Ten Once Popular Drinks That Have Mostly Disappeared From The US Market
"Logical" riff on the foods that have disappeared. Have seen #1, 5, 7, 8, & 9 during my time working in a supermarket in the late '70's & early '80s.
I'm a bit odd, so may actually try #4 (love vinegar!) and #9 (love ginger!). Will report on results as warranted.
1. Moxie
A bitter, medicinal-tasting soda that predates Coca-Cola. It still exists in niche areas (like Maine), but most people have never tried it.
2. Beef Bouillon “Tea” (Beef Tea)
Hot, salty broth served in teacups as a beverage, once considered invigorating. Now replaced by soups or bouillon cubes used in cooking.
3. Sassafras Tea
Brewed from the sassafras root and once loved for its flavor—until it was banned due to safrole, a compound linked to cancer.
4. Shrub (Drinking Vinegar)
Colonial-era vinegar-based fruit drinks. Recently revived by cocktail bars, but still rare in homes or restaurants.
5. Celery Tonic (Cel-Ray)
A celery-flavored soda once marketed as a health drink. Still made in small quantities by Dr. Brown’s, but mostly unknown to new generaions.
6. Egg Cream
A New York soda fountain drink with neither egg nor cream—just milk, chocolate syrup, and soda water. Nearly vanished outside NYC.
7. Tab
Coca-Cola's original diet soda with a cult following, discontinued in 2020.
8. Postum
A coffee substitute made from roasted grains and molasses. Popular during wartime and among those avoiding caffeine.
9. Switchel (Haymaker’s Punch)
A mix of water, vinegar, ginger, and molasses. Drank by farmers in the 1800s, now mostly a novelty revival.
10. Malta (Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverages)
Thick, sweet, and beer-like, this drink was popular among immigrant communities but is now hard to find outside international grocery stores.
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