whenever i get a soft drink, i tell them either no ice, or just a little bit.
The people who work at the places are TOLD to fill the entire cup (huge or small) up with ice before they fill it w/ drink. It saves money - ice costs less than soda. It’s like going to a grocery store, plastic is cheaper than paper so they give you plastic by default.
Most of us are too stupid to realize we are paying $1.50 for 15 oz of ice and 1 oz of soda… most people don’t think twice about it (which is a prominent sign of stupidity).
So, i wouldn’t say americans “like” lots of ice… they just don’t know any better. Plus, I’m sure the McDonalds in france do the same thing w/ the ice. I’d say it is a result of capitalism and cost reduction rather than american tastes/whims.
I think also each chain wants to one-up the other. If one place sells a 40 oz. drink, the competitor will introduce a 44 oz. drink as a consequence.
The other day I went to a Whataburger (mainly a Texas chain) and ordered a “regular” size drink. The thing was about 44 oz. I assumed they gave me a large by mistake, until I saw another guy order the “supersize combo”. His drink came in something resembling an upside down traffic cone.
I hate getting ice, although I feel self-conscious about it when I’m with people, because I’m always doing it and so I tend to get labeled “picky” or “quirky” or whatever. It’s not really about the money, but about the principle, for me. I’ve never gotten a warm drink with no ice… every restaurant I’ve ever been to serves their drinks cool or cold, even with no ice. Why pay when you don’t have to? They make enough money off of drinks as it is.
I always get very little ice. Especially when I’m at a place where I can choose how much ice I can get like Subway or Blimpies. Other than that it’s usually no ice.
I love tons of ice in my soft drinks. It makes the drink last longer, to me, and stay cold longer. Yes, the soft drink gets watered down, but until the end, not to such a huge degree. When I’m driving long distances, I also appreciate the condensation on the outside of the cup as the ice melts; I’ll rub that cold water on my eyes or my neck to keep myself alert if I’m getting tired.
“Why do americans want so much darn ice in their soft drinks?”
We got ice over here in the United States only a year or two ago, so it’s still pretty much a novelty to us…
For one, in some places it was well over 100° F toady and people want their drink to be cool and refreshing more than 15 minutes after they bought it.
Also, a lot of construction workers(and others) will buy a large drink at lunch and like to have it last later in the day, also explaining the large size. I enjoyed having a large drink by my desk at work because it would stay cold. Even if I didn’t fill the whole thing with ice before I put the soda in, it would still stay relatively cold. And I can assure you, if I bought a 40 oz., I would drink the whole thing.
In mini marts, you fill the soda yourself. I know Americans that use only a few ice cubes, I like it about halfway. The soda never tastes watered-down, and I like to munch on the ice.
And for a word for all of you: TACO TIME HAS THE BEST ICE EVER!!! It isnt the orange wedges like you get out of the fridge, or the half cubes that come all stuck together. Its the little bits of half frozen rabbit shit slush that I love.
Trying not to make this thread a rant, I would say that many Americans got accustomed to all the ice that was put into cups at fast food restaurants starting around the 1960s.
Once we got used to the amount of it, Americans started doing things that most other countries would blanch at, like chewing the ice or sucking on it.
In the 1990s, 7-11s and their ilk started marketing big beverage containers that people could take with them in their cars. So we started buying those because we saw them as a good value.
I’m not saying they are good values, just that the average consumer thinks they are.
Self-service soda refills are becoming the norm in many fast food places now, so the amount of ice in the soda is irrelevant.
I’m not so sure that it’s because ice is cheaper than soda. A relative (note: not a friend of a relative) used to own five Burger Kings in SC (including the one in Clemson with a rhino in it), and he said that ice was more expensive than soda. I wouldn’t be surprised by that–the soda (syrup) came in cardboard boxes that, if I recall correctly, didn’t need to be refrigerated. Ice, on the other hand, does consume a great deal of energy.
I think it may be because employees (and many managers) believe that the ice is cheaper. Given the move towards self-serve drinks (and obviously unlimited refills), I’d say either we really get screwed on drink prices, regardless of the proportion of ice, or they’re making their money elsewhere.
And as others have pointed out, at least we can get ice here…
Half the places I go I have to fill the cup myself - I get about a half a cup of ice.
