Gaziantep cuisine is remembered for its kebabs and baklava, yet beverages too hold a deep-rooted place at the city's table and in its streets. It is a tradition that runs from the cold sherbet of the street meyancı, who roams with an urn on his back on hot summer days, to the menengiç coffee that warms the body in winter; from the sweet grape must of the harvest to the pekmez made by boiling that must down. Most of these drinks are protected by geographical indication, and one has reached European Union protection.
On this page we have gathered Gaziantep's traditional beverages under three headings: refreshing sherbets, body-warming hot drinks, and the products of the grape harvest, the grape-harvest drinks. You can follow through to each one's own page to read its history, what it is made of and its cultural background.
Sherbets
Refreshing drinks made from fruit, root or syrup, served ice-cold and especially associated with the summer months and the Ramadan table.
An ice-cold drink extracted by soaking and straining licorice root, naturally sweet with no added sugar; poured by the street meyancı who carries it in an urn on his back. A registered summer and Ramadan favourite.
A thick syrup boiled down from the sour black "urmu" mulberry; diluted with water it becomes a refreshing cold şerbet. A registered regional product.
Hot Drinks
Drinks that warm the body in cold weather, served in a coffee cup or a tea glass; one made from a wild tree fruit, the other from the region's wild thyme.
A warm, creamy, nutty brew made from the roasted, ground fruit of the wild terebinth (menengiç); it contains no coffee bean and no caffeine, and is traditionally made with milk. A Gaziantep PDO with EU protection.
An aromatic herbal tea brewed from dried Antep zahter (wild thyme / za'atar, Thymbra spicata); a registered regional drink.
Grape-Harvest Drinks
Drinks born of Gaziantep's vineyard and grape heritage, drawn from the juice of the grape at harvest time and kept for winter.
The fresh, non-alcoholic grape must of the harvest, and the base from which pekmez is made. A heritage drink (note: not a Gaziantep geographical indication).
Thick dark grape molasses boiled down from the must of the Dökülgen grape; a winter energy food eaten with tahini or diluted with water and drunk as a tonic. A registered product.
All of the beverages on this page are vegetarian. Licorice sherbet, mulberry syrup, şıra, zahter tea and pekmez are vegan (entirely plant-based). Menengiç coffee, however, is traditionally made with milk, so it is vegetarian but not vegan (a milk-free version made with water also exists).
Gaziantep's Beverage Culture
In Gaziantep, what people drink changes with the rhythm of the season and the table. In the summer heat the city turns around sherbet: the meyancı, roaming with a gleaming copper urn on his back, serves naturally sweet licorice sherbet ice-cold, while the syrup of the sour urmu mulberry is opened up with water into a refreshing şerbet. This sherbet tradition is indispensable both to everyday cooling off and to Ramadan evenings; it is a culture in which a drink is not merely a thirst-quencher but a gesture of hospitality and sharing.
The city's vineyard and grape heritage feeds a quite different family of drinks. The sweet, non-alcoholic grape juice pressed at harvest time — şıra — is both drunk fresh and boiled down in great cauldrons into thick dark pekmez; through the winter, pekmez is a source of strength eaten with tahini or diluted with water and drunk. Alongside these, the region's wild plant life also reaches the table: from the roasted fruit of the terebinth (menengiç) tree comes creamy menengiç coffee, caffeine-free and traditionally made with milk; and drying and brewing Antep zahter (wild thyme) yields aromatic zahter tea. Running from cold summer sherbets to the warming, strengthening drinks of winter, this variety is an inseparable part of Gaziantep's culinary culture. To see the city's cuisine beyond its beverages all in one place, visit the Gastronomy page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which beverages are on this page?
Six beverages are listed under three headings: sherbets (licorice sherbet, mulberry syrup), hot drinks (menengiç coffee, zahter tea) and grape-harvest drinks (şıra, pekmez). You can read each one's history and what it is made of on its detailed page.
Which of these beverages are vegetarian or vegan?
All six are vegetarian. All of them except menengiç coffee are vegan (entirely plant-based); menengiç coffee is traditionally made with milk, so it is vegetarian but not vegan.
Which of these beverages have a geographical indication?
Licorice Sherbet (reg. no 441), Menengiç Coffee (reg. no 627, also an EU registration), Mulberry Syrup (reg. no 552), Zahter Tea (reg. no 1110) and Pekmez (reg. no 509) are registered. Şıra is an unregistered heritage drink (the registered şıra belongs to Bursa and is a different product).
Which are served hot and which cold?
The hot drinks are menengiç coffee and zahter tea. The cold drinks are licorice sherbet, mulberry syrup and şıra; pekmez is eaten as a food or diluted with water and drunk as a tonic.
Does any of them contain alcohol?
No. Şıra is the fresh, non-alcoholic grape must of the harvest; none of these beverages are alcoholic.