What is Sosro Teh Botol? What is the history behind it?

The Beginning, Cap Botol

The SOSRO brand, which is a well known brand of tea in Indonesia, is actually taken from the family name of the owners, SOSRODJOJO. They began the business of Jasmine Tea in 1940 in a small town in Central Java called Slawi. Their first Jasmine Tea was introduced under the brand of "Cap Botol"

Business Expansion 

In 1965 "Cap Botol" Jasmine Tea, already popular in most parts of Java, was introduced to Jakarta.

At the time, the technique of promoting "Cap Botol" in Jakarta, called "Cicip Rasa" (Taste Testing), was used. At the time, coordinated by Mr. Soetjipto Sosrodjojo, the promotion staff routinely visited busy places and gathering points for people in Jakarta. They attracted crowds by playing loud music. Many onlookers gathered around them.

After enough people had gathered, they were given free samples of "Cap Botol" Jasmine Tea (today this is called sampling). Furthermore, the staffs also brewed the Jasmine Tea on the spot and let the onlookers try it, so they could discover for themselves the excellent taste of "Cap Botol" Jasmine Tea.

Unfortunately, brewing tea on the spot took a long time, and most of the onlookers, who were not patient enough to wait, left before the tea was ready for tasting.

To overcome this problem, the promotion staff brewed the Jasmine Tea in the office before going to the promotion location and poured the ready-to-consume Jasmine Tea into big pots and pans, ready to be taken to the promotion location by cars. However, this technique did not solve the problem. The tea in large pots and pans spilled over on the way to the location, due to the condition of the vehicles and roads in Jakarta, which were not as good as they are now (the roads were full of potholes).

Eventually, another solution was found. After brewing the Jasmine Tea in the office, it was placed in clean used glass bottles, which were normally used for packing soda, soy sauce and other products. It turned out that the third method was successful and this method was adopted for the next few years.



Teh Botol Sosro

After the technique of "Cicip Rasa" had been practiced for some years, eventually in 1969 a new idea emerged, namely selling ready-to-drink tea in glass bottles. The brand chosen was Teh Botol Sosro, taking part of their family name, SOSRODJOJO and the advantage of "Cap Botol" brand, which was already popular in Jakarta. The first bottles were introduced in 1970 and the design of the bottles did not change for two years. In 1972, the design of the bottles was changed, remaining unchanged for the next two years.

In 1974, with the establishment of PT. Sinar Sosro (a factory to produce Teh Botol Sosro), in Ujung Menteng, which was than part of the Bekasi area (now, it is part of Jakarta), the design of the bottles of Teh Botol Sosro was once again changed. It has remained the same until today. The factory was the first factory for ready-to-drink tea in glass bottles, not only in Indonesia, but also the world !!