Miscellaneous Monday - Your Beverage of Choice

[Andy Gladstone]

Did you know that on this day in 1886 one of the most iconic beverages was invented? 

That's right, Coca-Cola, the number one soda beverage sold and consumed throughout the world (Water is the #1 beverage), was created on May 8, 1886.

Atlanta Georgia based pharmacist John Stith Pemberton is credited with creating the Coca-Cola syrup and combining it with carbonated water to create a frothy, tasty drink that would be sold at soda fountains. 

The origin story is however, not one of glitz and glamor. It was the result of experimentation that Pemberton did in his own lab to come up with a tonic to ease the pain of a saber wound he suffered in 1865 which resulted in a morphine addiction. In a continuation of his personal tragedy, even when he invented and marketed the soft drink he never benefitted greatly from it, selling its rights for a penance and dying bankrupt only two years later.

Pemberton turned to Coca-Cola as his comfort drink. What's yours? Let us know by participating in the discussion below!

[John Funk]

Sweet iced tea - hands down!

[Chris Iacovelli]

I once ordered a Sweet Tea in Atlanta. I recovered from the sugar coma 2 weeks ago.

[John Funk]

It was just right then 😂

[Heather Ronnebeck]

Raspberry Ginger Ale -- Hands down easiest comfort drink. 

[Chris Iacovelli]

I am a Ginger Ale purist but admit i do like a strawberry in it from time to time. I will have to give raspberries a try.

[Heather Ronnebeck]

This was my favourite as a kid, but I can't get it anymore where I am. It's probably similar to strawberry if I was to guess the flavour. 

[John Funk]

Ginger Ale is in my top 5

[Andy Gladstone]

@Heather Ronnebeck no Raspberry Schweppes in Winnipeg?? 

[Heather Ronnebeck]

Sadly not @Andy Gladstone . I have to go into the US to get it nowadays. I used to be able to get it as a kid no problem before I moved out here. 

We just get the Cranberry stuff now out here though.

[Andy Gladstone]

I'm bringing a 24 pack with me next time i visit my Montreal office and shipping it over to you!

[LoRi]

I' m going to try this!

[Esther Strom]

I had no idea flavored ginger ale was a thing! I need to look for this.

[George Pomar]

When we were kids we used to make a drink from ginger ale.  It was 3 parts ginger ale, 1 part milk, and a dash of vanilla.  It's a homemade ginger cream soda, surprisingly good!

[Curt Holley]

While on the "ginger" tip, this Bundaberg Spiced Ginger Beer | A Festive Season Favourite is indeed a seasonal favourite.

[Justyna Gdowik _ Deviniti _]

It looks fantastic 🤩. I wish I had an opportunity to find it somewhere and try 🚀

[Laurie Sciutti]

YUM!  I had no idea this existed ~ now I'm on a mission to find it locally.  I love Ginger Ale.  

My comfort drink right now is Root Beer.  Can't get enough of it (though I'm not normally a soda drinker so I need to cut back a bit...so much sugar)!  I'm liking A&W Root Beer.  Anyone else have a strong preference for a specific brand (Barq's is good too)...

[Chris Iacovelli]

@Laurie Sciutti Barq's got bite!

Boylan makes a very nice Root Beer, diet or high test, (and other flavors as well). I think it is regional though.

[Dave Mathijs]

Difficult to choose, but on a very hot day, I like a Fanta Orange

[Chris Iacovelli]

that is a solid choice.

[Summer Hogan]

Love Fanta Orange too! 

[Esther Strom]

At the Summit in Barcelona in 2018, one of European attendees convinced me to try an orange Fanta - he swore it was different than the stuff sold in the U.S. He was right! It's so much better. I ended up bringing back about a dozen bottles I bought at the airport and rationing them for over a year. I finally found that you could buy the European version from World Market. 

Now I want one!

[Chris Iacovelli]

If I remember correctly, Coca-Cola had a traces of a controlled substance in it as well in its earlier days.

