Where does Tarkhuna (green tarragon soda) come from?
Tarkhuna, the green tarragon soda, comes from Kutaisi in Georgia. In 1887 Mitrofan Lagidze, who worked in a pharmacy there, flavoured soda water with his own natural tarragon syrup, and almost a century later the drink became a summer favourite across the Soviet Union.
Natural syrups in Kutaisi
In 1887 Mitrofan Lagidze, then a pharmacist's apprentice in Kutaisi, had an idea: make lemonades with natural syrups instead of the imported flavoured essences of the day. He made the syrups himself and added an extract of Caucasian tarragon to sparkling water. Before the First World War his waters won gold medals at international exhibitions more than once. His grandson Tornike Lagidze still uses the same techniques today in a Tbilisi factory, according to OC Media.
From Kutaisi to the Soviet Union
In 1900 the Lagidze Brothers plant in Kutaisi began blending its own flavours from herbs and fruits. In 1927 the Soviet authorities built a plant for 'Lagidze water' in Tbilisi and made Lagidze its director, and his techniques became the basis for lemonades throughout the Soviet Union. The tarragon soda reached the general Soviet market in 1981, and from 1983 it was sold in many Soviet republics in 0.33- and 0.5-litre bottles.
Why people think of Russia
Across the Soviet Union the drink was sold under its Russian name, Tarkhun. Atlas Obscura notes that it became a Soviet summer favourite in the 1980s, when it was mass-produced and sold all over the country. Today it is made in Russia as well as in Georgia and Lithuania, and it is one of the most popular drinks in Georgia, Armenia and Russia. But it began with a young pharmacist's apprentice in Kutaisi, in a country whose cooks also use tarragon in salads, fish, meat and mushroom dishes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org › Tarkhuna ↗ · en.wikipedia.org › Lagidze water ↗ · oc-media.org ↗ · atlasobscura.com ↗
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