A Glimpse into the History of The PoP Shoppe's Carbonated Beverages

The story of The PoP Shoppe commenced in 1969, when two enterprising Canadian individuals embarked on the journey of selling soda with a distinctive array of flavors at their independent PoP Shoppe retail outlets. Here, customers would diligently return their empty bottles every week, placing them in unmistakable red PoP Shoppe-branded crates in exchange for a refund, while acquiring fresh bottles for their households.

The Pop Shoppe consciously steered clear of conventional retail channels, opting to distribute their "pop" through franchised outlets and their proprietary stores, offering refillable bottles neatly arranged in 24-carton packages.

Aside from the undeniable appeal of Pop Shoppe soda being priced at a mere 10 cents per bottle, patrons relished the opportunity to personally select their preferred flavors.

By 1975, Pop Shoppes International Inc. had opened 11 outlets in the United States, and in Canada, the brand was outselling renowned heavyweights like Orange Crush and Hires Root Beer.

However, during the early 1980s, sales encountered a deceleration, largely attributed to stiff competition from in-house label soft drink brands found in grocery stores. This downturn culminated in the original company ceasing operations in 1983, with its trademarks expiring in 1993.

In a revival of fortunes, The Pop Shoppe re-emerged in 2004 with four distinct flavors and a novel bottle design. Instead of establishing new stores, The Pop Shoppe opted to position itself as a premium soda, progressively making appearances in local corner markets and restaurants. Its nostalgic appeal swiftly transformed it into a resounding success.
A Glimpse into the History of The PoP Shoppe's Carbonated Beverages

History of tea in Assam, India

The discovery of this native tea plant in 1815 was a huge boon for English trade in British-colonized India. Conflict between China and India as well as shipping and trade competition with the Dutch made it harder and harder for the English to keep up a successful tea trade. When the British were looking for suitable lands for tea plantations, Robert Bruce went on an expedition to Assam, in 1823.

Scottish adventurer and botanist Robert Bruce is said to have confirmed the discovery of India’s native tea plant in 1823. In 1823 Bruce was on a trading mission. Bruce was reportedly directed by Maniram Dewan to Bessa Gam who was the local Singpho chief. Maniram Dewan was the first Indian to start planting tea in Assam. He was a Dewan (chief administrative and financial officer) of Assam Company until he resigned in 1841 to start his own tea estate.

Bessa Gam, the Singpho tribe chief showed Robert Bruce how local tribesmen brewed the beverage from leaves of the wild tea like plants. The Singpho tribe is indigenous to the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra valley and the foot of the Himalayas and were the first in the whole region to use wild tea-like plants for their beverage. Bruce was convinced he had discovered an alternative and the monopoly that China had over tea.

Bruce made an arrangement with the tribal chief to give him samples of these tea leaves with seeds, as he planned on having them scientifically examined. Robert Bruce died shortly after sending some tea plants for testing even before the plant was properly classified.

Charles Bruce, Robert’s brother, took over the research when his brother died. Bruce explored the wild Assam tea plants growing across the region and learned that local tribes had been using tea for centuries as both food and beverage. In early 1830, Robert Bruce’s brother, sent a few of these leaves to a botanical garden in Calcutta to be properly examination and it was then that this plant was officially classified as a tea variety and named Camellia sinensis var. Assamica.

By the 1830s, Bruce figured out how these plants could be propagated and cultivated to create what ultimately became a British-dominated tea industry in India. The discovery of tea plants in Assam enabled the East India Company to develop a trade, which China had hitherto monopolized for a long time.

The then Governor-General Lord Bentick set up the Tea Committee in 1834. It issued a circular about the locations where tea could be grown, and ultimately Assam was considered ideal. The first consignment of twelve boxes of tea manufactured by the Singphos of Arunachal was shipped from Calcutta to London in 1835.

Charles Bruce was later appointed as the superintendent of the tea forests of the government of Great Britain. In 1836, Charles Bruce, on his initiative, set up a tract of land in Sadiya, Assam, as a nursery and planted it with indigenous tea seed plants. The plants survived and, with the help of Chinese workers, Charles managed to quietly dispatch a small sample of manufactured tea to the Tea Committee the same year.

The first company that was set up for growing and making this tea was the Assam Tea Company, started in the year 1839. It expanded steadily and by 1862, the business comprised over 160 gardens, all owned by 5 public companies along with 57 private players.

Assam was the first Indian tea region to gain global recognition, which the British built by developing the estate model.
History of tea in Assam, India

Malted milk drink: Horlicks

Horlicks was created in 1843 by brothers William and James Horlick, and soon gained popularity across Britain as a light-weight, non-perishable health-food supplement. It comes in powder form and is mixed with water to create a “nourishing and delicious table drink.” It is made up of malted barley, whole milk and wheat flour and it also includes a wide range of vitamins and minerals.

