Relax With Egyptian Tea on Nile Cruise in a busy Egypt Tour

Often tourist cafés serve "European-style" coffee made from instant powder; however there is a recent trend toward espresso machines, and these are available in many better hotels.

Teas and coffees are usually consumed in traditional coffee houses or tearooms which have historically been used exclusively by men. Foreign women won't be turned away but may feel uneasy, especially if unaccompanied by a man. For a more relaxed tea or coffee try one of the middle-class places which are often attached to patisseries, and where Egyptian women may also be found.

Another drink characteristic of Egypt is karkaday - a deep-red infusion of hibiscus flowers. Popular in Luxor and Aswan and on the Nile cruise ships, it is refreshing drunk either hot or cold. Sometimes cafés will use dried extract instead of fresh hibiscus, and this is not as good.

On cold winter evenings you might enjoy a thick creamy drink made from milk with ground orchid root, with cinnamon and nuts sprinkled on top. There is also a drink based on sour milk which is somewhat unusual.

The water-pipe is a famous part of Egyptian café life. It burns tobacco mixed with molasses and has a distinctive taste and aroma. Some coffee houses also stock other flavours such as apple and provide disposable plastic mouthpieces for their clients' waterpipes. A sheesha is normally shared among friends, but you can decline to partake without causing offence. Don't call it a "hubbly bubbly", as the term in Egypt specifically refers to hashish, which is illegal.

Locally manufactured drinks are reasonably cheap – a bottle of Stella beer costing about Au$4.50, local wines under Au$10 – but imported booze is more expensive than back home in hotels and restaurants, which are generally the only outlets serving alcohol (though you can buy it cheaply in duty-free shops). Everyday items tend to be pricier in Sinai, Hurghada and the desert oases, where goods have to be trucked in from distant centres.

Being a predominantly Muslim country alcohol has a low profile, although it is readily in all Egypt tour areas. Drinks consist primarily of tea, coffee, fruit juices and familiar brands of soft drinks. Invitations to drink tea are as much a part of life in Egypt as they are other countries with cultures related to England, although the tea itself is served quite differently. Many Egyptian men accompany it with a sheesha.

Every main street has a couple of stand-up juice bars, recognizable by their displays of fruit. Normally, you order and pay at the cash desk before exchanging a plastic token for your drink at the counter.

Juices made from seasonal fruit include orange; banana, possibly mixed with milk; mango; strawberry; carrot; pomegranate; coconut; and crushed sugar cane. You can also order blends such as carrot and orange juice or whatever else you might fancy.

Street vendors also ladle out iced sweet lemonade, bitter-sweet liquorice-water, and deliciously refreshing tamarind cordial.

Despite this profusion of cheap fresh juices, the usual brands of soft drink are widely available, including Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and 7-Up (called "Seven") - in both bottles and cans. Bottled drinks are normally consumed on the spot - if you want to take it away you'll have to pay a deposit on the bottle.

Bottled mineral water is widely available in 1.5-litre, one-litre and half-litre bottles. If tourists ask for water it is assumed that they mean mineral water unless they specifically ask for tap water. Reticulated water is safe to drink in major towns and cities, but usually tastes too chlorinated for the average visitor's liking so usually it is better to stick to bottled water. When buying mineral water, it is wise to check that the seal is unbroken; unsuspecting tourists may be sold used bottles re-filled with tap water.

Alcohol can be obtained in most parts of Egypt, but the range of outlets is limited. In the Western Desert oases or Middle Egypt its sale is severely restricted or entirely prohibited. If there are no bars, hotels or Greek restaurants are the places to try; if you can't see anyone drinking it, there's none to be had. When you do manage to locate a drink, keep in mind that the hot, dry climate makes for dehydration, and agonizing hangovers can easily result from overindulgence. Public drunkenness is totally unacceptable in Egypt. In deference to the non-drinking Muslim majority, the sale of alcohol is restricted on the Prophet Mohammed's birthday and during Ramadan.

Beer, whose consumption goes back to pharaonic times, is the most widely available form of alcohol. Native Stella beer is a light lager in half-litre bottles and also in cans. To check that bottled beer hasn't gone flat, invert the bottle before opening and look for a fizzy head. Stella retails in most places for Au$20, though discos may charge as much as Au$45 and cruise boats even more. In competition with Stella, a new brand called Sakkara has appeared - a similarly light lager that foreigners seem to enjoy. Premium or "export" versions of both Stella and Sakkara are available, which have a slightly fuller flavour and are slightly more alcoholic.

There are also Egyptian versions of Carlsberg, Löwenbrau and Meister; Marzen is a dark beer which is sometimes available; and Aswali is a dark beer produced in Aswan. Of course the imported beers are the most expensive and are usually only available in tourist bars, hotels and restaurants.

Egyptian wines are produced near Alexandria and have improved a lot since French specialists started supervising production. Some are Omar Khayyam (a dry red), Cru des Ptolémées (a dry white) and Rubis d'Egypte (a rosé). In restaurants these wines cost about Au$70 a bottle.