Local Drinks

1. apă plată

   Still water

   Usage

   ⚠ Asking for "apă minerală" in Romania usually gets you the fizzy kind. If you do not want bubbles, say "apă plată". Shops shelve them separately as "apă plată" (still) and "apă carbogazoasă" (sparkling). Common brands: Aqua Carpatica, Bucovina, Izvorul Minunilor

2. apă minerală carbogazoasă

   Sparkling mineral water

   Usage

   “Apă minerală” means water carrying dissolved salts, gases or radioactive substances with therapeutic properties — it means spring water, not just "mineral-rich". Brands include Borsec, Dorna and Tușnad; springs in volcanic areas are naturally carbonated. Often shortened to "apă carbogazoasă"

3. socată

   Elderflower drink

   Usage

   A refreshing drink of elderflowers (flori de soc), sugar, lemon and water. A drink of early summer, when the elder is in bloom; it is left to ferment for a few days, which makes it lightly fizzy. ⚠ That fermentation can leave a trace of alcohol. Sold at markets, festival stalls and traditional restaurants

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite "socata", plural "socate". From "soc" (elder) plus the suffix "-ată"

4. bragă

   Fermented grain drink

   Usage

   A refreshing drink with a sour taste and distinctive aroma, made by fermenting cooked millet, maize or rye flour — or pieces of bread — in water. Thick and brownish. No longer an everyday drink; you meet it at festivals and traditional-food stalls

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite "braga", plural "brăgi". From Russian "braga"

5. must

   Unfermented grape juice

   Usage

   The sweet juice pressed from crushed grapes before fermentation starts. A seasonal drink of the September–October harvest, sold at roadsides and markets in wine regions. ⚠ It ferments as it sits and turns alcoholic, so it is drunk the same day

   Grammar Note

   Neuter; definite "mustul", plural "musturi". From Latin "mustum"

6. compot

   Fruit stewed in sugar water, drunk with the syrup

   Usage

   It is a food — fresh or dried fruit boiled in sweetened water — but in practice you eat the fruit and drink the syrup. It appears as the drink at canteens and family tables. Usual fruits: plums (prune), sour cherries (vișine), apples (mere)

   Grammar Note

   Neuter; definite "compotul", plural "compoturi"

7. lapte bătut

   Buttermilk / churned soured milk

   Usage

   Milk that has been curdled and then churned — a cold, tart cultured milk. Sold in cartons in the dairy aisle, drunk as it is or eaten with mămăligă. Shelved next to the very similar "lapte acru" (milk boiled then left to sour naturally)

8. moare / zeamă de varză

   Sauerkraut brine, drunk as a drink

   Usage

   “Moare” means the salted or vinegared liquid used to pickle vegetables, specifically "zeamă de varză" (cabbage brine). It has long been drunk. Example: "Moarea de curechi te răcorește" (cabbage brine cools you down). ⚠ Very salty and very sour. Sold by the cup at winter markets and at stalls selling varză murată

9. cafea la nisip

   Coffee brewed in hot sand

   Usage

   Turkish-style coffee brewed slowly in a small brass pot (ibric) buried in hot sand. ⚠ The grounds settle at the bottom — do not drink the last mouthful. An Ottoman-era method still served in some old-town Bucharest cafés. You are usually asked about sugar first ("fără zahăr" = no sugar)

10. ceai de tei

    Linden flower tea

    Usage

    A herbal infusion of dried linden blossom. The flowers are used in pharmacy as a calming and sweat-inducing infusion. Caffeine-free, so it is the standard evening or head-cold tea. Café tea lists almost always carry "ceai de tei" alongside "ceai de mușețel" (chamomile)

Browse all TravelPhrases languages