• Drink - Water.
• Type - sparkling, flat, mineral, tap (in preference order).
• Accompaniments - lemon or lime wedge.
• Temperature - chilled, cold, room, hot.
• Amount - 40+ oz/day.

[Dave Liao]

Naturally coffee, according to my dusty Community bio!

[Chris Iacovelli]

I miss drinking coffee. Every since I got my internal chemistry right, drinking coffee is a sure fire trip into my hated lover's arms, Insomnia.

And decaf just does not do it for me.

[Dave Liao]

@Chris Iacovelli - sometimes I need to cut down on it, but I can't quit it entirely. 🤣

I have one cup a day, sometimes two, and always before noon.

[George Pomar]

LOVE coffee!

[Summer Hogan]

Coffee is the best, but in moderation of course! 

[George Pomar]

From Winn Dixie grocery stores, half the price of a Coke and tastes like an RC Cola!

[Chris Iacovelli]

RC pop was a great soda from my childhood. Cannot find it anymore where I live.

[Sandra Axelsdottir]

[Dan Breyen]

Is this the one that is now 'Pepsi Zero Sugar'?  

[Sandra Axelsdottir]

I guess so, just the European version :) 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Tea, mainly Black.

I'm not fond of White or Green teas, and dip into Oolongs and Pu-erh's when I want something a little different.

Coffee is second, and for cold drinks, I go through an awful lot of Tonic water.

[Marjorie]

@Nic Brough -Adaptavist-  I grew up on black tea (my father is from England and my grandmother taught me how to drink it right). 

White and green tea are all in the preparation of the tea. Not as forgiving as black tea so you have to brew them carefully at the right temperature, so they are not bitter.

[LoRi]

I am also a tea drinker: but mostly GREENS! I make a ceremonial matcha every morning!

[Summer Hogan]

I'm going with POG! POG is one of my favorite drinks, but I don't drink it very often unless I'm in Hawaii! 

[Marjorie]

Water

Then hot green tea

Then coffee - anyway - hot, cold brew, etc....

[Matt Doar]

Up until ten years ago I drank Diet Coke, about 12 cans day. Starting with breakfast. Room temperature or cold, it didn't matter. I would go to customers' offices with a 12-pack ready, just in case they didn't have any Diet Coke in their breakrooms.

Eventually my pancreas objected and I spent 6 weeks unable to do much out of bed. After the recovery I started drinking coffee, good coffee only, about once per day. I still haven't learnt how to drink tea (which is a bit awkward for a Brit).

So, moderation with all these drinks is the way to go. I still miss it though. 

[Chris Iacovelli]

12 cans day, you, single handedly, kept Coca-Cola in business :)

[Stuart Capel - London]

I used to love Lilt but the changed it to Fanta tropical now and it's not the same 😭

[Dan Breyen]

Mountain Dew (well, Mtn Dew Zero) for the win.... I spose we're not supposed to be drinking in the community, otherwise I would have said Yuengling Beer.

[George Pomar]

Yuengling draft is one of the few times I consider a beer beverage.  Tasty!

[LoRi]

Apparently i drink 64 OZ of tea during my work day, according to my giant thermos I bring to work. I like to start with a matcha when i can, then the thermos holds blends i make from red to white depending on how i feel. I like to buy all the loose leaf variety with fun adds like chocolate, grapefruit or anything but flowers. My fav blend is Genmaicha and vanilla roibbos. 

[Esther Strom]

Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi for me, although only 1 can a day now. I grew up in an area with unpotable water, and in the 70's bottled water wasn't really a thing, so we drank Diet Pepsi. I'm really sensitive to stimulants, so as soon as the caffeine-free version came out I switched. 

I love the way coffee smells, but hate the way it tastes. Tried to get into tea at one point, but there were too many options and you have to be so careful with the greens and other non-caffeinated ones, and I just don't have the patience for the whole ritual.

Generally I drink flavored sparkling water, although my true "comfort" beverage is really rich hot cocoa with peppermint syrup and whipped cream. It's cold 8.5 months of the year here, so plenty of opportunity!

