Hajoori Kashmira Jeera Masala

Before I go into the drink itself, I thought I'd take a look at the Hajoori brand that bottles, this beverage. The history of the brand is a little bit confusing, but the story goes that Abba Hajoori invented a carbonated juice drink he called Socio. The dates vary between 1923 and 1927. Supposedly this was a local beverage intended to compete with Vimto, a UK beverage sold in India flavored with blackcurrants, grapes, raspberries, and spices. Socio was derived from Latin, for member or friend. The drink was introduced to in the Gujarat region where people referred to it as Sosyo in their regional dialect. By 1953, they officially changed the name of beverage to Sosyo and the company became known as Sosyo Hajoori. Sosyo Hajoori Beverages Pvt. Ltd is a leading beverage maker in India, akin to a Coca-Cola or Pepsi in that they have a plethora of beverages under their corporate umbrella. 

Kashmira is the brand label that falls under the Hajoori company. Masala Jeera is the type or flavor of the drink. My Indian friends that brought me this beverage tell me that this is a common drink hand mixed by many street vendors there. I think of this as sort of analogous to soda fountains in the US that mixed sodas, that were also eventually sold by various bottlers that ended up putting the old fashioned soda jerks out of business. The drink is described as a cumin flavored with a blend of other spices. Much like some of the traditional Western sodas that began as "digestive aids" or "energy tonics", this drink is supposed to be beneficial to digestion as well, but I have no idea what to expect from a cumin flavored soda. 

The smell from the can is very strong, and reminds me of the overwhelming spices, mostly paprika, used in Spanish rice. It has a slightly thick consistency, as if it were a little oily and the color is a translucent amber-brown like cola. The taste is strong at first, then quickly dissipates to a milder aftertaste. I don't quite know what to make of it. It's practically savory, which is not something I tend to look for in a soda. I find it quite bitter on the tip of my tongue and want to swallow it quickly to get it off of those particular taste buds. I think this particular drink does not suit me no matter how much I'm trying to give it the benefit of the doubt. It's got to be some sort of acquired taste.