Posted March 5, 2019 by Jonelle Patrick2 Comments Food

Soft Drink Flavors I Do Not Want To Try

In the scraping-the-bottom-of-the-flavor-idea-barrel sweepstakes, a clear winner. As if banana-flavored soda isn’t nauseating enough, they paired it with that nasty sour-milk yogurt flavor for good measure

This yogurt-banana mash-up surfs in on the enduring popularity of the local favorite soft drink, Calpis, which inexplicably established sweetened sour milk as a delightful flavor in Japan.

In a close second, peach-flavored Coke. Even if the western peach flavor in any way resembled a real peach, the combination with Coke’s cola flavor in no way improves it

Peach Coke is just a blatant season grab. Here, eating “seasonal” fruits and vegetables delivers wave after wave of short-term binge buying on the part of consumers, and since there is no “cola” season, Coke wanted to cash in on that.

Yes, it’s a drink made from aloe, that prickly succulent you keep around to rub on burns

Let’s get a closer look at that appetizing ingredient, shall we?

And aloe, eek. How many times have Japanese friends vehemently assured me that slimy foods are essential for health? I supposed that number is about the same number of times I’ve weaseled out of eating stinky fermented soybeans and the hair-in-slime seaweed known as mozuku.

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The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon

For three hundred years, a missing tea bowl passes from one fortune-seeker to the next, altering the lives of all who possess it…*read more*

“A fascinating mix of history and mystery.” —Booklist

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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!

2 thoughts on “Soft Drink Flavors I Do Not Want To Try” Leave a comment ›

Paula says:

March 5, 2019 at 9:37 am

I actually like Calpis and aloe drinks! But I wouldn’t want anything mixed with banana flavors.

- Jonelle Patrick says:
  
  March 5, 2019 at 4:51 pm
  
  I actually did end up trying the aloe drink, and it wasn’t as icky as I thought it would be. Sort of pleasantly sweet and not TOO goopy. Calpis, though…all yours! ^^;;