juices such as rhubarb.

Meanwhile, cocktails made with red fruits or wild berries have begun to expand the list of the classic sparkling-water-and-apple-juice combination.

The list of summer drinks this year also includes organic spritzers. Two new ones on the market are Aloha Lemonade and Sinconada. They hope to compete with Bionade, an organic drink offered by a German brewery.

Aloha Lemonade was developed in Hamburg and will be available almost exclusively in bars and beach clubs in that city and in Berlin and the German resort island of Sylt.

John Wiebelitz and two friends came up with the recipe for the drink, which comes in three flavours - mango-lime, grapefruit-orange and elder flower. It is advertised as a drink containing only natural ingredients.

Sinalco, a German drink maker, is aiming its new products at young people. Its drink, Sinconada, is debuting this summer. A key ingredient in the lightly fizzy drink is barley malt extracts. Its champagne coloured, lightly flavoured variety litschi and its ruby red, full-bodied elder flower-cranberry mixture serve particular tastes.

Smoothies are also meant to induce an airy and light summer mood.

"They cool you down so well," said Inga Koster, general manager of the True Fruits brand in Bonn.

Smoothies made of whole fruit and fruit juice are ideal when they are cooled to between 2 degrees and 7 degrees centigrade. A True Fruits smoothie might contain pureed pineapple and banana, grated coconut and pressed apple.

The thick, energy-boosting smoothies, however, are not really meant to be thirst quenchers.

"I would consider them more like fruit meals. They are filling," said Koster. True Fruits makes five types: West Indian cherry-mango, berry mix, raspberry-banana, mango-passion fruit and pineapple-coconut. The smoothies are sold in 250 millilitre bottles, mostly at petrol stations.

Razzberry Love is the name of the summer cocktail chosen by the German Barkeepers Union in Hamburg. It contains green apple liqueur, rose syrup, fresh raspberry and ice. This combination is shaken and mixed with a riesling sparkling wine to create a "fruity, lively, lighter" cocktail.

The brewers also are coming out with mixtures, aimed mainly at a young, trend-conscious clientele. Many breweries are distributing fruity seasonal mixes this summer. Accordingly, there are greenish looking beers made with guarana and reddish elder flower wheat beer mixtures.

The German brewery, Warsteiner, has been mixing beer for several seasons with cola, lemon and lime. Other variations are mint, peach and cherry.

Germany's brewing association in Berlin encourages the trend, saying there's no limit to the imagination.

Among the most popular in the pubs this summer are Beck's ice beer, which is a clear beer containing mint and lime flavours. Its popularity probably is due to the mixture's acceptance as a thirst quencher.

text by dpa / Expatica 2008
photos by flickr contributors bloggingberlin, the_majestic_fool, bingbing and Ruth L

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