When I am thirsty, the dollar or two doesn’t seem to matter. What else feels that nice for a buck?
In the Carolinas or Texas in August, you’d be surprised how long a pound of ice doesn’t last. I once spent a week in Phoenix with the temperature above 115F / 46C every day.
and most of all,
What in hell is with restaurants in Germany? You plead and beg and you get one lousy little cube, and when you get a refill they don’t give you another one. Plus, people say it’s bad for you, and serve the drink somewhat warm to begin with. Bad for you?! They all smoke!
Because it makes the drink colder! The cup has to be entirely full of ice or it will float to the top, and when you drink from the straw, you’ll get the warm drink from the iceless bottom! Yuck a doo.
Well, the server brings you a fresh one before that happens. And cups full of ice don’t have much soda in them to begin with, so it’s easy to finish them.
In America you get free refills. Think of it as… a soda buffet, not $1.59 a glass.
At restaurants I always order “Coke with no ice”. And just to see if the waiter/waitress is paying attention, I add, “I’m slightly allergic to ice.”
60% aren’t paying attention or don’t ask for a clarification
20% say, “Really?” and end up believing me
20% don’t believe me at all, but usually laugh at the idea
And about those drinks that you get in 7-11 that are so big as to have an undertow:
Even I put a little ice in them on the rare occasions that I buy one. A drink of 40 ounces or more won’t stay cold without it in the amount of time it takes to drink it.
Personally, I think most sodas taste a little better when slightly watered down by the melting ice. While I’ll drink Coke straight from a can, I prefer it in a glass with lots of ice. It also stays cold; when I’m nearing the bottom of a 12-oz. can, it’s usually starting to get kinda warm and yucky.
Free refills are (much to my delight) growing in popularity in the US, which makes the whole issue somewhat less important. Almost every sit-down restaurant I frequent offers infinite free refills on soft drinks, and it’s nearly universal in fast-food joints that I go to these days.
When I’m eating in at McDonald’s (yes, I freely admit to eating there and enjoying it), I fill the sucker up to the brim with ice and then take full advantage of the available free refills. When getting a drink to go, I try to balance it out - enough ice to keep the thing cold until I’m finished, but not so much that I’m depriving myself of that glorious brown elixir.
I’m with the other posters that use ice to cut down on the sweetness of soda. The coldness reduces the sticky-sweet flavor and, after the ice melts a little, it gets diluted. The taste of warm soda makes me nauseous. Heck, if I had to, I’d ask or pay more just to get the extra ice. Fortunately that’s never required in the US. (Actually, I often skip the soda altogether and just drink ice water. And crunch the ice.)
Oh, yes. The first thing I did last year after coming home from Germany was get a great big glass of ice water. Oh, joy! The warm drink situation certainly has improved over the past couple of decades, though. Much of the time drinks are at least chilled in a refrigerator now, even if you still can’t get ice. I remember years ago in the former East Germany having to drink what passed for soda. It was warm and disgusting. Left you thirstier than if you hadn’t drunk anything.
My German grandmother was always giving my brother and me grief about the amount we liked to drink too. Not alcohol, just that much liquid in any form. It was supposed to be bad for you. We would have to sneak tap water when no one was looking. It was safe to drink, but people still had “issues” about it. That’s changing too. Anyway, to our great, but hidden, glee my grandmother was recently ordered by her (German) doctor to drink more water because it was good for her. Ha.
I had forgotten about the smoke until last time I visited Germany. I almost asphyxiated while waiting in the airport. It was a choice between staying inside and choking on smoke or going outside and choking on diesel fumes. Bleh.
I don’t drink soda. Can’t stand it. In fact, I can’t stand any sort of sweetener on my drinks. I’m an unsweetened iced tea man, myself. I drink about a gallon a day, literally.
In a restaurant, if I order an iced tea with no ice, I get a glass of room temperature-to-hot tea, because the stuff isn’t refrigerated after it’s brewed. Hence, the ice. Since I tend to suck it down like the purest Columbian blow, it never has a chance to get watered down.
I love ice in my cup as much as any other American. But enough is enough, it seems nowdays its 90% ice. If most places didn’t have free refills it would make me madder.
