Malta (soft drink)
A bottle of malta and the actual drink in a glass with ice in a Miami Cuban American eatery. Malta is a type of soft drink. It is a carbonated malt beverage, meaning it is brewed from barley and hops much like beer. However, malta is non-alcoholic. It is similar in color to stout (dark brown) but is very sweet, generally described as tasting like molasses.
Most Malta is brewed in the Caribbean, most notably Puerto Rico, and can be purchased in areas with substantial Hispanic populations. Malta is also popular in some English and Dutch speaking islands of the Caribbean. However, Malta is brewed worldwide. Malta is also a popular drink in many parts of Africa like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and in the Indian Ocean. Malta Guinness is brewed under licence internationally.
Malta as a drink is also popular with Cuban Americans in the city of Miami and other Cuban American enclaves like Union City, New Jersey.
Many Latin Americans are fond of drinking Malta straight from the bottle, or poured into a tumbler. A very popular way Latin Americans sometimes drink Malta is by mixing it with condensed or evaporated milk, thus increasing the drink's already high caloric value.
Malta is high in B vitamins. Some breweries like Albani Breweries Ltd of Denmark fortify their non-alcoholic Malta beverages with Vitamin B complex. Albani Breweries Ltd, claims on their website to have been the first brewery to create non-alcoholic malt beverages in 1859. Powermalt website (http://www.powermalt.com/default.asp?id=1)
Malta is also occasionally called "champagne cola" by some brands. However, there is a separate type of drink with this name, having a flavor and consistency more akin to cream soda. Despite this appellation, neither drink is a champagne or a cola. Unlike beer, ice can be added to Malta when consumed.
Brands of malta
- Malta Carib
- Malta Goya
- Malta Goya Light
- Malta Guinness
- Malta Hatuey (Cuban American)
- Malta Heineken
- Malta India
- Malta Mayabe
- Malta Morenita
- Malta Pony
- Malta Sunchy
- Tropi-Cola
- Vitarroz Malta
- Powermalt - Power Malt Extra Energy (Denmark)
- Powermalt - Vanilla Power Malt (Denmark)
- Vitamalt (Denmark)
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