Drinking chocolate, served hot and cold, has been considered the most popular non-alcoholic drink in Spain since the 16th century but in the 20th century the consumption of drinking chocolate decreased giving place to coffee. At present, drinking chocolate is most often served during traditional holidays or with churros. Spanish coffee is usually of the torrefacto type, that is roast coffee with sugar, served in many ways. The most common of them are: cafe solo (black coffee), Cafe cortado (coffee with a little milk), cafe con leche (white coffee) and largo de cafe- a long coffee with a little milk. A popular cold drink is La Casera brand soda (a sweet fizzy drink), which on hot days is served mixed with wine or other drinks. In the west of Spain, a particularly popular drink is horchata de chufa ( a traditional refreshing beverage made from ground almonds). In the summer Spaniards often drink granizado ( a cold beverage made from crushed ice) and sorbets, although they are being replaced by fizzy drinks like cola, which are most often served with a slice of lemon in a glass. In the south of Spain, the solution for a hot day is a cold soup, for example gazpacho ( soup made from raw vegetables, vinegar, olive oil with a little soaked bread) and ajoblanco ( almond-garlic soup).
The most characteristic alcoholic drink for the Spanish cuisine is wine, which appeared on the Iberian Peninsula thanks to Phoenicians. The alcohols that are also frequently consumed are rum (a popular cocktail is cubalibre, which is based on rum and cola), anisette from Chinchon and different kinds of vodka served as shots.
