dorinku ドリンク

Ice Ice Latte [KIRIN | ESPRESSO TEA]

2012-01-15T22:20:00.001+09:00

What seems like a fairly harmless, perhaps even novel yet odd idea--tea in a can--espresso style... forget it.

At my first sip I thought for sure I had a dud product, it tasted like regular kirin milk tea with the addition of funky grapefruit. Automatically I assumed it must have passed it's use-by date or since I had made a buffoon of myself in the convenience store by dropping it on the ground that perhaps I had wrecked the can.

But no, apparently not. After a quick google I find that yes indeed it does have a bitter taste which some review as pleasant, but honestly I can't believe it. It is still sitting on my desk with only one sip taken and I'm not sure I want to go for another, but I must!

I check the can again for a picture of grapefruit, but find no such reference. At first swilling it around in your mouth it could be described as a really burnt flavour which I suppose is espresso-ish, but really, it seems overdone and unpleasant and now I just have a grapefruit-tea aftertaste.

If you're adventurous and/or bored, go for it. I gave it a 1/10 for satisfiction(sic) in the knowledge that it was not expired, damaged or grapefruit inspired. I found mine on the discount table and was sure I was going to be spraying it out after the first sip due to it being expired.

Taste (-6)
Weirdness (4)
Satisfaction (1)

キレートレモン [Clean & Lemon | Pokka]

2012-01-10T22:46:00.000+09:00

Gonna keep this simple like the drink. OISHIIIII!!!

Probably the best lightly-carbonated lemon drink out of Japan... and I've not even had more than 2-3 ever. That'll have to change.

Weirdness, not much, it's hyper-tangy which is weirdish, and the name Clean & Lemon also advertised as clean & healthy is slightly quirky.

Find more here.

Main drink series site here: http://pokka.jp/kire-to/

Taste (10)
Weirdness (1)
Satisfaction (10)

Yogur de Saliva [Pineapple | with Aloe Vera]

2011-11-11T16:14:00.000+09:00

That's right folks, Yogur de Saliva... now you don't even need your own saliva to digest or enjoy this tasty beverage, it's done for you, pre-digested in a bottle.

If only--I wish--actually it's Yogur de Savila... which is Portuguese for Youghurt of Saliva... hey awesome, so it is saliva after all...

No no... unfortunately Savila translates as Vera and I have no idea if it's portguese, apparently, so no luck with that... how do I know, because on the other side of the bottle they have the potentially "English" version of the name, Yogo Vera...

Okay, about to open the fridge door, take it out and have my first gulp...

Oh jesus... i think i just threw up in my mouth a little... no wait, i think i just took a sip of someoen else throwing up into my mouth a little..notice the lowercase "i's"... my body is suddenly drained of life as i try to refrain from barfing.

Why oh why would they sell a drink that is made up of someone else's predigested goodness?

Okay, maybe I exaggerate, you are immediately hit with a very tangy pineapple yoghurt tang, did i mention it was tangy? Anyway so after recovering from the tang you get hit with a wall of pure glucose, though i'm yet to understand what all the hype about "with Aloe Vera" is all about.

But hey, it's proudly a "PRODUCT OF SOUTH KOREA" and that's okay with me.

Okay, second and third sips now and once you get over the tang, it's basically cloudy pineapple juice. It has chunks in it which at first I think might be pineapple but they're probably vera.

Now I just shook it and had finally tasting gulp... I recommend you shake it before consuming, now there are a lot of chunks, chunks of someone else's pre-digested salival efforts, but well worth y
our effort.

Ta(ng)ste (7.5)
Weirdness (6)
Satisfaction (6.5)

2011-06-11T04:11:00.002+09:00

Let's get physical [House Wellness | C1000]

2011-01-03T09:31:00.004+09:00

House Wellness C1000 claims itself to be a physical drink (whatever that means). It was a hands-on experience – I give it that, but it was no more physical than any experience I’ve ever had with a Coca-Cola Classic.

