Chocolate Banana Smoothie Feeling parched? Make your own cool drink. All you need is a freezer, a blender, and a straw! Ingredients: 1 cup milk 3-4 tbsp chocolate syrup or cocoa (to taste) 1 1/2 cups frozen banana slices 1/2 tsp cinnamon Pour milk into blender. Dump in bananas, chocolate, and cinnamon Pour and serve From Smoothies: 22 Frosty Fruit Drinks, by Anne Akers Johnson. Used with permission of Klutz Press.

Ever since the Chinese emperors had their minions carry buckets of snow down from the mountains to cool their tea, people in steamy climes across the globe have been quenching their burning thirst with tall, cool drinks of a stunning variety. Icy liquids came to attain a flashy kind of cache that hot drinks (which did not require a trip to the mountains) just didn't possess. While even today some cultures swear by the palliative qualities of hot drink on a hot day, most people agree that cold drinks just feel better sliding down a fiery gullet.

Since I grew up strictly in an air-conditioned culture, the impact of a cool drink on a sweltering day never made much of an impression on me until I left my country of overabundant conveniences and spent some time in Baja, Mexico. The days began with a hot coffee and tortillas, but by high noon, nothing could soothe my burning body better than an ice-cold fruit-flavored ade, served from one of the many ice cream and fruit drink parlors specializing in these kinds of refreshments. At Rosita's Pasteleria, the senorita in charge would stand illuminated behind large glass jugs of cooling sweetened aquas. Her white t-shirt reflected the jewel-colored shadows of the soft drinks; yellow topaz behind the pulpy tamarindo, the garnet of the jamaica, and jade of the cactus. In Mexico, these vibrant, chilly liquids -- made from ice, fruit, and sugar -- are never drunk with meals; they are drunk in anticipation of a meal, prepping the stomach with a icy wash before it is subjected to the grease, spices and chilies of a Mexican comidas.

Other cultures have their own particular kinds of beverage traditions, and obviously the coolest ones hail from the hottest regions. The inhabitants of Middle Eastern deserts savor pomegranate or date syrup diluted with shaved ice, or chilled orange juice strained of pulp. In Greece, the remainders of a pot of cherry or quince jam are stirred into a watery fruit punch, while in South America, fresh pieces of ripe tropical fruit and ice are blended into a smoothie prototype -- sans the protein powder and vitamin supplements those health-conscious Californians like to add.

Tahn Oh, you're ethnic and parched. Why didn't you say so? Here's a smoothie from Armenia. 1 cup plain yogurt, strained 1 cup cold water Salt (to taste) Combine yogurt and water until you've reached the desired smoothness. You can use as little as 1/2 cup and as much as 1 1/2 cups, depending on how thick you'd like it to be. Add tiny bits of salt until it tastes right. Pour over ice cubes, with a generous sprig of mint.

Besides the clear, cool watery libations to slurp down on a steamy day, there are a collection of richer, dairy, nut- or seed-based concoctions with enough of what used to be known as "nutritive value" (read: protein, carbohydrates, fat and calories) to stand in for a meal when it is just too hot to eat. In Thailand, syrupy black tea and fresh cream are poured over ice, while in Vietnam, strong iced coffee and sweetened condensed milk give the sweaty masses a jolt with their cool. Wealthy Northern Africans enjoy a viscous, milky-colored drink flavored with rose water and thickened with powdered orchid bulbs, while in India, yogurt lassies can be flavored with cardamom, mango, sugar, or even salt and cumin. Spanish horchata, made with ground tiger nuts, water, and sugar, is as thick and luscious as a malted, while the Mexican version, made with almonds, is drunk either cold as a snack, or hot for a filling breakfast.

Of course, none of this is to say this fine, mostly temperate nation of ours is devoid of a tasty cold drink heritage of its own. Before there were smoothies, frappaccinos, frozen yogurt shakes, and even egg creams, in the southern states, tart lemonade, sugary iced tea, and minty whiskey juleps all historically kept a pre air-conditioned populace refreshed, hydrated, and only sometimes hammered. It's enough of a tradition for anyone -- even without the protein powder.