There’s one topic and two words that has been bothering me for a while. I know and I have learned here that the word ‘fresca’ like in ‘bebida fresca’ means ‘cold’ but there’s also the word ‘fria’ that I see almost always around me (I’m living in Lisbon) when it’s all about beverages.
I’ve had one situation when I mentioned ‘cola fresca’ and they seemed really surprised/confused as if they had been expecting the word ‘fria’ instead.
What is it really like with these two words? Are they really interchangeable?
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@kanikowskiszymon, in general, the words mean the same, but in different degrees, with fresco(a) referring to something reasonably cool/cold, while frio(a) covers the whole range from cool to proper cold, all the way to down to gelado(a) (super cold/freezing). These are usually very subjective ranges.
In reference to water/beverages that might be served either cool or at room temperature, it’s very common to use the term fresco(a) for cool. Frio(a) should also be understandable, but it’s rather unusual in this context. However, for soft drinks like coke, as well as some other drinks (e.g. spirits), the most usual question is actually “Com ou sem gelo?” rather than “Fresco ou natural?”. This might’ve been the source of people’s confusion in the situation you described with ‘cola fresca’, or it could’ve been something in your pronunciation, or something else - only they can clarify for sure 
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