what do they drink in minecraft
let's face it, the variety of drinks available in canon minecraft is very disappointing. plain water, potions, and.... that's it. luckily, we have the base ingredients, so let's theorize what players would actually drink in minecraft (using only canon-available ingredients), and go a little bit beyond the obvious hot chocolate.
dandelion-glistering melon tea- dandelion tea already exists IRL, so it's clear that people would drink it here. it's earthy, mild, and good either hot or iced. mixing it with glistering melon would provide obvious health benefits, but it would also add more sweetness.
fruit juices- melon, glistering melon, apple, berry, and even carrot juice are all available and very tasty! maybe golden carrot juice would be the minecraft version of soylent?
pine-sweetberry tea- pine tea has a really intense flavor, so i'd imagine it's often cut with sweet berries to make it more palatable. it's high in tannins- the thing that makes black tea and red wine taste "dry"- which further makes it hard to like. however, if you live in a cold area, you're bound to start liking it sooner or later.
oxeye daisy tea- as a close cousin of chamomile, oxeye daisies can also be used in tea and have a similar taste! add in some honey and milk for a good bedtime drink.
netherwart tea- i hc this as tasting like licorice, but salty and sour. it's probably incredibly offputting, but experienced brewers would find the taste enjoyable. it also probably interacts terribly with potions unless you know what you're doing, making this truly a drink for potionmasters only.
cinnamon-blaze tea- expanding on the idea of potion-teas, blaze tea is strongly spicy and intense. though the pure version is enjoyed by potioneers as a mark of their devotion to the craft, it's often cut with the soft, inner bark of the jungle tree- aka, with cinnamon! the sweet, gentler spice of cinnamon provides a better main show for the eye-watering burn of blaze powder to fade into, making it a more palatable drink.
mulled apple cider- apple juice is an obvious jumping off point, but assuming that jungle trees are cinnamon, mulled apple cider would be an excellent warm drink! sweet, spiced, and cozy, this would be a favorite for those in colder areas.
rosehip tea- this is one you've probably heard of in real life! since we have access to roses, rosehips are a natural conclusion. rosehips are the sweet fruit of rosebushes, and their tea is very tasty indeed.
dandelion wine- a ferment made of dandelion flowers, honey, and water. this has a very low alcohol content, and people usually drink it for the taste. it looks like sunlight! emmymade has a really good video on it
beer- hops is not actually a necessity in the brewing process, and a mixture of boiled herbs called gruit was used before it. therefore, alcohol in its most familiar form is readily available to minecraft people!
cider- fermented fruit drinks are also available! made with apples, berries, or even melons, fermenting fruit and then filtering it is a centuries-old concept, and anyone can do it, though with some risk to their liver.
other edible flowers in minecraft are cornflowers, lilacs, peonies (notable for being candied and eaten by certain chinese cultures!), azure bluets, and tulips (which have a sweet and milky tasting bulb when eaten fresh). not all of these would be good in tea, but instead would be better in salads, candied as snacks, or used in sweets. the exception to this is alliums, which are actually wild onions/garlic. the entire plant is edible, and would be a fantastic accompaniment to any savory dish.