A bevy of beverages.

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In few areas do Americans' taste vary as widely as in drinks. Once they have reached the point where milk is not the only game in town, choices provide an almost unending assortment of beverages, each category having a wide selection within it. Whether coffee, tea, soda, or juice, there is something for everyone--and this doesn't even include beer, wine, and liquor. Let's take a look at some interesting items available.

For coffee lovers, turn to the slopes of Keauhou-Kona, Hawaii, where the brew from Kona Joe Coffee won the blue ribbon for best new roasted coffee of 2001 from The Specialty Coffee Association of America. The secret of its success seems to lie in the beans being grown on trellises like grape vines, harvested after they develop optimum sugar content, then allowed to "rest" for a number of weeks to allow equalization of their moisture. Once deemed fit for roasting, it produces a rich, full-bodied taste that leaves other commercial brands well behind.

In the tea field, among the hottest sellers is green tea, spurred by reports that the antioxidants it contains help neutralize the free radicals that are reputed to be among the triggers of cancer and other diseases. One of the grand old names of the industry, Lipton, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has a half-dozen green tea flavors to meet this craze--orange, passion fruit, jasmine, mint, mixed berry, and decaffeinated. The combination of rich taste and possible health benefits is well-nigh irresistible.

If your taste runs to iced tea, Honest Tea, Bethesda, Md., offers a unique assortment, a number of which are organic and contain antioxidants. Community Green, flavored with the essence of Maltese oranges, combines both, while Moroccan Mint, Jakarta Ginger, and First Nation Peppermint (based on a Crow Indian recipe) are totally organic, and Kahmiri Chai, Black Forest Berry, and Decaf Ceylon contain some organic ingredients. Best of all for calorie counters, Honest Tea has less than three dozen, contrasted to Snapple and Mystic, which have...