A whole post just on beverages? Is is truly possible? I think so. Like so many things about India to a NA, nothing is truly the same. So even the simple act of buying and drinking a beverage is not always so simple. For example, if you ask for Tea or Coffee, you will get a sweetened and milked (not cream) beverage in all establishments. Even if you ask for Black coffee/tea you will still get sugar so if you want black with no sugar, you need to say it that way. Tea is available anywhere including street vendors but not every restaurant will sell coffee.
There are few coffee bistros in the Starbucks-style including Starbucks itself, Costa Coffee, and Cafe Coffee Day, to name a few, where you can buy an espresso, a latte, or a cappuccino. If it is brewed coffee that you seek, I wish you the best of fortune. Even the restaurants which advertise brewed coffee do not actually sell 'brewed coffee'. Starbucks has Brewed Coffee listed as the number one item on the menu but no actually brewing or even automatic drip coffee machines exist in the store. If you ask for Brewed coffee you will get Cafe Americano (espresso and hot water) but you can get a French Press of your favourite (if limited) choice. There is a chain called Brew House Cafe, catchy name but they don't actually sell brewed coffee.
Tea is served at a cost of 6rp (.10) in what I can best describe as a condiment cup like you would get if you asked for blue cheese dressing with your chicken wings. Coffee comes in various sizes depending where you are but none of them would be classified as Large. The price of coffee varies a lot so it is difficult to give a reasonable estimate. I have paid 10rp (.16) for a 4oz (instant) at the Pantry at my workplace, 55rp (.94) at McDonalds for an 8oz, 90rp (1.54) at Costa Coffee and 190rp (3.26) for a Venti at Starbucks. Almost always, no matter what size you order or what type of drink you order, the cup will not be full and if you want to upset a counterperson at McDonalds, ask them to top it up.
Most of the major-major soft drink beverages are available but you need to ask for a Soda like our friends to the South say, not Pop. You can find Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Sprite, Mountain Dew and Fanta (Orange). You cannot find Cream Soda, Ginger Ale, Dr Pepper, Vernors, Fanta-Grape, Fresca or any kind of Root Beer. There are some India Only brands, Thumbs Up (similar to RC Cola), Mirinda (similar to Orange Crush), and Limca (made by Coca Cola and similar to Fresca but not sugar-free). For the calorie conscious, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are available in a limited way usually only in the Grocery Store. As taste goes, 7-Up, Sprite, Mountain Dew and Fanta taste the way you would expect them. However, Coke is a less carbonated version of its NA brother and Pepsi is quite different tasting though I haven't quite pinpointed the exact difference but it is heavier on a spice, possibly ginger. Prices range from the 200ml small can at 20rp (.34), to the 250ml can at 25rp (.43), next is the 600 PET at 32rp (.55), and finally the 3L PET at .75rp (1.29).
Juices are very popular, the number of choices and sizes suggests that it outsells Soda, but almost all juices have added sugar and it is very difficult to find a no sugar added juice. They do not have the same rules where if they have added sugar it must be called a 'drink' or a 'punch' so read your labels. To date I have only found one no sugar added juice, Tropicana 100% Orange Juice. I must admit though, my favourite is Maaza, a Mango juice drink put out by Coca Cola. It has sugar in it but it is great and I wish they would bring it to NA. There are far too many kinds and sizes to quote prices for juices but the Maaza in a 500ml PET is 40rp (.69) and a 1L of Tropicana is 99rp (1.70). When anyone asks me where has my favourite place to visit been so far in Mumbai, I surprise them by saying the Hajiali Juice Centre. They sell freshly made whipped juice drinks but vastly more important than that is this creamy custardy treat with chunks of fruit in it. It is indescribably yummy and quite possibly worth the flight to India just to try it. Time permitting, you can visit the sights while you are here.
The most popular size for bottled water is the 1L size but I have seen gallons and 5L cooler size as well. One litre of water is available anywhere for 20rp (.34). For someone like myself who needs to flavour his water to drink it, drink crystals by Tang and Nestea are available but not in sugar-free and not in singles.
Over the course of a week, I will spend more money on drink choices than I will on food choices. I have not put a full analysis on this yet but these are the factors influencing my buying choices: 1) Drink choices are more familiar than food choices, 2) It is hot all the time, 3) Drinks are never spicy, 4) Drinks are sweet without being cloyingly sweet as many of the dessert choices are here, 5) I will drink when I am hungry to avoid having to choose something to eat, 6) I will drink when I am bored, same reason, 7) I will drink at my desk while I cannot eat there, 8) I believe that food is relatively less expensive than drinks. Here are some examples, I can buy 4 oranges for 28rp (.48) less than the price of one 600ml soda or I can buy a small dinner of Chicken Fried Rice for 40rp (.69) which is the same price as one bottle of Maaza.
