CHAI (tea) AND COFFEE
Russia are one of the three top tea drinking nations along with Britain and Japan. Tea is mostly drunk black and sugar and lemon can be added for taste. Tea is kept in a samovar which is a portable water boiler and when the tea is needed, it is made in a small teapot. In Russia people drink tea as often as possible with a sweet cake and a small dish of fruit conserve. Coffee is a common drink in Russia but is not popular. Most people still drink tea though there are still quite a few coffee drinkers in Russia today.
VODKA
Vodka is the national drink of Russia. The basic types of vodka have no additional flavouring but the Russians like to flavour their vodka with cranberries, lemon peel, pepper or herbs. When you are drinking vodka in Russia you must eat something along with it such as sour cucumber, pickled mushrooms, black bread or salt herring.
WINE
Russia is the world's third largest wine producer, with more than three million acres of vineyards in the south of the country. People that live in the northern regions of Russia like to drink vodka but they also drink fortified wines, like port, sherry and madeira, but these are sweetened with sugar. Most of the wine produced in Russia stays in the country but some that are transported include red sparkling Tsimlanskoye Champanskoe and Anapa Riesling. The popular white wines are Tsinandali and Gourdzhuani. The heavy reds are Mukuzani and Saperavi. The classic summer wines are Aligote and Riesling while Cabernet and Romanesti are the types of traditional wine that can be laid down to age and are kept for special occasions. All the wine growing areas, produce excellent brandy as well.
BEER
Beer is as popular in Russia as it is in Europe. Russian beer is still made by the traditional home brewing methods and are of a very high standard. Kvas is a summer drink made from fermented rye bread. It is a very light beer and has a licorice taste with a low alcohol content.
OTHER DRINKS
Fermented milk drinks are popular in Russia. Kerfir is a drink made from fermented cows milk that is thick and refreshing. Prostokvasha is thicker than Kerfir as it has whey added while making cottage cheese to fresh milk and allowing it to ferment overnight.
Bottled mineral water is popular that's from the spas of the Russian Republic.