Andalucia 2022 (8/9) – Stuff We Drank

Like in a few other European countries we had been to, iced drinks didn’t really exist in Spain. While piping hot coffee was easy to come by, it was really hard to find any brain-freeze-inducing beverage to cool off. Cold water, soda, and beer served at restaurants would be just out of the fridge, and became lukewarm before we got halfway into it. Maybe this obsession over ice was really an American cultural phenomenon.

Cafe con Leche

At our very first breakfast in Sevilla, the cafe con leche (basically what we call latte in this country) got me hooked. It came in a double-shot glass, small but rich, potent, and aromatic. Hong and I would go on to order this drink wherever we go, often having two or three per day. Before the trip, coffee was something I didn’t care very much for; and now it was among my favorite things.

The Spaniards took their coffee seriously. Everyone had a fancy espresso machine – bars, restaurants, train station cafe, and even the dining car on the train. They probably had no idea what drip coffee was, and must be horrified by the stuff Americans put in our mugs. I wouldn’t go as far as claiming that every Spanish cafe con leche was fantastic, but even the bottom-ranking stuff here tasted better than Starbucks.

Similar to the tapas culture, we appreciated these drinks coming in small quantities. It allowed us to savor each glass at its peak flavor, and we could always order more later on.

OJ

When we drank coffee, the kids had orange juice. There was nothing too special about orange juice, except that people also took it quite seriously. From tiny bars to grocery stores, it was always squeezed fresh out of an automatic juicer.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho was an Andalucian specialty – a cold and slightly spicy tomato liquid, sometimes served as a soup in a bowl and other times a beverage in a glass. Sounds totally wild, right? I was certainly confused when Dave recommended it, but glad to try it in both forms. It was quite different from any beverage that I was used to, and it was surprisingly refreshing.

Beer & Nonalcoholic Beer

Nonalcoholic beer seemed pretty popular in bars and restaurants. We got one by mistake at first, but ordered it a couple more times on the trip. It was funny to watch the kids try.

Also got an Alhambra beer once just because of the name.

Sodas

The zero-sugar stuff has been gaining traction in the US, but it was huge in Spain. Restaurants and grocery store shelves had more zero-calorie options than conventional sugary drinks. For someone who just started drinking Coke Zero recently, it was incredible to see so many flavors available.