Peruvian drinks to try in Lima: chicha morada, lúcuma, pisco sour and specialty coffee

Peru has drinks you won't find anywhere else: a purple corn drink, fruits with no English name, and a national cocktail. This is a short guide to what to try, and where to try it in San Isidro: Wasi Café, a specialty coffee shop on Luis Felipe Villarán 904. All prices are in Peruvian soles.

Chicha morada

The most Peruvian of soft drinks: purple corn boiled with fruit and spices, served cold. It is sweet, a little spiced, and goes with almost any meal. At Wasi a glass costs S/ 13.90, and there is also a chicha morada frozen blended with ice (S/ 18.90).

Lúcuma

Lúcuma is an Andean fruit with dry, orange flesh and a flavour somewhere between caramel and sweet potato. It is hard to find fresh outside Peru, so try it here. We serve it as a milkshake (S/ 17.90) and as a frozen (S/ 19.90).

Passion fruit and other fruits

Maracuyá (passion fruit) is everywhere in Lima. Try the maracuyá drink (S/ 11.90) or the maracuyá frozen (S/ 16.90). Fresh juices are a breakfast staple: papaya is our most ordered, and there is mango, pineapple, orange and strawberry too, from S/ 12.90. The Jugo Especial (S/ 18.90) mixes papaya, pineapple, strawberry, banana and algarrobina, a carob syrup.

Pisco sour

Pisco is a Peruvian grape brandy, and the pisco sour is the country's signature cocktail: pisco, lime, syrup and egg white, shaken until it foams. At Wasi it costs S/ 17.90. If you'd rather have it with coffee, the Affogato Wasi + Pisco (S/ 18.90) pours espresso over vanilla ice cream with half an ounce of pisco.

Peruvian specialty coffee

Peru is one of the world's coffee producers, and its high-altitude beans are what we serve: 100% Peruvian specialty coffee from Cusco, Cajamarca, Junín, Amazonas and San Martín. An espresso (S/ 9.00) or a filter coffee (S/ 8.00) are the best way to taste it. If you take milk, the cappuccino is our most popular coffee after the Americano.

Cold coffee for hot days

Lima's summer, from December to April, calls for cold drinks. With our Peruvian coffee you can have an iced coffee (S/ 14.90), an iced latte (S/ 15.90) or a frappé in medium or large, from S/ 15.90. The mocha frappé is the most ordered.

Herbal teas, the Lima way

After a meal, many people in Lima drink an herbal infusion instead of coffee. Each costs S/ 11.00: chamomile (manzanilla), anise (anís), lemongrass (hierba luisa), mint (hierba buena), black tea and iced hibiscus (jamaica). We also have the tepuchino, a house creation: tea topped with milk foam, like a cappuccino without coffee.

Where we are

Wasi Café is at Luis Felipe Villarán 904, San Isidro, Lima, a short walk from Javier Prado Avenue, close to El Olivar park and the financial district. We are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; closed on Sundays. Payments by cash, card, Yape or Plin. Open it in Google Maps, or message us on WhatsApp at +51 908 724 496.