Colombiana Kola Champagne Soda
12 oz. can 3.08 g sugar / oz. |
History In 1904, Medellín businessman Gabriel Posada Villa and pharmacist Valerio Tobón Olarte formed the partnership Posada & Tobón to manufacture soft drinks that would be cheaper than the expensive imports then only available. Their Kola Champaña proved popular at the hotels, cafes and night clubs in Colombian cities still recovering from the War of a Thousand Days civil war. Within two years the company was able to expand with two new bottling plants in Cali and Manizales, and three years after that in Bogotá, making deliveries to restaurants by mules or horse and wagon. As the company grew, the company added to its lineup with flavors such as Cerveza de Uva in 1909, Popular in 1912 (still available today!), Freskola and Espumosa in 1919. In 1918 an expensive ultraviolet sterilization technique allowed the company to bottle Agua Cristal still water and Bretaña sparkling water. Up until recently the Postobón logo featured a seltzer bottle adding carbonated water to a glass of syrup, which was presumably how the original drinks were made on the spot at soda fountains or bars. By 1918 the drinks were sold in bottles sealed with crown caps, improving distribution of the sodas nationwide. An orange-flavored soda was added to the lineup in 1950, and apple two years later. The company bottling plants also served as local franchise bottlers of Coca-Cola for many years. Colombiana started as a separate brand in 1921, which was later purchased along with La Leona soft drink brands and merged into Posada & Tobón in 1942. In 1951 the company merged its namesakes into Refrescos Postobón. In 1968 the company acquired the Gaseosas Lux soft drink company. The Tamarindo, Uva, and Piña flavors were originally brands created by Gaseosas Lux and subsequently added to the Postobón line. With this last merger, Lux employee Carlos Ardila Lülle was appointed president of Postobón, adding the company to his conglomerate Ardila Lülle Organization which would grow to become one of Colombia's largest. The bottler now produces over 35 different brands and is an active sponsor of sports teams in Colombia. Review A bright, peach-colored beverage. The taste isn't what I expected. Its not as full-bodied as other champagne sodas. Its not as rich or thick-tasting. But this one has a lot of hints of spice to it that make it intriguing. Just a little bit of spicy flavor behind all the sweet sugar that dominates most kola drinks. This has the vanilla/banana smell of a kola drink but just not so thick tasting. It has a sort of almond flavor, something like a pistachio soda, a little dry and nutty. Not as full-bodied or cream-filled as some other kola champagnes, nor as escessively sweet.
Ingredients Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, sodium benzoate (preservative) and artificial colors (FD&C Red #40, FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Blue#1). Made by Gaseosas Posada Tobon S.A. Other Postobón Flavors |