James Horlick was a chemist who worked for a company which produced dried infant food. He became ambitious after inventing some recipes of his own. Malted milk powder was invented as an easily digested restorative health drink for invalids and children, and as an infant's food. So along with his brother William, they formed J and W Horlick of Chicago. Their baby food was a huge success.

In the 1870s, babies often got sick as fresh milk went bad very quickly. It was recipe, invented by James and William that save the day.

Up until the 1960s, Horlicks found as an adult curative drink that gave extra energy, especially during the period of recovery. The 1970s saw its position shift to the Great Nourished food drink supplement. It was in this phase that the brand saliency shot up.
Malted milk drink: Horlicks

Caffeine in history

Caffeine was discovered by Runge in 1820 and the chemical name of this purine is 1.3.7 trimethylaxanthine. 

Humans have consumed caffeine in various forms since the Stone Age when people found that chewing on the seeds, bark, and leaves of certain plants helped ease fatique, make them more aware and better their mood.

The most ancient documentation on the consumption of caffeine-containing plants and their derivatives dates back to the China of the third century, where caffeine was consumed as tea.

Coffee as a beverage was first imported in Europe by the Venetian Prospero Alpino in 1570.

In Africa, people have been using another caffeinated plant, the kola nut, for centuries, though its use did not become popular in Europe and the United States until the late 1800s.when people began combining it with carbonated liquids to create what now known as ‘cola’.

It was a chance meeting between a poet and a scientist that led to the identification of caffeine in 1819, as the stimulant in coffee.

The poet was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, renowned German writer. He handled over Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge to see if the chemist can discover a substance responsible for the stimulating effect.

With the aid of the paper chromatography technique, in a few months’ time Runge purified a crystalline white powder with a bitter taste, and name it caffeine.

In 1881 Emil Fisher identified caffeine’s chemical properties. Using oxidation with moist chlorine, he found that caffeine had a similar heterocyclic skeleton as uric acid. He then found that it was a trimethylaxanthine. 

Nowadays, caffeine can be found in dietary products like coffee, tea, mate and chocolate as well as an additive to soft drinks, particularly in the so called ‘energy drinks’.
Caffeine in history

Milk, Nutrition and History

Milk, Nutrition and History
Milk has been a staple of the diet of Old World temperate zone people since the agricultural revolution, approx 8000 BC. Milk is mentioned more than 20 times in the Hebrew scriptures (“…. a land flowing with milk and honey………..”) as a metaphor for abundance and wholesomeness.

Also, in one of the Islamic medicine tomes, we read: “Drink milk, for it wipes away heat from the heart, strengthens the back, increases the brain, augment the intelligence, renew vision and drives away forgetfulness”. Although they are not supported by contemporary standards those claim, nevertheless, illustrate the generally high esteem that milk has enjoyed throughout its history.

Milk is a thirst quenching nourishing beverage. For some segments of the populations milk became, and is still today, the principal source of almost all nutrients, with daily consumption of 5 – 7 L.

Nutritional science emerged only at the beginning of the 20th century and quickly recognized the value of milk in a balanced diet. Virtually all US government nutrition programs and nutritional policy statements for the last century have emphasized the importance of milk. As nutritional science grew, so also did the understanding of the composition of milk and of its many benefits.

However, during the past 30-40 years particularly, several factors have converged to alter perceptions of the role of milk in the human diet. These include:
*The emergence and promotion of alternative beverages (and the relative affluence that made their purchase possible),
*Medicine’s emphasis on treating nutrients as toxins (e.g., fat, sodium, cholesterol),
*Animal rights activism
*Still growing technophobia.
Milk, Nutrition and History

History of English Breakfast Tea

The prototype of this most popular of all teas was developed over a hundred years ago by the Scottish Tea Master Drysdale in Edinburgh.


By the 1700s, it become indoctrinated into the English lifestyle. It replaced the customary practice of drinking ale at breakfast.

The institution of tea for breakfast was probably influenced by Queen Anne (1665-1714).

It was marketed simply as "Breakfast Tea". It quickly became popular in England because Queen Victoria loved all things Scottish.

Tea shops in London, however, changed the name and marketed it as "English Breakfast Tea", claiming it as their own.

It is an originally blend of fine black teas from India and Chinese tea, often including some Keemun tea.

Keemun, a black Chinese tea with a fruity taste and a hint of pine. Keemun possess a full, concentrated flavor and a toasty aroma and sometimes referred to as the ‘Burgundy of teas.’

Nowadays Assam, Ceylon and African teas are blended to provide drinkers with the three elements they require – strength, flavour and color.

It should be offered with milk or lemon. It may also be used to brew iced tea.
History of English Breakfast Tea