It’s red and yellow coloration immediately reminded me of McDonald’s, but that is where my familiarity ceased. I believe it is called C1000 because it contains 1000mg of vitamin C (16% of your daily recommended allotment). “vitamin DRINK” is written largely across the center of the bottle, so this may be the actual name. I am unsure if the drink contains any other vitamins because the only other recognizable character on the bottle is the number 8 displayed between some Japanese characters and followed by an explanation point. 8!!!! GREAT!!! 8 vitamins maybe? Vitamin C, vitamin big-eyed boy that looks like a girl, vitamin bear driving car?

The actual drink was carbonated. It tasted like a milder (less medicine-tasting) red bull with a stronger citrus taste. The drink tasted average to me. There was nothing bad about it, but it just got boring after a while.

Taste (4)
Weirdness (3)
Satisfaction (3.5)

Oishii! [CALPIS | Strawberry Calpis]

2008-08-24T19:55:00.001+09:00

This one is part of the "Fruit Calpis" range and as my first drink in this range I am impressed. The flavour is unmistakably strawberry and unlike some of the other fruit drinks actually tastes like real fruit. The bottle is a good size at 500ml and goes down easy.

It's a really enjoyable drink, probably one of the best I've reviewed lately and the only complaint I would have if any is that there isn't enough. The drink is slightly watery, but that's what you come to expect from Calpis drinks, a watery milky drink.

The only Calpis drink I've had before is the plain canned variety and that was pretty good.

If you wanna find out more about what we thought of Calpis, also known as Calpico be sure to check out asianbev's great video review and his other reviews here and here.

Taste (9.5) Oishii!

Weirdness (4.5)

Satisfaction (9)

[LOTTE | 2% Lemon]

2008-08-12T15:55:00.000+09:00

Earlier I reviewed another drink in the 2% line which was a favourable review... this time however, I'm gonna have to give this one a thumbs down...

Why? Do you enjoy drinking dish-water? If your answer was yes, then read no further, this drink is for you and I congratulate you on finally finding your one true drink.

If your answer was a rationally resounding NO, then this drink unfortunately is not for you, which is what I discovered as I drained the can into my osophagus[sic].

Manufactured yet again by our brethren at LOTTE (like the last several posts), this drink was a disappointment from start to finish. You'd think as they'd gotten the subtle flavours right for the 2 percent peach that they'd nail the 2 percent lemon - but no.

Like a really dodgy watered down lemon dish washing detergent in a can, that's what you get. (Can looks nice though ;)

Taste (2)

Weirdness (1)

Satisfaction (0)

Technorati Profile

[CALPIS | THE PREMIUM CALPIS]

2008-07-05T20:11:00.000+09:00

Aaah yeah... that's what i'm talkin about, tasty tasty tasty... this is what all calpis should taste like... it's so much more yoghurty and flava flavasome. refreshing yoghurty tang and an elegantly designed bottle. just a bit pricey at the most expensive imported drink i've pur-chased at AU$4.90.

Since pur-chasing the above mentioned beveraged, i pur-chased a second one as it's so good. if you were blind-folded and drinking it, i'd like to think you'd be forgiven for thinking it has a slightly orangey taste which i didn't notice before... then again, it might just be me.

calpis.co.jp, calpis.co.jp/english or calpis.net are the places to go to find more info. enjoy!

Taste (9.5) nearly a 10

Weirdness (3.5)

Satisfaction (8)

News

2008-06-13T09:42:00.000+09:00

New review coming Nov. 16.

Hello?
Is anybody there?
It's the 17th. Where's the update for crying out loud?
Well, to answer your question... Unfortunately, there is no update.
Why not? Because I got overly ambitious and failed.

A lot of work goes into an update. First of all you have to drink something. Also you have to take a picture of the bottle AND, AND, don't forget, you have to write like a paragraph.

Please forgive me in my humiliating embarrassment. Believe me, there is plenty more Shrimp Coffee, Pork's Blood Tea, Green Yogurt Curd Juice, Bread Wine Water, and Bread Water Wine out there to try and write about. There's a lot to learn to. That being said, my suggestion to you: Get out there and research!

