REVIEW: Coca-Cola Plus Ginger (Japan)

Coca-Cola Plus Ginger (Japan)

For most of my life I’ve thought of ginger as more of a medicine than an ingredient.

When I felt nauseous playing DOOM, I sucked on ginger candy. When I felt something funny in my tummy while watching someone play DOOM, I drank ginger ale. And when it felt like the room was spinning around every time I closed my eyes after playing DOOM, I hung out next to the toilet.

While ginger ale is quite possibly the most popular beverage with ginger, more drinks are being offered with it, like ginger beers, ginger kombucha, and, last year, Pepsi put some into their wonderful 1893 Ginger Cola.

Because of my love for Pepsi’s craft ginger cola, the first thing I sought out during my Japan trip was the new Coca-Cola Plus Ginger.

While Pepsi Japan comes out annually with limited edition soda flavors you’ve never seen in a PETE plastic soda bottle, Coca-Cola Japan keeps it simple by just adding a bit of flavor to the standard Coke and does it at an Olympics-like frequency. About three years ago, Coca-Cola Japan sold a delicious orange-flavored Coke.

It’s funny that the Pepsi Japan flavors are like ideas from a cocaine binge (cucumber, baobab, cherry blossom), while the cola that once had actual cocaine in it ends up being tame.

Much like the amount of orange flavoring in the last limited edition Japanese Coke I had, this soda had the right amount of ginger flavor. You can’t miss it, but it doesn’t overwhelm the cola. To be honest, it tastes right at home with the cola spices. Also, it didn’t burn, like it does with ginger beer. Coca-Cola Plus Ginger is such a great tasting soda that I bought two more bottles at the end of my trip.

If you enjoyed Pepsi’s ginger cola, you’ll like this, if you get your hands on it. It’s only available in Japan for a limited time (it was available in Australia in 2016) or from an online Japanese snack seller. If you think you’ll be able to replicate it by mixing Coca-Cola with Seagram’s Ginger Ale, you won’t because I tried using various ratios and none of them tasted anything close.

I really hope Coca-Cola Plus Ginger ends up in the United States, or at least be an option on a Coke Freestyle machine.

(Nutrition Facts – 100 ml – 44 kcal, 0 grams of fat, 11 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sodium, and 0 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: 130 Japanese Yen
Size: 500 ml
Purchased at: Lawson Station
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: If you’re a fan of Pepsi’s 1893 Ginger Cola, you’ll like this. Right amount of ginger flavor. Ginger complements the cola spices. Doesn’t have ginger burn.
Cons: Not available in the U.S., but might be available through online Japanese snack sellers. The nauseous feeling I got when playing DOOM.

4 thoughts to “REVIEW: Coca-Cola Plus Ginger (Japan)”

  1. I’m sure ginger is a great addition to coke and i would really like to try it, but this “amazing coke with orange”-line bothers me a bit… isn’t this like a “Spezi” and with that a “Mezzo Mix” which exist in Germany like for ages… oO

    So: If you really want an orange flavored coke: Try mixing Coke and Fanta to your liking and tell me what you think 😉 ^^

    1. I’ve heard Coke and Fanta are delicious together, via Good Mythical Morning’s aftershow where they mixed different drinks.. Next time I’m in the mood for soda, I will try it 😀

      On a different note, I like the 1893 products, and will hope this comes to the US! Coke needs to be creative over here, like Pepsi did with the 1893 line, and the Mt Dew Labels.. Coke “Life” is about the newest product recently I’ve seen hit my store shelves.

      1. Bojangles! Let’s say it in “nikes” words: JUST DO IT!
        It’s delicious (and in fact i actually drink it right now xD)! My gf is always ordering a “Spezi” when we’re out with friends and as i said before everyone in Germany knows what you mean when you order it even if it’s not on the Menu (quite unlikely, but possible).

        To be honest here, i like Coke mixed with Miranda (Pepsi’s answer to Fanta) a bit more, since the Miranda has a slight tangerine flavor (wich is actually also my favorite Fanta flavor besides mango ^^) and makes the drink even more delicious (“SchwippSchwapp” is btw. the MezzoMix answer from Pepsi and the version with lemon taste – Coke, Orange & Lemon – is the best!)

        But hell… at least you guys can mix yourself a “Spezi”/”MezzoMix”… i have to wait for Pepsi to feel more confident to sell another one of my fav drinks (mt dew) a bit more prominent with a bit more flavor alternatives than… regular ^^

        Keep me in the loop how you liked it!

  2. Have you tried adding fresh minced ginger to coke? I wonder if that would work. Might just try it myself.

Comments are closed.