Correct way to pronounce Passiona revealed

It’s an iconic Australian drink many were shocked to discover has been pronounced wrong – but turns out there’s a good reason why.

It’s as iconically Australian as a meat pie and Chiko roll, but chances are you’ve been pronouncing Passiona wrong your whole life.

But it turns out ir’s not your fault if you’ve been saying it wrong as the mix-up over the drink’s name has existed for almost as long as it has been manufactured — meaning you can probably blame your parents or even grandparents.

Morgan Cottee, the great-grandson of Passiona creator Spencer Cottee, confirmed to news.com.au the passionfruit drink had been named “pash-owe-nah” by the family.

But as book Cottee’s: A Family Favourite, Celebrating 75 Years explains, the public soon adopted a different pronunciation for the popular beverage.

According to the book the family had “combined wits to come up with a catchy name” for the drink, settling on Passiona pronounced “pash-owe-nah”.

Turns out we've all been saying Passiona wrong. Picture: Instagram/@heartsandrocketsband.

But “much to the family’s frustration”, it instead became commonly known as “pash-ee-owe-nah”.

The debate started on Monday when Sydney dad Bruno Bouchet – who is Kyle Sandilands’ manager and known as the “List King” for his love of ranking items – tweeted that we’ve all been giving the passionfruit-flavoured soft drink an extra syllable that doesn’t exist.

Mr Bouchet began by telling his followers you don’t pronounced the drink – which retails for around $2 a bottle in supermarkets – the most common way “pash-ee-owe-nah”.

FYI - it's actually pronounced 'pash-owe-nah', not 'pash-ee-owe-nah' #passiona #yawelcome pic.twitter.com/kVhrqDxu0O

— Bruno Bouchet (@brunobbouchet) October 19, 2020

Instead, he reckons “it’s actually pronounced ‘pash-owe-nah’”.

But not everyone was convinced by Mr Bouchet’s claim and said he was wrong.

One person used Wikipedia as their source that his bold statement was false while another simply said they were “not having it”.

Not according to Wikipedia. And, as we know, they are never wrong. pic.twitter.com/NfkCMB1cbW

— Brett Debritz (@debritz) October 19, 2020

I'm not having it, Hermione. Only 'pash-ee-owe-nah' shall pass these lips.

— Nicole Baker-Bryson (@OutStandingNic) October 19, 2020

No way.....pasheeona it is...

— Yasmin Khan (@bilkees) October 19, 2020

Nope, pash-ee-owe-nah, always was, always will be.

— A/Prof Euan Ritchie 🐺 😼 🐾 🦘 🔥 🌳 🌏 🎶 (@EuanRitchie1) October 19, 2020

But then Mr Bouchet brought out proof with a 1920s newspaper advertisement in which Passiona – billed as a “new drink which will captivate your palate” – was spelled out “Pash-ona”.

I present to you this Passiona advertisement from The Courier Mail dated 1927 where the pronunciation is clearly spelled out #mattersettled https://t.co/UX8nOJXV3S pic.twitter.com/XJuhBGWq8U

— Bruno Bouchet (@brunobbouchet) October 19, 2020

This shocked many but didn’t actually settle the matter as some were still unconvinced.

Yo @SchweppesAus ... any chance you could please weigh in on the proper pronunciation of Passiona? Thanks heaps.

— Bruno Bouchet (@brunobbouchet) October 19, 2020

Passiona was created by Spencer Cottee in 1924 after the dairy farmer from Lismore, northern NSW, as a way to monetise the excess passionfruit he grew.

Passiona has been around since the 1920s. Picture: Natalie Slade

According to a 1940 newspaper article Mr Cottee experimented for many years until he found a way for juice from passionfruit to be extracted – but people were at first divided on whether the drink would work.

“Critics asserted that a passionfruit product without seeds could not be successfully marketed,” the article said.

“The inventor of ‘Passiona,’ however, was just as strong in his conviction that the delicious flavour which was retained in ‘Passiona’ by the new process would make it a success.”