Switzerland’s own soft drink….made from milk

 

An almost unique feature of the Swiss soft drinks’ market is Rivella. Infinitely preferable to Coke or indeed, most anything else fizzy and non-alcoholic, the principle ingredient of this iconic beverage is milk serum, more commonly known as whey!

The Dutch like it as well

Ever since 1952 when Dr Robert Bath started “brewing” Rivella in a small factory near Zurich, its popularity in Switzerland has grown at an astonishing rate and now some hundred million litres of the stuff are produced every year.

And yet, Rivella has never found fame elsewhere, despite multiple campaigns over the years to introduce it to a wider pubic, except that is, in the Netherlands!

Various varieties

Whilst the original Rivella with its red label is a bit sweet for some adult tastes, the low sugar blue labeled version is much more palatable and then there is “Rivella verte” which is based on a green tea recipe. More recently however, variants with fruit and herb flavourings have been produced although they seem to have been slow to gain public acceptance.

Try Rivella in Zermatt this spring.

 

Article by Ed Mannix, owner of www.matterhornchalets.com