[KIRIN | Ice Lemon]

2008-05-06T20:06:00.001+09:00

Quite similar to Pokka's Lemon Tea, but not quite as zesty .. I'm finding it difficult to not compare it to the Pokka, and reminisce about the zesty lemon, aah... it makes my respect for the honey'n'lemon so much deeper. :)

Kirin, although you make a good product, there's room for improvement here.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (2)

Satisfaction (6)

[Sangaria | Grape 100% 赤ぶどう]

2008-05-04T20:09:00.000+09:00

i crack open the lid, and take a whiff... ah smells like grape bubblegum... take a sip..huh? take another sip... what's the deal... it's so watery.

yes, so a classic case of a potentially great flavour spoiled by watering it down... sangaria, what are you doing..? it would be understandable if it was a tea or 'grape water' but damn... that just ruinouses[sic] it for me.

i mean it's still refreshingly crisp and all that, but come on!

actually, on second tasting, and having now consumed most of it, it's starting to grow on me... what originally was a watery taste has given way to a much subtler but deeper flavour which is quite pleasant really.

the drink seems to based on "california ruby-red grapes" and is manufactured by Sangaria... go figure.

Taste (6..wait a minute 7.5)

Weirdness (6)

Satisfaction (6.5)

[Takeda | YOU C1000 Vitamin Lemon]

2008-05-03T20:08:00.000+09:00

Tastes like solo (or lift), only a bit lemonier, it has vitamins B1, 1000mg of C, E and Niacinamide and comes in a small glass bottle. This one seems to be distributed under license solely for Australia and is distributed by "Sony Trading"... maybe the Japanese employees at Sony Australia couldn't live without a shot of their daily bitamin remon.

I reckon' this drink would taste better without carbonation, but that's just me. Overall, if you're feeling a bit flat (no pun intended), a shot of vitamins might be just what Dr. Takeda ordered.

Taste (8)

Weirdness (5) Sony?

Satisfaction (6)

[CALPIS | Apple & Carrot 「にんじんとりんごのカルピス」]

2008-04-26T20:04:00.000+09:00

..so this is kinda the opposite of the fruit mix drink I reviewed earlier that tasted like carrot as this one has, as far as I'm concerned, no carrot flavour at all.

The drink is surprisingly - not bad - i was expecting the carrot to be rather unpleasant, and picked it out specifically with a potentially bad review in mind, gotta mix it up a bit.. but it's basically quite a tasty apple juice, and might even be actually good for ya.

It doesn't have the traditionally milky taste like other Calpis' and isn't too watery either. Overall a not-too-shabby beverage - from Japan.

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (5.5) where's the carrot?

Satisfaction (6)

Big O [LOTTE | Cheju-Do Mountain Orange]

2008-04-19T15:07:00.005+09:00

Not sure if that's the real name of the drink as I coudn't find any english related sites on this bevo. But after trawling the Korean site for this drink, I found a page on it here. Using AltaVista's Babel Fish translator, this is what I got (sounds like a pledge...):

It will use the feeling orange of the Cheju-Do mountain and the possibility which it will enjoy a freshness one taste in order to be, the feeling orange week which it made su with orange week su with there is a possibility of feeling the taste which is different unique.

Yeah, so... anyway it's a tasty OJ, don't know how that mountain really affects its taste, but I like it. The bottle here is a massive 1.5 litres, so that ought to last a few minutes.

Taste (8.5)

Weirdness (4.5) - the small grey dude on the bottle

Satisfaction (8)

Fantastic Feel! [LOTTE | MILKIS Orange Flavour]

2008-04-11T15:48:00.003+09:00

I didn't really rant (or rave) about the plain milkis, but this orange one is pretty tasty... it has a bizarre fizzy orange flavour that's combined with a milky kinda sweetness, it's like a milked down version of fanta or some't, but not in a bad way.

asianbev reviewed this drink and the original milkis before and whilst i'm not as enthusiastic about the plain one, this one has potential.

For more info, check out the LOTTE website (밀키스) because milk... well it's just that milk..is... milkis. (Contains vitamin A, C&D)

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (6)

Satisfaction (6.5)

Oxygen? [SANGARIA | O2]

2008-04-08T13:58:00.005+09:00

Okay, so let's start with the basics, O2 is the symbol for Oxygen... so what would you expect to find in an aluminium bottle with the label O2 on it? Well if you're me, you'd be thinking sports or energy drink...?

Anyway so I opens the bottle and take a swig... water... plain water. Disappointment would be an understatement. Why would you import plain water, I mean I can understand evian and stuff like that, but even that's probably bottled in Australia.