[Trudy Claspill]

Pepsi (original formula) was my drink of choice most of my life. I really didn't like the taste of diet colas, but I switched to Pepsi Max (or Pepsi Zero Sugar) when that came out.

Several years ago I started getting a bit concerned about the sugar/sugar-subs and acids in cola sodas and switched to flavored seltzers (naturally flavored, no sugar/sugar-subs).

But the drink I go for when I need a pick-me-up is the Starbuck's Mango Dragonfruit Refresher. It used to be the Cool Lime Refresher, but that got discontinued.

[Andy Gladstone]

Great contributions everyone! It really brightened up the start of my week. I was expecting a number of the same posts, but this was a full spectrum of beverages. I am really thirsty now! Have a great week.

[Mahima_miniOrange_SSO]

Sugarcane Juice!

[Dreamsuite Mike]

I used to drink a lot of Pepsi Max, then one day I no longer liked it. 

I don't drink soft drinks much any more, which makes me enjoy them when a lot when I do.  The 2 of choice for me are:

1.  Dr Pepper - It has to be the American one, the UK one is nowhere near as nice
   
   
2. Coca Cola - It has to be the full sugar one and out of a glass bottle.  In Mexico they serve it perfectly chilled and I'm sure the Mexican recipe is sweeter
   

[Amanda Barber]

Coconut Cola LaCroix (if I can find it) and iced Sportea are my favorites aside from water!

[Jimmy Seddon]

I agree with @Dreamsuite Mike Dr. Pepper is my "go to" soft drink, when I have one.

[Laura Campbell _Seibert Group_]

Because it's hard to find (or overly expensive) in Europe and has become a rare treat, I'm going to go with root beer, and even more specifically a root beer float. 

Last summer I was in Cornwall and happened upon an American style diner when I was feeling particularly under the weather, and as soon as I saw they had root beer floats, my day got better 😊

I also love that when I describe a root beer float to French people, they are always revolted 😆

[Dave Liao]

I think I’ll (try to) have a root beer float this week in honor of this post!

[George Pomar]

I'll second @Dave Liao 's comment. Cheers!

[Amanda Barber]

We have a Sodastream because I have a "fizzy water" problem. My kids are thrilled since normally we wouldn't really keep soda in the house but I do keep ginger ale and root beer soda syrups for a fun treat. They definitely make a few too many root beer floats, haha!

[Chris Iacovelli]

@Dave Liao - In NJ, there is a drive up 50s style burger place called Stewart's. They make the in store fresh made root beer and vanilla ice cream floats. You have caused me to go searching for the closest one for a treat this evening!

[Trudy Claspill]

I used to get root beer floats at the A&W drive-in when I was little. As a teenager I was a car hop (not required to wear roller skates) at that same A&W delivering floats and burgers to others. :D

[Amanda Barber]

I found carhops fascinating when we finally got a Sonic here in SE Wisconsin, @Trudy Claspill - what a great first job! Rollerskating sure must make that job a bit harder, haha.

[Trudy Claspill]

Lucky for me I we didn't wear roller skates because I was a terrible skater.

Also, it wasn't my first, but rather my third job.

[Amanda Barber]

Ahh, fun! 

Reminds me of this post: https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jobs-Careers-discussions/Career-Month-discussion-What-was-your-first-job/m-p/2295713#M1363

[Dave Liao]

Five days later, I got a root beer float!

• I first went to a diner, and they didn't serve root beer floats (but offered an egg creme). My server suggested (1) a burger chain, and (2) an ice cream shop nearby
• Went to the burger chain, and was told they didn't have root beer floats
• Went to the ice cream shop, and succeeded! 

I now have enough sugar to run a marathon, so I'll take a break from these for awhile. 🙃

[Danny]

Iced lemon squash or hot tea 

[LoRi]

This was my favorite when i was in south america Pulp Soda Orange. Anyone ever had these?

[Randy O_Neal]

Randy here... from deep in the heart of the Bluegrass.  If you're from Kentucky, you know it has to be Ale-8-1... produced in Winchester, Kentucky!