I didn't grow up drinking much soda, but I love an occasional root beer (with ice cream too!) and I remember sneaking sips of my mom's Fresca (yum!) and her sugar-free Tab (yuk!) in the pink can, Coca-Cola Company's first sugar-free drink introduced in 1963. (Funny how something always tastes better when someone else is drinking it.) So in honor of my mom's Fresca (the sips I liked the best), I thought I'd dedicate this Foodie Friday to carbonated drinks from various places around the world. I might do this soft drink homage in parts because there are tonnssss of soft drinks out there. Whether you call it a soft drink, soda, soda pop, pop, refrigerante (Brazil), gas water (China), refrescos (Mexico) or leslassa (Ethiopia), it's probably going to have bubbles and be quite refreshing. OBG's fizzy drinks list begins here:
Chile
Bilz y Pap is the combined marketing name of the two most popular and highest selling domestically-produced soft drinks in Chile. Bilz is an artificially flavored red colored fantasy soft drink, and Pap is its papaya flavored counterpart. [Wiki]
Brazil
Guaraná is a very popular soft drink in Brazil. Guaraná (paullinea cupana) is a tropical plant with small red fruit with a high caffeine content. The people of the Amazon region in Brazil chew guaraná seeds as a source of energy or drink the powder dissolved in water. In the U.S., guaraná can be found in powdered form in health food stores. [maria-brazil.org]
Mexico
Sidral Mundet is Mexico's original apple soda and part of Mexico's heritage since 1902, is a natural, healthy family favorite made with real apple juice and believed to have medical benefits due to its pasteurization process. [Mexgrocer.com]
The Caribbean
Ting is a carbonated beverage popular in the Caribbean. It is flavored with St. Kitts or Jamaican grapefruit juice (from concentrate), and is both tart and sweet. Ting comes in a green glass bottle, or more rarely in a green and yellow can. The beverage contains a small amount of sediment consisting of grapefruit juice pulp. [Wiki]
First Algeria, then France, now worldwide...
Orangina is a carbonated citrus beverage made from orange, lemon, and mandarin juice. The concept of Orangina originated at a trade fair in France and was first marketed in Algeria by the French Algerian Léon Beton. [Wiki]
Pakistan
Pakola is a line of fruit flavored soft drinks, originally introduced in Pakistan in 1950 by Haji Ali Muhammad. It is produced by Mehran Bottlers (Pvt) Ltd. It is the first nationally branded soft drink of Pakistan. Hence its name Pakola meaning 'Cola of Pakistan.' The original green color Pakola ice cream soda is still popular in Pakistan. However, other Pakola flavours, like Pakola Lychee, have gained popularity. Another famous type of Pakola is Pakola Orange, which is an orange soda with an ice cream taste. [Wiki]
Philippines
Sarsi is a sarsaparilla-based soft drink sold in the Philippines, Australia and other Southeast Asian countries. In the Philippines, it is the most popular root beer brand on the market.
Sarsi is a sarsaparilla-based soft drink sold in the Philippines, Australia and other Southeast Asian countries. In the Philippines, it is the most popular root beer brand on the market.
Korea
Milkis is a soft drink produced by Lotte Chilsung, a Korean beverage company. It combines many of the common elements of traditional carbonated beverages such as corn syrup, sugar, and carbonated water with milk to create a creamy taste; its label proclaims “New feeling of soda beverage”. In Russia, Milkis is available in orange, strawberry, mango, muskmelon and classic (regular) flavors.
India
Thums Up is a carbonated soft drink popular in India, where its bold, red thumbs up logo is common. It is similar in flavor to other colas but has a unique taste reminiscent of betel nut. [nowthatsnifty]
Thums Up is a carbonated soft drink popular in India, where its bold, red thumbs up logo is common. It is similar in flavor to other colas but has a unique taste reminiscent of betel nut. [nowthatsnifty]
Peru
Beed Cola is a Peruvian range of soft drinks. Beed Cola is produced in Pucallpa, Peru and sold throughout the Ucayali Region. Beed Cola is sold in glass bottles of 362 ml.
Do you have any personal experience with any other fizzy drinks from around the world? (I think I just talked myself in to a root beer float!)