Okay so not happy with the idea of going to all that trouble for plain bottled water I dig deeper and the reason it's O2 and not H2O, which would make sense, is because it's apparently Oxygen enriched water... H2O2? Nah... no idea how that would work, but it tasted pretty much like standard water.

I like the design of the bottle.. aluminium all the way!

Taste (1)

Weirdness (10)

Satisfaction (2)

75th Post!

2008-04-07T20:24:00.003+09:00

It wasn't so along ago that we celebrated our 50th post by launching the site, dorinku.com to replace the old dorinku.blogspot.com address.

The blog only started in November last year and 71 of the 75 posts currently up were posted in the last 2 months of 2007.

To celebrate the 75th post we've added Digg It! and Add a del.icio.us bookmark options to each post, so go ahead and digg us! or add our delicious drinks to your favourite social bookmarking site.

If you end up digging a bunch of our posts we might offer up a rewarding surprise for ya in the form of some official Dorinku merchandise (subject to availability and restricted to residents of the USA and Australia, all terms and conditions strictly at the discretion of the dorinku.com reviewers).

Drop us a comment to this post if you're a digger!

Good Olde [Pokka | Milk Coffee - Real Brewed]

2008-04-07T19:00:00.005+09:00

This drink, or at least one very similar to it, was reviewed earlier by asianbev. As you can see the can pictured above is quite different from the one asianbev reviewed, but it would be hard to believe that Pokka would make two different versions of canned coffee and use the same slogan "Real Brewed" on them.

The coffee was quite mild, however it had an authentic coffee taste to it, not too sweet, and thus the 'real brewed' slogan has some pull to it.

Personally I can't get past Suntory BOSS canned coffee and am yet to review the milk coffee version of that drink.

However as far as canned coffee from Japan or anywhere else in Asia goes, this one fares well and would be one I would drink again in lieu of BOSS.

There's a lightly amusing yet not necessarily related coffee animation at the Pokka website showing the evolution of the character featured on the alternative can who seemingly has aged along with the coffee over the years, see it here.

Taste (8)

Weirdness (2)

Satisfaction (7)

Fukuoka Karaoke

2008-04-06T23:02:00.000+09:00

Hi,

If the kawaii girls from Karaoke in Fukuoka read this post, please send me an email!!

Remember what it is? ...@dorinku.com

Please try!
~Dorinku

Taste (10)

Weirdness (10)

Satisfaction (10)

[Pokka | Cappucino]

2008-04-06T20:07:00.000+09:00

..it has a creamy flavour, and a hint of vanilla or something... but yeh, nice, it tastes great and comes in a taller than usual can so you get a few extra mouthfulls to gulp down, which is totally appreciated. I don't exactly know what it is about this coffee, but it does have a different taste to say boss and let's be..

Interesting...

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (3)

Satisfaction (6.5)

A bit unfruity [SANGARIA | Oishii 100% Mikkusu Juice]

2008-03-30T15:55:00.007+09:00

You'd think the combination of apple, orange, peach, pineapple and grape flavours would create a really fruitful taste, but alak alas not.

On first sip I have to say I was disappointed with Sangaria's Oishii 100% 'Mix' Juice (おいしい100％ジュース - Oishii means Tasty). What seemed to be an exciting discovery of a new beverage in the local Japanese/Korean grocery (have so far reviewed 99% of the imported asian drinks there) turned out to be a slight disappointment.

The reason for the disappointment is quite simple and is as follows - it tastes like carrot juice.

Other than that it's okay, it still meets the requirements of being refreshing and juicy, but the flavour does not match the packaging.

Taste (6)

Weirdness (5) antiWYSIWYG

Satisfaction (6.5)

Rehash [LOTTE | Milkis - New Feeling of Soda Beverage]

2008-02-15T19:50:00.003+09:00

We've done a couple of reviews (and here) of this drink before, so I won't carry on about it.

You may or may not have ever left a carton of milk to its own devices, but if you have and you were unfortunate enough to try and drink it, you'll notice one of two things, it's either gone lumpy and/or it's got a fizzy taste to it. It's the latter of these two things that Milkis more resembles. It's a fizzy milky sweet drink with a rather bizarre slogan, "new feeling of soda beverage" - they got that right... fizzy milk is a new feeling, unless you are one of the unfortunate ones as outlined earlier.

Don't know that Milkis is really my cup of p1ss, but some people seem to enjoy it enough to buy a six pack of the orange flavoured version...

Taste (6.5)

Weirdness (6.5)

Satisfaction (5)

Calpico Can [Calpis | Water]

2008-01-01T19:13:00.001+09:00

Calpis Water, also know as Calpico Water, or カルピスウォーター (Karupisu Uaataa) is a Japanese beverage that has been reviewed on this site several times by asianbev.

Please read his reviews on Calpis Flavors or Bottled Hello Kitty Calpico Water and his most recent excellent video review on Calpis Concentrate. There is Wikipedia entry on the drink here.

My take on the can version of the drink is this, if you take water and you add milk to it, it doesn't matter how much sugar you add it's a gross concept... However, it's a seriously popular drink and I don't mind downing the odd can when I'm having Ramen or Katsu-don at my favourite Japanese Noodle Bar, Ichi-ban Boshi (That's where the can pictured is from). It has a very sweet taste, and although I'm sure it has some kind of milk in it, I wouldn't describe the flavour as milky at all.

The drink is very refreshing and as asianbev has demonstrated, comes in a variety of flavors, including; strawberry, grape, guava, mango, pineapple, orange, melon, peach and others (sited from Wikipedia). The official Calpis website has a US English version that contains info on their various products.

The flavour is kinda tangy and probably created by the inclusion of lactobacilli which is some kind of yoghurt culture/bacteria I believe, although I wouldn't necessarily have noticed the yoghurty taste. It's interesting enough to make me want to drink it again, and unique enough to ensure that I won't be buying other brands.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (8)

Same same? [Woongjin | Green Plum]

2008-01-01T01:42:00.000+09:00

The beverage featured above is very similar if not identical to a drink I reviewed earlier by Haitai under the name "Ume Plum".

This drink was almost sickly sweet and not possible to consume in one sitting. It is a much larger quantity than the Haitai brand version and also seems to be sweeter and more artificial/brewed tasting. As the Haitai version reviewed earlier comes in a small can the drink seems a lot more enjoyable as you savour each sip knowing the next might be your last.

Having said that, I did enjoy this drink and it had a much more potent flavour than the aforementioned. During cherry blossom season in Japan, a fermented version of Ume plum wine is very popular, and having been in Japan during the celebrations a couple of years ago I can tell you that it's good stuff. This beverage reminded me much more of the wine than the Haitai version, so each has it's niche market I suppose.

In order to enjoy this beverage to it's maximum, I suggest consuming it at as colder temperature as possible.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (6.5)

[Kirin | Koiwai Brand Original Recipe Strawberry]

2007-12-28T08:55:00.001+09:00

A history of mutual trust talks about the accuracy of the product.

Sorry Kirin - your slogan doesn't keep it's meaning when translated into English.

This strawberry milk is made from the milk of Japan's esteemed Koiwai breed of cattle. For more information check out my review of Kirin's Koiwai Milk and Coffee.
The strawberry drink drink can best be described as a liquid form of any Japanese strawberry candy. Japanese strawberry flavor is different from non-Japanese strawberry artificial flavor. In other words - don't be thinking Strawberry Mentos - be thinking strawberry mushroom caps. Be thinking the goo inside of this or this.

Happy new year's guys! Sorry we currently don't have the man power at the moment to respond to any of your questions and comments.

Taste (6)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (5)

Video Review #2 [Calpis | Calpico Concentrate]

2007-12-15T07:37:00.003+09:00

Taste (9)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (8)

Snakku Video Review [??? | Precussion Instrument Club]

2007-12-11T08:02:00.001+09:00

This is the first of hopefully many video reviews to come. Please leave comments and suggestions.

Taste (2)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (3)

Burendo [DyDo | DyDo Blend Coffee]

2007-12-05T14:53:00.000+09:00

I know asianbev has been planning to do a round up of coffee reviews so expect a lot more coffee this month.

Here is another neat little coffee can from Japan. It contains 190ml of DyDo Blend Coffee. It has a dash of milk and sugar added, and overall was quite a pleasant coffee tasting experience. It could have been a bit stronger, but overall for the great invention of coffee-in-a-can you can't get past these ones, although I don't see BOSS coffee ever being topped in my experience.

Taste (6)

Weirdness (3)

Satisfaction (6.5)

choc full of goodness [Meiji | HELLO PANDA]

2007-12-05T14:48:00.000+09:00

Occassionally we like to do the snakku review here just for something to go with those tasty tasty bevos that you've been enjoying all this time.

Here's an example of why I think some Japanese snacks have got it right. I like to have a bit of crunch with my choc experience and these snacks provide that in the form of little biscuity pouches filled with either chocolate or girly pink filling.

The choco one are great and go down a treat. The girly pink filling ones taste like girly pink stuff... and well that's fine but I can't really explain the flavour beyond that. I guess they've mastered the taste of girliness in Japan because that's what the pink ones taste like.

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (6.5)

Boteru [Sangaria | Ramu Bottle]

2007-12-05T14:36:00.000+09:00

This is the exact same drink as reviewed by asianbev before under the name Ramune. I can only assume that the flavours are identical and it's only the packaging that differs as I've not tried the glass bottle with a marble version which looks like much more fun.

However when you crack open this version of the drink in aluminium can, I too was soaked in effervescent spray. I hadn't shaken the bottle and it had been in the fridge for atleast 24 hours, so I guess they must have designed that feature intentionally.

It's a tasty drink, but as asianbev points out it's quite similar to an ordinarly canned lemonade. The only difference that I would point out between this and Sprite is that this drink has a sort of bubblegum flavour. By the way, just a heads up, that dude in the youtube video on asianbev's review of this drink is not asianbev, dunno who it is.

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (6) for getting soaked

Satisfaction (6.5)

Melon [Sangaria | Syuwasyuwa メロン]

2007-12-02T16:46:00.000+09:00

This drink is a direct relative of Sangaria's Grape Drink which I reviewed earlier. It has the same light carbonation and is presented in an aluminium bottle. It is equally as refreshing as the grape version, but the melon version is not as sweet, it's more subtle, but the melon flavour is definitely there and enjoyable. Slightly candied taste, but definitely melon.

The drink is large by J-land standards which usually come in small 175-180ml cans, this one weighing in at about 500ml (says 500g on the bottle).

I believe the melon to be rockmelon judging from the image on the bottle, but it could be another melon. The website for this drink is shared with it's grape cousin and so far I have not found any english info on the drinks.

I've not had a bottled/canned melon drink before, and as far as they go I'd say this one's a winner.

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (5.5) wtf does Syuwasyuwa mean?

Satisfaction (6.5)

Chocpack [Meiji | Assorted Choc Snacks]

2007-12-02T07:59:00.000+09:00

This collection of 5 varieties of mini chocolate snacks look pretty cool, you get 5 little packs with 5 types of different choco-snacks in them made by Meiji. The first one I opened was called "marble" and basically had m&ms in it (or smarties depending on what your reference point is). The second one was called "Choco Baby", chocolate bullets, basically mini chunks of chocolate in a spherical shape, next was "Coffee Beat", coffee/chocolate flavoured crunchy coffee beans, mmm, tasty. Then there was "Heart", the box is decorated like a deck of cards with an ace of hearts on the outside, these were the same as the first ones, m&m style candies these were more fruity in taste. Finally there was "Aporo" which comes in a 10 of diamonds box, and contains little cone shaped choclates which are half dark choc and half pink strawberry choc.

All in all a tasty MINI collection, each box is about the size of a matchbox, so it's not exactly filling which is good, coz you wouldn't want to go overboard with these things.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (3.5)

Satisfaction (6.5)

[King Car | Mr. Brown Iced Coffee - Cappucino]

2007-12-01T11:32:00.001+09:00

King Car manufactures the popular Taiwanese brand of iced coffee known as Mr. Brown (occasionally rebranded as Hello Boss.) The name and graphics of this brand of coffee (as well as other Asian brands including Mr. Bond) are all very similar and most likey an attempt to ride the success wave of Suntory's Boss brand.

There is a quote written on the can in English:

You may occasionally find tiny milk flakes appearing, quality is no problem.

This coffee is nothing special. It is too watery for my tastes and more typical of an American iced coffee in that respect. In it's "distinguished gentleman" style, however, it is Asian all the way.

Taste (5)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (4)

[??? | Herbal Tea]

2007-12-01T11:04:00.001+09:00

This herbal tea produced by an unknown company tastes very similar to Vedan's herbal tea. It's very potent and minty + slightly sweet. It's impossible for me to say which variety of herbal tea this is, but whichever it is, it's a very good variety of tea that I have yet to find made by a non-Asian manufacturer.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (7)

Clone [JT | Miss Parlor 「桃の天然水」]

2007-11-30T14:24:00.001+09:00

This drink is either identical to LOTTE's 2% that I reviewed earlier, or then it's so similar that I would have to have them sitting next to each other to taste the diffrence.

They're both peach perfumed waters, or water with a very light peach flavour. Miss Parlor is tasty drink and if I was to pick out any difference between it and 2%, then perhaps this one was a little bit more candy like in taste. Otherwise it was quite refreshing and satsiftying.

It is manufactured in Japan by JT under the branding "Miss Parlor". The latter is a dedicated interactive flash site to the branding obviously aimed at kids or freaks.

The Japanese text at the top translates to "Peach Natural Water", enjoy.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (6.5) for the website

Satisfaction (7.5)

Tea? [LOTTE | 녹차]

2007-11-27T12:55:00.000+09:00

Not sure about this one... it was a bit of a gamble when I picked it out of the fridge at the local Korean/Japanese grocery ... I guess it's some kind of green tea, but it's different from other green teas I've had before.

Produced by Lotte Chilsung, their website had the following to say about the drink, "Chaoolin Green Tea contains non-fermented ingredients and is the closest to a natural, fresh-tasting beverage that one can get." Maybe the lack of fermentation explains the taste difference? I'm ready to concede that other green teas I've had may not have been up to scratch, so this review will have to remain somewhat ambiguous.

In any case, green tea is green tea, it can be a refreshing drink and the antioxidants will always be good for you. In this case I was taking a risk as I've mentioned before I'm not really a big fan of green tea, so my reviews of green tea will generally be a bit biased. Don't get me wrong though, add a bit of lemon'n'honey or make it an icecream and I'm all over it.

Taste (5.5)

Weirdness (2.5)

Satisfaction (5)

Gureepu [Sangaria | シュワシュワグレープ]

2007-11-27T11:24:00.000+09:00

I previously reviewed a green grape bevo, which is personally my favourite kinda grape, but here we have a purple/red grape drink manufactured by Sangaria of Japan.

It's quite a sweet bevo, and lightly carbonated. I think it's actually the first carbonated drink that I've reviewed so far, and to be honest I think it would have been better without the carbonation. Easily solved after shaking it vigorously and letting out the CO2..

The drink is presented in an aluminium bottle, I think these things are cool, as they seem to keep the drink very cold, like a standard canned drink.

The flavour is very bubblegum like and doesn't necessarily taste like grape juice, although using the bubblegum analogy you will get there.

I think this drink will probably have to take a second sitting as the taste is just somewhat ambiguous, not sure whether I really like it or not yet.

Taste (6.5)

Weirdness (3)

Satisfaction (7)

[Chin Chin | Assam Milk Tea]

2007-11-27T09:17:00.001+09:00

This is the second drink bottled by Chin Chin I have tried. Previously I reviewed their Grass Jelly drink. Chin Chin is a division of King Lucky - a Taiwanese company that makes many varieties of drinks and soups.

This is also my second Assam Tea review. The first can be read here. The bottles are similarly shaped and colored and both feature on-can graphics that are at least vaguely Middle Eastern-themed. Maybe they're both the same drink bottled by Chin Chin.

It's hard to remember exactly what the previous can of Assam milk tea I drank tasted like, but if there is a difference, the one I am reviewing now may be a little more potent. This Assam Milk Tea has strong natural chocolate and wood flavors subtled by a minute amount of milk. The can features the silhouettes of two women dancing in front of the Taj Mahal.

