Childhood memories for millions of us revolve around sherbets and nimbu paanis. Back in the day, these were the most preferred drinks for family members and guests alike. They were economical and came in a variety of flavors. Rose-flavored sharbats were popular too. In fact, Roohafza, one of the better-known rose sherbets has almost earned itself an iconic status over the years. Rose sharbat or gulab sharbat is said to have cooling properties, making it an excellent drink during scorching summers.
We decided to pick two widely popular brands of rose-flavored sharbats – Dabur Sharbat-e-Azam and Hamdard Roohafza for a face to face review. After blind tasting these two brands, we are happy to tell you that the Best Rose Flavored Sharbat is Hamdard Dawakhana Roohafza Sharbat.
Table of Contents
Watch Video – Best Rose Flavored Sharbat
Mishry Top Pick – Hamdard Dawakhana Roohafza Sharbat
Why is Hamdard Dawakhana Roohafza Sharbat our Top Pick?
Priced at Rs. 150, this 750 ml bottle has a touch of nostalgia to it. It instantly reminds you of summertime, when you poured a glass of chilled water with Roohafza or had it with milk. It has a refreshing fragrance that adds to its winning streak.
We added three tablespoons of Roohafza to about 250 ml of water. As compared to its counterpart, Roohafza took less time to dilute and mix in water. Flavor-wise, it has got a distinct robust rose flavor that you cannot miss, a feature that helps in making Roohafza very popular. When you taste it, you know it is a perfect combination of kewra rose flavor and sugar. It had a satisfactory color and sweetness in just about three spoons. We wouldn’t be exaggerating if we say Roohafza has got a more wholesome sharbat feeling, making it the most loved rose drink among others.
What we also loved about Roohafza is that it has a very interesting recipe of minty lemonade mentioned on the packaging label, which makes it a versatile beverage.
Overall Roohafza is a delightful rose flavored drink that can be enjoyed by any age-group, especially during summers as it keeps you cool.
Why Did Dabur Sharbat-E-Azam Not Win?
Dabur Sharbat-E-Azam comes in a 750 ml bottle and is priced at Rs. 140. We mixed three parts of the sharbat in water. However, it took more than three spoons of rose sharbat to make the water flavorful. Three spoons weren’t enough as it had a diluted flavor. It also took more time to dilute in water and added a lighter tint to it, which may make this visually less appetizing than our Top Pick. The sharbat flavor of Dabur Sharbat-E-Azam was dominant on sugar, and less on the gulab flavor.
The packaging label of Dabur Sharbat – e – Azam has ingredients like rose water, red carrot juice, apple juice, orange juice, basil oil, pineapple juice, kewra water, and khus chandan, along with synthetic colors and added flavors.
Overall, Dabur Sharbat-e-Azam tasted diluted after adding the suggested quantity of three spoons. We felt the taste and color did not match up to the Top Pick even after adding more. Despite adding four tablespoons, we couldn’t taste the rose in it.
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Read here our 10 best soft drink brands in India.
Hamdard Roohafza Vs Dabur Sharbat-e-Azam
Parameters |
Hamdard Roohafza |
Dabur Sharbat-e-Azam |
| Price | Rs. 150 | Rs. 140 |
| Net Weight | 750 ml | 750 ml |
| Shelf Life | Best before 24 months | Best before 24 months |
| Energy (Kcal) | 414 kcal for 100 ml | 300 kcal for 100 ml |
| Taste | Refreshing rose flavor | Diluted rose flavor |
| Sweetness | Balanced | Diluted |
Our Review Process
The Contenders
We picked two of the most popular brands in India of rose-flavored sharbat bottles and conducted several rounds of blind tastings. Dabur and Hamdard Dawakhana are widely available online and in grocery stores.
- Dabur Sharbat-e-Azam
- Hamdard Dawakhana Roohafza
Parameters
For us, the prime focus was on checking for that sweet rose flavor that can be a part of water, milk, and milk-based desserts. Rose is generally associated with royalty, and therefore, that feeling of something distinctive and extra typically is exuded from khus and minty kewra kind of flavors. So we needed to find that exclusive royal rose and kewra flavor in these sharbats.
Related Reading:
At Mishry, we reviewed multiple beverage products, and here’s our curated list of top beverages in India we liked.
How We Reviewed
Our review process involved blind tasting sessions, where we considered not just the flavor, but also the fragrance, and sweetness level. Once we had our results based on flavor, sweetness and aroma, we also compared the two bottles for their price, ingredient list, and calories. Interestingly, both the sharbats had different ingredients except the primary constituents like rose, kewra and khus.
Results Of The Face-Off- Dabur vs Hamdard Dawakhana Rose Sharbat
Safe to say that Hamdard Dawakhana Roohafza was a clear winner in our Best Rose Flavored Sharbat Review as it had the robust rose flavor, balanced sweetness and definitely had a very inviting aroma.
The list of ingredients of Hamdard Dawakhana Roofafza: While it has synthetic colors and added flavors, it has got a good set of ingredients. It has ingredients like gul neelofar, dhania, khas, gulab, kasni, chharila, berg gawzaban, pudina, sandal safaid, tukhm gazar, and munaqqa among others. It also has pineapple and orange juice along with kewra and gulab, which are used as natural flavoring agents.
Frequently Asked Questions
After reading this comprehensive review about which rose flavored sharbat is best, here are a few FAQs about it.
1. Are Rooh Afza and rose syrup the same?
Both Rooh Afza and Rose syrup are rose flavored drinks. But the flavor and ingredients vary. Mainly rose syrup is made up of sugar, water and rose petals.
While the ingredients list of Hamdard Dawakhana Roohafza includes gul neelofar, dhania, khas, gulab, kasni, chharila, berg gawzaban, pudina, sandal safaid, tukhm gazar, and munaqqa among others. It also has pineapple and orange juice along with kewra and gulab, which are used as natural flavoring agents.
2. Can we take Rooh Afza in fast?
As Rooh Afza is a high calorie drink, it does not provide any nutrients to your body during fasting. Also, this drink has a natural flavoring agent and synthetic colors.
3. Can we drink Rooh Afza everyday?
Rooh Afza is a refreshing summer drink. Being high in calories, moderate consumption of it is advisable.
4. What is in Sharbat e Azam?
The ingredients of Dabur Sharbat – e – Azam as per the package includes rose water, red carrot juice, apple juice, orange juice, basil oil, pineapple juice, kewra water, and khus chandan, along with synthetic colors and added flavors.
5. Is Rooh Afza good for health?
Yes. Rooh Afza helps in beating the heat during summer. It is a refreshing and hydrating drink. In addition to it, drinking Rooh Afza improves cardiac health.
6. Are rose sharbats healthy?
Traditionally, rose sharbats have long been part of most Indian households, primarily because of the cooling ingredients they contain. These are widely consumed to beat the heat during summers. While bottled rose sharbats have cooling and seemingly healthy ingredients, they contain synthetic flavors and colors along with acidity regulators that can be harmful if had on a regular basis or in large quantities.
Final Words
Both this rose-flavored sharbat: Rooh Afza and Sharbat-e-Azam are refreshing drinks. You can enjoy it with water, milk, or just add them to your desserts including kulfi, faluda, ice-creams, phirni, and kheer.
Let us know what your go to refreshing drink is in the comment section.
Team That Worked On The Review
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* Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.
* No part of this review is sponsored by any brand. All expenses were borne by us.
