Legidze lemonade: taste, calorie content, composition of the drink and the history of the famous Georgian brand

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Georgia is a country that is famous not only for good wine, but also for very tasty and he althy lemonade, which will be discussed in the continuation of the article. Lemonade "Lagidze" is prepared on the basis of crystal clear mineral water extracted from local mountain springs.

What's different?

The composition of this drink includes natural syrups from fruits and berries, herbal tinctures. Manufacturers of a dietary product are proud that they do not use dyes and preservatives in the creation of drinks. That is why Lagidze lemonade is very popular in Tbilisi: people are happy to buy a quality product of local origin. By the way, it is also quite useful, since, in addition to natural ingredients, it contains vitamin complexes. The quality and original taste of Lagidze Georgian lemonades are preserved for a long time even after opening the bottle.

How did this drink come about?

Lagidze lemonade was opened by a student of a Polish pharmacist named Mitrofan Lagidze. It happenedIt's a long time ago, back in the 19th century. Helping the pharmacist in the manufacture of soft drinks, the young man invented his own syrup recipe based on fruits and berries. Of course, it appeared by trial and error - Moscow was not built right away. The Georgian lemonade "Water of Lagidze" at that time only remotely resembled a modern product. Over time, Mitrofan invented several recipes for the drink, which formed the basis for the manufacture of today's soft drinks.

Lemonade drinks got their official name only towards the end of the 19th century. In Russia, they were in great demand in the imperial palace. In Soviet times, they became a favorite soft drink, both for ordinary people and the party elite.

Mitrofan's success

After 14-year-old Mitrofan Lagidze came up with recipes for creating unique drinks, in 1887 he managed to register his own enterprise under the same name. In 1900, the boy starts a small factory for the production of syrups from herbs and fruits in the city of Kutaisi.

His drinks were instantly recognized. The boys, who were instructed to sell lemonade at a price of 20 kopecks, shouted out phrases that, like a magnet, attracted more and more new customers. "Buy Lagidze water - you will be he althy and beautiful" - that was the call of young sellers. No wonder the Lagidze Water lemonade sold out faster than the morning papers.

Bottles for drinks were supplied from France itself. There, the young businessman learned how to successfully promote hisbrand in the homeland. "Demand everywhere, but beware of fakes" - this is the slogan on the labels of the legendary lemonade, which has been preserved from the moment of creation until our time.

Delight of the Iranian Shah

In 1906, the inventor of the drink came to Tbilisi and launched a new factory. Subsequently, Mitrofan opened his own brand store on Rustaveli Avenue. Soon, the Lagidze plant ousted all its competitors from the soft drinks market.

At the beginning of the new century, lemonades were delivered to the imperial court, and merchants from Iran bought huge quantities of Lagidze lemonade at the request of their Shah.

Soft drinks also have a big gold medal, they were highly appreciated at the first world exhibition of soft drinks in Vienna (1913). Lemonades won two gold and two silver medals at the exhibition.

Also, Lagidze lemonades in St. Petersburg received a positive response. At the All-Russian Food Exhibition of 1914, they also received two gold and two silver medals.

Lemonade secrets

In the early 1930s. there were rumors that the founder of the lemonade brand, as well as the author of all the recipes, Mitrofan Lagidze, deliberately concealed some of the secrets of preparing his product.

This alignment did not suit the envious, and denunciations began to pour on Mitrofan from everywhere. But the Georgian magician managed to defend his honor and prove in public that there is no special secret. He even made lemonade inStalin's office. The leader tried it and said: “I don’t see the difference, so there is no secret.”

What is Lagidze's secret anyway?

The Soviet government forced Mitrofan to release a collection of recipes, which included about 100 recipes. But that was not the secret. As it turned out, the manufacturer had a special tasting ability - he could determine the composition of the drink in just one sip and immediately tell what it lacks or is present in excess. People said that Mitrofan “hids all his recipes in his tongue.”

When it came time to start making a new syrup, Lagidze locked himself in the lab alone, immersed in work with liquids and test tubes. The preparation of one drink could take more than one month. During this period, only the maestro visited the laboratory. When, after a long time, he left it, people understood that Mitrofan had invented a new Lagidze lemonade.

All for Lagidze

A separate workshop functioned at a specialized plant, which was engaged in the manufacture of drinks for the highest echelons of power. There were Tarkhunny, Lemon, Pear, Orange, Citro, and others. These drinks were delivered to Moscow on Mondays especially for members of the Politburo. Delivery was carried out by aircraft. Bottles of Lagidze lemonades were table decorations during official meetings in the Kremlin.

Interesting facts! Stalin preferred the lemon variety, while Khrushchev liked pear and orange lemonade. Brezhnev highly appreciated tastequality pear and tarragon drink. And the poet Sergei Yesenin even dedicated a poem to the dogwood taste of Lagidze lemonade.

Power pet

Stalin loved this lemonade so much that at every opportunity he treated it to the heads of other states, in particular, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at a meeting in 1943 in Tehran.

Roosevelt was simply delighted with a soft drink, so he took with him as many as 2000 bottles to his homeland! In his memoirs, Churchill recalled the amazing carbonated drink they had at the table of the Soviet leader.

New Lemonade for US President

In 1952, the "lemonade war" began. The 33rd US President Harry Truman presented 1000 bottles of Coca-Cola to Stalin on a special flight. Party functionaries noted an unusual drink. Then Stalin decided to strike back. He ordered a lemonade maestro to be delivered to him … So, on the orders of the leader, a new recipe for a drink was invented under the laconic name "Lemonade". The taste of the drink combined apple, pear and vanilla notes. At the first mass tasting of Lemonade, it was approved by 120 production leaders.

Special cargo in premium bottles sealed with natural cork was delivered to the US President.

Truman really liked the taste of the soft drink, and he asked if it was possible to arrange a supply of new lemonades in the USA. The pride of the leader was fully satisfied.

Recommended by nutritionists

Since there are no chemical impurities in the drink, and there are alsovitamin complexes, experts recommend using Lagidze lemonades as a therapeutic and dietary product. By the way, an important factor for many losing weight: the calorie content is only 48 kilocalories per 100 grams of an eco-friendly drink. According to reviews, Lemonade "Lagidze" perfectly quenches thirst in the warm season, has a pronounced taste and aroma.

Now this Georgian product has migrated to grocery stores in a large number of countries. The types of products manufactured by Lagidze CJSC are as follows:

• berry and fruit lemonade flavored with cherry, quince, apple, feijoa, isindi, pear;
• citrus lemonades with the taste of orange, lemon; tarragon and mint lemonades;
• exclusive flavors based on wine or cognac;
• dessert lemonades: coffee, cream soda, cream, chocolate, rose.

The taste of childhood

During the Soviet Union, Lagidze branded syrups were often used to make lemonades. Such soft drinks were poured to citizens in gas-water vending machines. There were about 7 thousand such machines in the capital and 3.5 thousand in Leningrad.

Soda dispensers are back in fashion today. In large Russian cities, you can find machines that give rise to nostalgic feelings among those who caught the era of the USSR.

The Lagidze brand guarantees that natural syrups are used in the preparation of lemonades.

Today, Avtomatproizvodstvo (Moscow) is preparing to releasevending machines for hot drinks, including non-alcoholic mulled wines and grogs, which, as the producers assure, will also be prepared on the basis of natural Lagidze syrups.