Every summer of my childhood we would make a pitcher of Kool-Aid, pour it into a metal glass and feel true contentment. My favorite flavor was root beer, my brother’s cherry, one sister’s grape, the other one’s orange. But we would drink whatever was there. Of course it was artificial everything except for the sugar. We couldn’t have cared less. It was easy, it was cheap, and we could make it for ourselves. It fueled bike rides, swimming, and long walks to friends’ houses. Sitting around bored was an open invitation to do chores. So we took our drinks outside.
The cups were similar to the photo on the right, though ours were pretty scratched up on the outside. Just seeing the image brings back the exact sensation of the cold glass in my hand, the slightly curved edge on my lip, and the clank of teeth on metal. They were pretty indestructible, unlike our usual glass ones, so they could survive being left in the yard, dropped from a tree or thrown. Who would throw an empty Kool-Aid cup? Don’t ask.
We never had soda pop. Ginger Ale was only for stomach bugs. Cola, soda and quinine were for adult drinks. We didn’t care. We had Kool-Aid and the colorful mustaches it left every time.
Saved By Words 
I must have had a deprived childhood; we never had Kool-Aid!
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I anticipate a witty limerick about the deprivation1
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If only someone would write one! 😀
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We definitely had kool-aid, mostly red, good ice cold. Wasn’t it 5 cents a package?
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Just like the picture! 😄
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True!
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Indeed it was. That reminds me of the old joke about “how much is”What’s Life ? A magazine. What’s it cost? A dime. I only have a nickel. That’s life.” I bet I stored that old joke back with my Koo-Aid memories!
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Oh dear! I remember that one! 😄
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Back in the days….we had Kool Aid too occasionally.😍
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It’s fun to learn it was in the Philippines though not in England.
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I didn’t have Kool aid, but I gave it to my children occasionally.
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Probably before all the scare about food dye! I mixed it up all the time too for kids.
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Memories. They come back at unexpected moments.
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I know. One just came as I responded to Suzanne’s comment.
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The days when you could buy something for five cents.
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That and gum. And of course gumball machines were 1 cent.
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Kool Aid wasn’t sold in England, but we did have powders that made drinks like fizzy lemonade and strawberry sherbet. My mum used a company that delivered soft drinks to the door and took away the returnable bottles, it was called Corona. They had a dozen flavours of fizzy drinks, and our favourite was Cream Soda. Best wishes, Pete. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(soft_drink)
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I would have been envious as a kid. We only had milk delivered. When I caddied for my father at the golf course I did get to slide a bottle of cream soda out of that big cooler. I loved it.
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We had those glasses!
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I wonder how popular they were. They certainly were durable.
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Same here! I remember those colored metal glasses.
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Oh we definitely had Kool Aid when I was a kid – sugar free in our home so I got my dose of saccharine. My favourite would’ve been strawberry or better still, tropical punch. In the summer we’d freeze it for popsicles too. Whatever way it came I drank a ton.
Then in the early 80s the Kool Aid pitcher was replaced with a big glass bottle of Tab and later Diet Coke. I used to think that my caffeine addiction started when I was 15 and had to stay up late to finish a report and tried coffee. Looking back, though, I’d been having daily caffeine probably since I was 11-12.
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Childhood joys really didn’t need much.
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I switched to coffee at 14 and never returned to sweet beverages. So I was only a couple of years behind you!
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