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Desis across the world were left in shock on March 27 when Pakistani spice giant Shan Foods announced it would be rolling out a series of soft drinks in what was likely its boldest product line expansion yet.

We knew the world would not be the same. Some laughed, others cried, most were stunned into silence seeing the flavours: chaat, tandoori, pani puri and butter chicken.

Honestly, we’re glad we didn’t have any drinks — masala flavoured or otherwise — when we found out about the new Shan sodas, we definitely would’ve spit them out in disbelief.

There was even a video of people at their marketing agency in North America claiming to be the first to try these bizarre beverages.

For the next few days, people scurried about trying to make sense of a world where Tandoori was no longer just a type of boti, but also a refreshing drink to cool off after a summer day. There were rants; some said they had seen everything, while others appeared to be excited.

On April 1, as some people rightly suspected, Shan issued a much-needed clarification: they got us good. “Butter Chicken Masala Cola is not real and it cannot hurt you,” the apology read, sounding more like a subtle gloat.

The company said Masala Cola was not making it to shelves anytime soon, but something else was. They ended the message saying it wasn’t a joke this time.

The marketing firm, Let’s Snack, also issued a video statement showing the custom cans they had made for the prank. Apparently, one of the ingredients for the Pani Puri Soda was “the audacity”.

Fans took it in stride, although many said they wanted to try masala cola from Shan.

For now, as much of the culinary world breathes a sigh of relief and keeps a watchful eye on what the minds at Shan will cook up next, we can’t help but place this prank up there among the best we’ve seen yet from Pakistani brands. We’re also just glad it was a prank because if there’s one thing we do not want to see on Pakistani store shelves, it’s butter chicken masala soda.