New Zealand's Iconic Lemon And Paeroa Soda, Explained

When most people in the United States are asked about the best soda flavors out there, they're likely to list options like 7Up and Coca-Cola. However, if you live in New Zealand, your answer is likely to be a little different. Instead of just rattling off well-known beverages like Coke, you might include Lemon and Paeroa in your list of top fizzy drinks.

Often just called L&P by Kiwis, the lemon-flavored soft drink is made of carbonated water, sugar, lemon flavoring, food acid, and mineral salts. As the company boasts, the drink is "World Famous in New Zealand" but harder to come by in other countries (although you can sometimes find it in Australia). Here's everything you need to know about the history of this iconic drink and its role in New Zealand's culture. Plus, we'll give you the scoop on several other Kiwi soft drinks you should check out.

Lemon and Paeroa dates back over a hundred years to a small town in the Waikato region of New Zealand called Paeroa. The town is home to a natural spring, and in 1907, locals decided to take some of that natural spring water and mix it with lemon juice. The result was a tasty drink that local manufacturers quickly began bottling and selling as Lemon and Paeroa, thanks to the two primary components. Eventually in the 1970s, the local company making the drink was taken over by Coca-Cola. Although it's not well-known outside New Zealand, L&P is presently a Coca-Cola company product.

Today, New Zealand is quite proud of its L&P beverage. To commemorate the birthplace of the drink, the town of Paeroa showcases a statue of a Lemon & Paeroa bottle that's over 20 feet tall. As one of the bottle's builders told the Bay of Plenty Times, the statue went up in the late 1960s in order to drive tourism to the town. It seems to have worked because the bottle is still standing today (although it was moved to a new location in 2002).

Lemon & Paeroa, although certainly a Kiwi classic, isn't the only unique drink you can find in the island nation. Another popular soda beverage that New Zealanders enjoy is Lemon Lime & Bitters. The fizzy drink is made with aromatic bitters, carbonated water, sugar, and lemon and lime juice. Its origins date back to the 1840s when bitters were used as a cure for seasickness on long voyages. However, over the years, it has transformed into a lemony refreshment that is popular throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Another common drink you can try in New Zealand is ginger beer, a nonalcoholic beverage with a flavor similar to ginger ale. However, it tends to have a spicier kick to it so you had better like ginger. Ginger beer dates back to England in the 1800s, and as a British colony, New Zealand adopted the drink (along with many other foods). Today, this is a popular type of soda you'll find across the country. Whether it's ginger beer, Lemon Lime & Bitters, or L&P, your next trip to New Zealand could be the perfect time to branch out and try some new sodas.