Dawet is The Most Popular Sweet Iced Drink in Java. Do You Agree?


Cultural diversity in Indonesia can be seen through its delicious variety of local foods and drinks. One of the most popular iced drinks is Dawet.

Iced Dawet reminds me to the past time when I was a kid. My mother used to go to a traditional market near our home. I sometimes came along with her. There was an iced dawet seller in the market. I liked to ask her to buy it for me as I loved it so much.

Dawet is a Javanese word commonly used by people in Central and East Java and Special Region of Yogyakarta to name a sweet iced dessert drink. It consists of droplets green rice flour jelly made of rice flour or glutinous rice flour, and mixed with coconut milk and liquid palm sugar. The drink is either served with ice cubed or shaved ice. The delicious of this traditional iced drink is also depend on the quality of the palm sugar used.

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There are some kinds of dawet across Central Java. The two most famous are Dawet Ayu Banjarnegara and Dawet Ireng Purworejo. Sometimes when I am on the way to Purwokerto, I drop in at one of the Dawet Ayu stalls on the roadside in Banjarnegara. They sell the sweet iced drink close to each other. It's so good to help  travelers  to recognize the location and also provide them with more option. 

Dawet Ayu Banjarnegara


The price of Dawet Ayu Banjarnegara is cheap, just IDR 5000 (USD 0.35) per glass. The typical of this dawet is the flavour of ripe jack fruit and the savory taste of sweet palm sugar.

The other famous dawet is Dawet Ireng Purworejo. The main difference with the previous one is the colour. It uses droplets of black rice flour jelly instead, so it is called Dawet Ireng. Ireng is a Javanese word for black.

Both Dawet Ayu Banjarnegara and Dawet Ireng Purworejo are easy to be found across Central Java. During hot dry season, people like to drink dawet. It is the best choise when feel thirsty and to refresh bodies as well.


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On Sunday July 7 this month I attended Soropadan Agro Expo 2019. The theme was farmers' corporation and information technology integration to increase their prosperity. At that event I found a dawet stall named Dawet Kraton. I bought a glass of it for IDR 5000 (USD 0.35). The taste was quite delicious that directly made me fresh again (arisarmu.blogspot.com).


Dawet Kraton