I was at first thinking this was the distinction for English, too, but then thinking about it further... I feel like soup may be a unique case? I can't actually think of anything else that you can both eat and drink in English. Like, if you put coffee into a bowl with a spoon, I'd still say you were "drinking" it. I can't imagine anyone saying someone was "eating water" or "eating tea," even if they were using a soup spoon. Would it be the same in German?