Brazilian drinks

Beer is readily available in Brazil.
Some international brands are found in supermarkets (Heineken, Bud, Molson, etc), but Brazilian beers are second to none. Brazil is one of the largest markets in the world, and some of the largest beer factories are Brazilian.
Market leader is Skol. There used to be a stiff competition among Brahma and Antarctica for the second place, but since 2001 all these brands belong to the same holding, Ambev (and in 2004, Ambev joined forces with Belgian Interbrew, resulting in the largest beer group in the world, by volume production). Other important brands are Schin and Kaiser.
All of these top beers are good; taste varies a bit, according to the water employed in the production. If available, ask for a thermal foam to keep the bootle cold (drinking beer at room temperature is a sin in Brazil).
Several places serve only chopp, instead of beer; chopp is non-pasteurized beer.

The most typical spirit drink in Brazil is cachaca, made from distiled sugar cane; alcohoolic grade may reach 50 GL (as much as whisky or tequila). There are cheap cachaca from R$2 a liter (much used by the poor people to booze their problems away) and luxury cachacas of R$100 a liter; cheap cachaca is certain to cause hangover.
Cachaca goes down much smootherly when mixed with lime and sugar; this drink is called caipirinha, much appreciated among Brazilians of all social levels. Replace cachaca with sugar, and the caipirinha becomes caipiroska. Replace the lime with other fruits, and you have caipifrutas, also commonly found in restaurants and clubs.

Looking for non-alcohoolic drinks? Brazil has coke, fanta and much of the Coke line-up.
A genuine Brazilian soft drink is guarana, made of a fruit of the same name, originary from the Amazon. It was first produced by Antarctica, a Brazilian company, but Coke launched their version a few years ago. Guarana is said to have energetic properties, and can be found at the drugstores in pills or powder.

Brazilian coffee is famous around the world, but the best coffee is (for financial reasons) exported. Don't be surprised if you find that coffee in your country tastes better than the Brazilian one.


Let's not forget the juices. The northeast of Brazil has some features (solar exposition, proper soil) which makes it one of the best regions in the world for fruits production.
Fruits in Recife are abundant and cheap. Some fruits are hardly found anywhere else. Go to any supermarket in Recife, and find these fruits are surprisingly low (for foreigners) prices: pitanga, acerola, jaca, jabuticaba, pinha, seriguela, graviola, caja, bananas (this used to be very undervalued; a few years ago, Guga, the tennis player who's shrewder than most Brazilians, helped popularize the fruit), mango, cashew (excellent source of vitamin-C, no other fruit comes near), watermellow, among several others.