Food and Drinks in Switzerland - Part 2

We came across a few really cool drinks in Switzerland.

But first let me say that I think drinks in Swiss restaurants and cafes are amongst the most expensive in the world. In a normal restaurant or cafe, a bottle of coke would go for about 4 to 4.50CHF. I tend to opt for Coke Zero (very cutely called Co-ka Zero by the locals) and that would cost about 5 to 5.50 CHF. Even sparkling water would cost about 4CHF per person.

Ouch for stingy me.

Since The Husband and I were both not drinking alcohol or coffee, we ended up trying a variety of drinks - milk shakes, different soft drinks, different brands of sparkling water (which I must say - most of the water we had were great, thanks to the bountiful supply of spring water in that region).

These are the few special drinks from Switzerland that I like:

1) Rivella.
Apparently, this is a very Swiss drink. When my Swiss colleagues heard I've tried Rivella, most of them ask which colour I prefer. There is red Rivella, blue Rivella and green Rivella. The red one is the original flavour. Blue is a diet version (I think) and it seemed to taste lightly as well. Green seems to be a new flavour, with some green tea in it. My favourite is the blue one.

2) Schorle.
Schorle is a German beverage made from diluting juice or wine with carbonated water. The most common variety is Apfelschorle, i.e. apple juice with sparkling water.

Ramseier seemed to be the most popular brand and have 2 kinds of sparkling apple juice - one that comes in a green bottle (RAMSEIER Süessmost) and one in a clear/ red bottle (RAMSEIER Schorle). The one in a green bottle is the classic version and the other is a lighter version. I liked the RAMSEIER Schorle - I thought it was extremely thirst quenching and refreshing. Good after a long walk on a warm afternoon.

3) Caotina and Ovomaltine
For warm drinks, I like Caotina (a brand for hot chocolate) and Ovomaltine (yes, you guessed it right, Ovaltine!).

These come usually with steamed milk and they weren't overly sweet. In one of the cafe we went to, The Husband ordered Ovomaltine and they gave him a cup of steamed milk and a packet of Ovamltine. He complained jokingly that for 5CHF, they should at least make the Ovaltine for him. I thought it was hilarious and took a picture of the drink.

I brought home a box of Caotina Noir from the supermarket. It's a dark chocolate drink powder made with real Swiss chocolate. It is made with 45% cocoa and can be drank with hot or cold milk. I really like this a lot because most hot chocolate drink powder is too sweet for me. This is just nice, I think - not too bitter and definitely not too sweet.