Was the soft drink invented in china?

Answer 1

No. Mineral water was as close as you could get to soft drinks until around the 11th century where a drink named Dandelion and burdock was made in England. The drink consisted of fermented dandelions and burdock, being naturally fizzy it was the closest thing to a soft drink at that time.

Next, A drink called Sharbat originated in the Middle East around 13th century. This drink was made from flower petals or fruit; the sweet drink was served cold.

Then around 17th century is when we first see the beginning of what we know as the soft drink industry. A company in France had people carry barrels of lemonade on their back and distributed it to parched Frenchmen.

Then comes the most recent leg of the soft drink which takes much more time to explain so here's a link to a good time line: