Tag: Soda

REVIEW: Coca-Cola with Coffee (Dark Blend and Vanilla)

Leonard 10 Comments

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Cans

Update 3/14/22: We also tried the Mocha version! Click here to read our review.

The cans of Coca-Cola with Coffee tell me they have great Coca-Cola taste blended with rich, luxurious coffee.

In less flashy terms, it is a coffee-flavored soda containing real coffee powder for a uniquely fizzy hybrid beverage. I’ll be reviewing the Dark Blend and Vanilla flavors, but there will also be a caramel one when these debut nationwide in early 2021.

I am a coffee lover and a soda lover, so I’m absolutely pumped to experience their love child months before the official release. Both have a nice fizz and the signature dark brown color of regular cola. Each one also starts off with a very familiar Coca-Cola taste.

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Vanilla

It’s interesting as the beginning just tastes like cola, but then each one transforms. The vanilla one brings in some creaminess towards the end, but I’m not sure where the coffee is. I can maybe taste it if I really think about it. This one pretty is much like Coca-Cola Vanilla. It’s good, but the coffee flavor is kind of lost amongst the cola and vanilla.

I was underwhelmed with the vanilla version, but boy oh boy does the Dark Blend make up for it. After trying it, I can confirm the coffee flavor is scarce in the Vanilla variety because this one contains such great coffee essence.

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Dark Blend

The beverage starts off cola-y and morphs into a fizzy roasted coffee drink. If you have ever had an imported Italian coffee soda, it actually tastes like a lighter, Coke-flavored version of those. The flavor was pretty intense upon first sip but then lessened a bit the more I guzzled down. This may not be the best drink to wash down a burger and fries because of the flavor mashup. But as a late morning/early afternoon drink or in the heat when cold brew is not an option, it would be absolutely phenomenal. YUM!

It also likely won’t 100% replace your favorite go-to soda or satisfy your coffee fix whenever you need it (it has 69 mg of caffeine, more than a regular cola but less than a cup of joe). But overall, it is a darn good drink to add to your rotation.

There is a pretty well-known saying of Everything Old is New Again. Well, here we are again, as this drink follows Coca-Cola Blak and Pepsi Kona from years past that failed to light the world on fire. So it is not a brand new idea by any means, but maybe 2020 can be the year when cola coffee finally becomes a drink staple. Not to mention that a version of this beverage has been making the rounds internationally for the past few years.

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Ingredients

One odd thing about this beverage is the sugar content. Not only is it a hybrid with flavors, but it is also a hybrid on the sweetener scale because it contains high fructose corn syrup, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. I don’t think the taste is impacted as it doesn’t taste too heavy like a soda or too sweet/fake like a diet one. However, it does worry me that it may put off those that exclusively drink one or the other.

Ever wonder what a mixture of Coca-Cola and coffee would taste like? Or are you tired of the fruity-flavored colas and want to quench your thirst with something new? Come January 2021, you are in luck. But skip the Vanilla version and reach for the Dark Blend one for a deliciously unique coffola (It should have a fun name, like a celebrity couple) experience. Maybe we can make it stick around this time!

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. (Thanks, Coke!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 12 fl oz cans
Purchased at: Received as part of the Coca-Cola Insiders Club
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Vanilla), 9 out of 10 (Dark Blend)
Nutrition Facts: (1 Can) Both flavors have identical nutrition facts – 70 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 18 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark

Marvo 5 Comments

Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark Bottle

What is Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark?

It’s a Dew with a burst of raspberry lemonade flavor, and it’s an exclusive Speedway flavor. The label features a drawing of a crazed race car. It’s a fitting image for a convenience store named Speedway, which is what car racing tracks are called. I also imagine that a crazed race car with a mouth is also something someone who takes speed way too much would hallucinate.

How is it?

Its aroma reminds me of a pack of Starburst, and its flavor brings another Mtn Dew to mind — Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade. (And maybe Voltage?)

In my Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero review, I wrote, “…for some reason, my taste buds and brain occasionally think they’re drinking a raspberry iced tea. Maybe it’s because the berry flavor reminds me of the Lipton Brisk Raspberry and the lemon flavor, which doesn’t really pop that much, makes me think of lemon iced tea.”

With Mtn Dew Spark, the berry part still reminds me of Lipton Brisk Raspberry Iced Tea, but the flavor and tang of the lemonade stand out much more. There’s also a little bit of an added non-lemonade citrus taste, but it didn’t confuse me into thinking this was anything other than raspberry lemonade-flavored. It’s tasty, but I’m a little disappointed it’s kind of a recycled flavor.

Anything else you need to know?

Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark Bottle Label

Some of you might be wondering, “What’s a Speedway?” Well, **puts on reading glasses** it’s a chain of convenience stores with a few thousand locations mostly in the Midwest and East Coast. Just this month, it was purchased by the parent company that owns 7-Eleven. For more brick-and-mortar retail chain news, don’t depend on this site.

Also, there doesn’t appear to be a diet version. But if you want a beverage that tastes somewhat similar and with zero sugar, there’s Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew Spark is another solid Dew offering. If you live near a Speedway store, it’s worth a purchase.

Purchased Price: More than anyone should pay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 290 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 77 grams of carbohydrates, 77 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Pepsi Pineapple

Marvo 8 Comments

Pepsi Pineapple U S Cans

Pineapple is considered a summer fruit, but it’s offered all year long here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Well, technically, it’s offered year-round in every state since everyone can buy it canned.

But here I can buy fresh pineapple, cut up or whole, in almost every store I walk into. I can also easily purchase a cocktail served in a hollowed-out pineapple with paper umbrellas and orchids as decorations around its rim.

What I’m trying to say is that they’re plentiful here. I mean, it’s not like I can throw a pineapple in a random direction and there’s a good chance I’ll hit another. Although, now that I think about it, that’s actually true for me since my neighbor has four pineapple plants.

Anyhoo, while the delectable yellow treat is considered a summer fruit, Pepsi Pineapple should be a flavor that’s available year round because it’s now my favorite fruit-flavored Pepsi. It edges Pepsi Wild Cherry. Heretic, I know. But the fruit flavor is more natural tasting, while the cherry is more artificial.

Pepsi Pineapple was available in Japan last summer, which I reviewed. In that review, I wrote that Pepsi in the U.S. should offer the flavored cola here in the States for Summer 2020. So here it is, maybe or maybe not, thanks to yours truly.

You might think that the two beverages taste the same, but they aren’t. If they were, I would’ve copy and pasted my other review here, dusted off my hands, and sat on a beach with a cocktail that’s served in a hollowed-out pineapple with paper umbrellas and orchids as decorations.

Pepsi Pineapple U S Closeup

I also wrote in my review of the Japanese version that the fruity flavor was a bit too faint for my liking. This one doesn’t have that problem. Sweet pineapple flavor hits hard from beginning to end (oddly, its aroma is not as fruity). I imagine if I were offered a Pepsi served in a hollowed-out pineapple (paper umbrellas and orchids optional), it would taste similar.

The beverage is described as a Pepsi with a splash of pineapple juice. The can also says it contains 1% juice, but it sure tastes like it has a lot more than that. Maybe that’s where the “other natural flavors” kick in.

Pepsi Pineapple U S

While the Japanese version came in 490 ml bottles (around 16.5 ounces), the American version is not available in bottles. Instead, they come in 8-packs of 12-ounce skinny cans. Oh, speaking of skinny, there isn’t a diet version.

Pepsi Pineapple is a simple soda. It’s pretty much a combination of Pepsi and juice from the golden fruit. But it’s also simply delicious.

Purchased Price: Way too much of eBay
Size: 8-pack of 12-ounce cans
Purchased at: eBay (available at Walmart)
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 fl oz) 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 95 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 41 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Canada Dry Pomegranate Ginger Ale (Canada)

Rachel 4 Comments

Canada Dry Pomegranate Ginger Ale

What is Canada Dry’s Pomegranate Ginger Ale?

It now seems like a thousand years ago, but before a certain microbe forced us all indoors, I traveled to Canada for a weekend jaunt, and of course, loaded up on new and interesting food and drink.

I discovered that up north, Canada Dry is adding pomegranate to its ginger ale. Whaaaa? I love a good pomegranate (when I’ve got the time to sit and free the seeds from the membranes – and don’t even bother telling me all your lifehacks for this – the only way is to settle in and pick), and I love a good ginger ale, so how could I pass this up?

It’s a deep red color – without the label, I would’ve thought this was a new Mountain Dew flavor.

Canada Dry Pomegranate Ginger Ale 2

How is it?

The aroma in the bottle was mostly ginger ale, with a touch of sweet fruity something.

Flavor-wise, again, it was ginger-ale-dominant, with a slight fruity tang. I find pomegranate, when not consumed as a fresh fruit, can often taste like a non-specific berry or fruit, and that’s what happened here. It reminded me of cranberry-flavored drinks/foods. Sadly, I haven’t tried the Canada Dry Cranberry soda, so I can’t compare them directly.

But while the flavor might not have read as real pomegranate, I really liked it. It was more toned-down than the color of it suggests. It felt like a hint of candy added to the usual ginger edge. I enjoyed it more than the recent Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Lemonade and Ginger Ale and Orangeade flavors.

The label says it’s a limited time offer, but I could see this as a year-round product – there’s nothing about the flavor itself that pegs it to a certain season.

Canada Dry Pomegranate Ginger Ale 3

Is there anything else you need to know?

It doesn’t seem like this has officially crossed the border yet. Hopefully it does soon.

Conclusion:

If you like ginger ale, this is one you should try, if you find it. It retains its ginger-ale-ness while adding a lil’ something.

Purchased Price: $2.29CAD
Size: 500ml (16.9oz) bottle
Purchased at: Loblaws
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (500ml bottle) 190 calories, 0 grams of fat, 70 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 48 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Frost Bite

Louis 3 Comments

Mtn Dew Frost Bite Bottle

What is Mtn Dew Frost Bite?

Given the bottle’s ferocious imagery of an open-mouth great white shark on the label, I was hoping this would be Mtn Dew’s entry into a revolutionary fish-flavored soda game, but, instead, it’s just a “burst of icy refreshment and cool melon.” So, I guess melon.

How is it?

Mtn Dew Frost Bite Closeup

Like most nouveau Mtn Dew flavors, this too has a taste reminiscent of a liquefied Now and Later, which, at least in my opinion, is never a bad thing. And while there is a slight taste of melon — don’t ask me what kind of melon, though — the “blue ice” flavor is extremely prevalent, even if “blue ice” isn’t a flavor found in nature.

But, still, Frost Bite has got a deeply sweet seafaring edge to it that, like the chompers on the non-mountainous mascot, will cut deeply to the bone. Or, given the soda’s oh-so high added sugar content, it might shear the white enamel off with each seriously addictive gulp. If you ever wonder what Powerade Mountain Berry Blast would taste like with a testicular death-grip, look no further.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Available for a limited time, this Mtn Dew flavor is an exclusive flavor to Walmart stores across the country. I bought it instead of toilet paper, mostly because my store was still sold out of it and probably will be for a while.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew Frost Bite is a downright tawdry yet delicately tasty concoction for landlubbing tongues.

Purchased Price: $1.80
Size: 20 oz. bottle
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 290 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 76 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 76 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.