Why Sumac?
My parents lived and worked in the Middle East. And as a child, I spent a lot of time in there. I was and still am fascinated by the culture, from the architecture to the cuisine and everything in between. But it wasn’t until returning as an adult, primarily for leisure, that I realised there wasn’t a refreshing, non-alcoholic beverage that suited my needs.
Don’t get me wrong, I drink a lot of water, but I remember thinking on my last visit, “wouldn’t it be nice to have a non-alcoholic, low-sugar drink, that somehow reflected the local culture”.
- James, CEO & Co-Founder, Sumacqua
Building the recipe
Fast-forward just a few months, and we found ourselves locked up in our London flat, like the rest of the British population, with nothing to do in the evenings but experiment in the kitchen.
And that’s when we started pairing sumac, our favourite, and yes, you’ve heard it before, the most antioxidant-rich spice with other flavours from our ‘spice box’. After a couple of weeks, we had a very rough recipe, we both loved the taste. And we couldn’t ignore the lift it gave us after our daily workout.
- James & Jess, Co-Founders, Sumacqua
Perfecting the flavour
Despite having no experience making soft drinks, we decided to make a commercial product with the help of the team at Alkemista. And after plenty of experimenting to find the perfect flavour profile, we finally had a canned product.
Everyone who has tried Sumacqua loves it, and we love it so much we decided to serve it at our wedding. So, if you’re new to Sumacqua, please try it, because we think you’ll love it.