Fanta’s 2023 version of its What the Fanta Mystery Flavor has two mysteries attached to it. Of course, the first one is its flavor. And the second one is: Why don’t the cans glow in the dark?
The light green colored graphics over a black background make me think they’re glow-in-the-dark, but they’re not, despite my attempts to charge the possible glowy parts by putting a can next to a window for a time much longer than it would take for me to just Google the answer. While the cans don’t glow, the soda makes your tongue turn black or dark purple, especially in a dark room.
It smells orangey or citrusy, but it’s dark purple in color. With the first few sips, my guesses switched between grape and orange. But I think its color confused my head because there’s no way this is grape-flavored, right? There’s no mystery there. That would be like Sherlock Holmes in a mystery called “The Case of the Murderer Who Instantly Admitted It and There Are Dozens of Witnesses, Plus There’s Video Evidence From Every Angle Taken By Those Dozens of Witnesses.” It’s not that simple, right?
So my guess is orange, which sounds so basic that it’s got to be some kind of unique orange or orange-flavored product. The artificial sweetener aftertaste kind of hits me the same way as fruity, chalky candy does. So maybe it’s orange Smarties or Sweetarts? Or perhaps it’s Orange Fanta with a lot of Red 40 and Blue 1 food coloring. If that’s the case, WTF, Fanta?
A QR code on the side of the can leads to a website, but I didn’t visit it because I didn’t want to take the chance that it would give away the answer. I’ll just wait until it’s officially announced.
But is this orange candy-flavored soda good? It’s okay. Usually, I don’t mind zero sugar sodas, but there’s something about this one that makes it less appealing. It could be the artificial sweetener aftertaste I mentioned earlier that leads to a chalky candy-like sensation. Or maybe I taste the disappointment of the cans not glowing in the dark.
Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 7.5 oz cans (also available in 20 oz bottles)
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.
Dear Fanta. PLEASE stop making your mystery flavour with zero sugar and DISGUSTING artificial sweetener. I tried the purple one. after one sip i poured it down the drain. was just gross.
Dear Fanta, As a diabetic, please don’t listen to the above complaint. I have to miss out on a lot of things like this, so a fun zero sugar product is appreciated.
Dear Fanta, you’re a Coke product, money shouldn’t be an issue. Do as Mountain Dew Voo-Dew has done for a couple years now and produce BOTH a regular and a zero sugar. I only drink Zeros, so I’ll still try this once.
I don’t understand why they can’t put it out in both versions, so those of us who refuse to put artificial sweeteners in our bodies can try it.
You can get it at Freestyle machines with real sugar and artificial sweetener since the carbonated water, syrup and sweetener are mixed separately. You can also see the flavors added in an alternating pattern… and it was purple + green. I definitely taste of hint of grape / cough medicine, but I’m not sure I taste lime/citrus.
Hi Fanta, I agree with “Beyond Yourself”, It’s really nice to have a mystery flavor directed at those of us who are Diabetic. We are limited to very few new or special flavors. And I’m really enjoying this one, although I can’t figure it out. And I have one issue with this flavor– It’s VERY hard to find in stores!! If you are gonna spend the money to make a product, get the stores to carry it !!!! Of the special flavors any manuf has made this year, I’ve only been able to find maybe 3 of them. One more thing, if you market this mystery flavor full-time, I’ll buy it! Thanks!
Is this only in Canada?
I’m going to say the flavor is blackberry. It’s a little more berry-ish than grape, and I don’t really taste much orange. So given that (a.) it’s black, (b.) it’s not going to be an existing flavor, and (c.) it has a bit of tartness, blackberry makes sense.
However, I do agree that it doesn’t taste all that great. It’s got a bit of an odd, almost bitter undertaste. I don’t think it’s just because it’s a zero-calorie soda, because there are *many* of those and their flavors are perfectly fine. Still, I’m really happy it exists. I love the label design and the kid in me still loves anything that turns your mouth a weird color. Even if it isn’t the home run it should’ve been, I’ll keep buying it at least in part to encourage more zero-calorie limited-edition sodas in the future.
i think it’s blackberry too!
thats what i thought too
rofl. its not orange.
It made my poop bright green.
So that’s why when I wiped myself, I saw a green color on the wipe! Thanks for solving what I thought was a serious medical condition.
i think it is ginger ale fanta mixed with orange fanta and grape fanta
It’s definitely citrus or tropical in some way. My first guess was pineapple which also seems too basic. I’ve seen guesses for blood orange too though so you might be on to something!
It’s NOT ORANGE FLAVOR!!!!!!???????
Definitely Sweet Tarts. Not Orange, I drink diet Sunkist and Diet orange fanta all the time and it isn’t that. Sweet Tarts or powdered fruity candy was a better description.
Im sick of so many Zero Sugar drinks. We’re not all on a diet. And you can still lose weight drinking sugary drinks, just control yourself.
You obviously Suck because why would they do a normal flavor they already have … it’s Blueberry.