I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
There are few coffee bistros in the Starbucks-style including Starbucks itself, Costa Coffee, and Cafe Coffee Day, to name a few, where you can buy an espresso, a latte, or a cappuccino. If it is brewed coffee that you seek, I wish you the best of fortune. Even the restaurants which advertise brewed coffee do not actually sell 'brewed coffee'. Starbucks has Brewed Coffee listed as the number one item on the menu but no actually brewing or even automatic drip coffee machines exist in the store. If you ask for Brewed coffee you will get Cafe Americano (espresso and hot water) but you can get a French Press of your favourite (if limited) choice. There is a chain called Brew House Cafe, catchy name but they don't actually sell brewed coffee.Tea is served at a cost of 6rp (.10) in what I can best describe as a condiment cup like you would get if you asked for blue cheese dressing with your chicken wings. Coffee comes in various sizes depending where you are but none of them would be classified as Large. The price of coffee varies a lot so it is difficult to give a reasonable estimate. I have paid 10rp (.16) for a 4oz (instant) at the Pantry at my workplace, 55rp (.94) at McDonalds for an 8oz, 90rp (1.54) at Costa Coffee and 190rp (3.26) for a Venti at Starbucks. Almost always, no matter what size you order or what type of drink you order, the cup will not be full and if you want to upset a counterperson at McDonalds, ask them to top it up.
Most of the major-major soft drink beverages are available but you need to ask for a Soda like our friends to the South say, not Pop. You can find Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Sprite, Mountain Dew and Fanta (Orange). You cannot find Cream Soda, Ginger Ale, Dr Pepper, Vernors, Fanta-Grape, Fresca or any kind of Root Beer. There are some India Only brands, Thumbs Up (similar to RC Cola), Mirinda (similar to Orange Crush), and Limca (made by Coca Cola and similar to Fresca but not sugar-free). For the calorie conscious, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are available in a limited way usually only in the Grocery Store. As taste goes, 7-Up, Sprite, Mountain Dew and Fanta taste the way you would expect them. However, Coke is a less carbonated version of its NA brother and Pepsi is quite different tasting though I haven't quite pinpointed the exact difference but it is heavier on a spice, possibly ginger. Prices range from the 200ml small can at 20rp (.34), to the 250ml can at 25rp (.43), next is the 600 PET at 32rp (.55), and finally the 3L PET at .75rp (1.29).
Juices are very popular, the number of choices and sizes suggests that it outsells Soda, but almost all juices have added sugar and it is very difficult to find a no sugar added juice. They do not have the same rules where if they have added sugar it must be called a 'drink' or a 'punch' so read your labels. To date I have only found one no sugar added juice, Tropicana 100% Orange Juice. I must admit though, my favourite is Maaza, a Mango juice drink put out by Coca Cola. It has sugar in it but it is great and I wish they would bring it to NA. There are far too many kinds and sizes to quote prices for juices but the Maaza in a 500ml PET is 40rp (.69) and a 1L of Tropicana is 99rp (1.70). When anyone asks me where has my favourite place to visit been so far in Mumbai, I surprise them by saying the Hajiali Juice Centre. They sell freshly made whipped juice drinks but vastly more important than that is this creamy custardy treat with chunks of fruit in it. It is indescribably yummy and quite possibly worth the flight to India just to try it. Time permitting, you can visit the sights while you are here.The most popular size for bottled water is the 1L size but I have seen gallons and 5L cooler size as well. One litre of water is available anywhere for 20rp (.34). For someone like myself who needs to flavour his water to drink it, drink crystals by Tang and Nestea are available but not in sugar-free and not in singles.
Over the course of a week, I will spend more money on drink choices than I will on food choices. I have not put a full analysis on this yet but these are the factors influencing my buying choices: 1) Drink choices are more familiar than food choices, 2) It is hot all the time, 3) Drinks are never spicy, 4) Drinks are sweet without being cloyingly sweet as many of the dessert choices are here, 5) I will drink when I am hungry to avoid having to choose something to eat, 6) I will drink when I am bored, same reason, 7) I will drink at my desk while I cannot eat there, 8) I believe that food is relatively less expensive than drinks. Here are some examples, I can buy 4 oranges for 28rp (.48) less than the price of one 600ml soda or I can buy a small dinner of Chicken Fried Rice for 40rp (.69) which is the same price as one bottle of Maaza.
I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
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