The Oldest Soda In The World: The Fascinating Story Of Schweppes
A Sparkling Beginning: How Schweppes Was Born Schweppes is the oldest soda in the world, and its story starts in 1783 in Geneva, Switzerland. The founder, Johann Jacob Schweppe, was a German watchmaker and amateur scientist who became fascinated by the science of carbonation. Inspired by the work of English chemist Joseph Priestley, who discovered how to infuse water with carbon dioxide to make it fizzy, Schweppe developed a way to produce carbonated mineral water on a commercial scale. He called this process the “Geneva System” and soon started selling his bottled sparkling water to the public.