Our younger generation may wonder which soda brands I am referring to above. Before Coca Cola dominated the soft drink market in Kenya, driving Pepsi out of business, we had sodas from both companies in every shop.
Most of our shopkeepers being illiterate or semi illiterate, they identified the soda by their appearance not by brand name. Whenever you went to buy a soda they asked if you wanted Thota njiru (black soda) which was either Coke or Pepsi, Thota ya macungwa (Orange soda) which was either Fanta or Tarino, Thota ya maai (Water soda) which was either Sprite or Seven Up.
Whichever way they identified the soda, for us, it was such a treat whenever we got a taste of it, sometimes only once in a year, sometimes none at all. That is how rare soda was for us.