Taste (6)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (5)

[Kirin | Koiwai Brand Milk and Coffee]

2007-11-26T10:03:00.001+09:00

Kirin makes many varieties of coffees and teas. This particular strong blend of coffee was mixed with milk from Kowai cows, genetically pure cows whose lineage can be traced back over 100 years. The taste is good, smooth, and rich. The caffeine buzz was greater than what I had hoped, and there was nothing truly special about this milk coffee that separated it from the herd, but all in all it's a solid product.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (6)

[Calpis | Calpico Flavors]

2007-11-26T09:55:00.001+09:00

Original flavored Calpico Water has been previously reviewed. I recently tried both the Strawberry and Mango varieties. They also feature Hello Kitty predominately on the bottles, but instead of holding a bottle of milk as on the original, the Kitty holds a strawberry on the strawberry flavored. Instead of holding a Mango on the mango bottle, for some reason, she is surfing. Each flavor contains 1% fruit juice and taste just like I expected. While the original flavor is too good to beat, it was nice to mix it up by trying these varieties.

Taste (8)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (7)

Great Taste! [Vitali Love | Lactic Drink]

2007-11-25T14:54:00.001+09:00

This is a really nice tasting drink! It has a really unique flavour and is unlike anything else I have reviewed before. It's flavour is hard to describe and is not helped by the fact that the bottle has no English text on it.

It's kinda milky, sweet, fruity, musky, amino-like, lactic... and has this pleasant after taste which is best described as a fruity, musky taste.

The same drink has been previously reviewed by asianbev under the name VitaLove, I tend to agree with his observations, but I think I like it even more!

Taste (8.5)

Weirdness (4.5)

Satisfaction (9)

Kuu [Qoo | Orange Juice]

2007-11-25T14:46:00.000+09:00

Whilst orange juice isn't that weird or necessarily exciting, I'm a fan of Qoo, maybe it's just the name or the cute characters on the bottles, but it does also taste good. It's not just run of the mill ordinary juice, it's tangy and sweet but not too sweet, it's very refreshing and has extra Vitamin C, B Complex and Calcium.

This particular one is bottled in Hong Kong by Swire Coca-Cola HK Ltd., and the url is www.quu.com.hk.

It's a fairly simple beverage, but refreshing on a hot day when you need a injection of C.

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (6) Cute character

Satisfaction (8.5)

[Assi Brand | Sac Sac Orange]

2007-11-24T15:04:00.001+09:00

Korea's Assi Brand Sac Sac Orange tastes surprisingly good for orange juice in a can. Typically the only orange juices I can bear to palate are the fresh, not from concentrate varieties in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.

Disappointingly, this has massive chunks of oranges throughout it taking pulp orange juice to a new level. I'm a smooth orange juice man. Once I had finished the majority of liquid, I found a vast quantity of pulp had settled to the bottom that I could not finish.

This has not been our first encounter with sac beverages at Dorinku. I'm still not sure what they mean by Sac, and I certainly don't know what they mean by Sac Sac. Next time I'll try Sac Sac Sac, and maybe then the mystery will be solved.

Taste (6)

Weirdness (5 sacs)

Satisfaction (5)

Update: Assi Brand is a rebranding of some Lotte products for the US. This is Lotte Orange Sac Sac.

This description was taken from the Lotte website about the product:

The most attractive item, being exported to worldwide beverage market. Orange/Grape/Coconut jelly/Pineapple sac is filled in this item, you can drink juice with real fruit. It has a unique taste of chewing full sacs. Unlike many overly sweetened fruit juices, SacSac juice quenches your thirst and leaves you satisfied. Enjoy fun of breaking the kernel of fruit in your mouth.

[Sangaria | Ramune]

2007-11-24T14:11:00.005+09:00

This is one of the most popular drinks in Japan. For that reason, it should be reviewed sooner rather than later. The most interesting part of this beverage is the aesthetic of the bottle. The shape and design is known as the Codd-neck. It functions by a device inside of the cap that forces a marble down into the bottle. Once popular throughout the world, the method of "Codd-necking" is now only utilized by Ramune and a lemon-flavored Indian drink called Banta (no plans to review products from the Indian subcontinent at this time).

The bottle of Ramune that I am reviewing features a very cute drawing of a whale, but, even though fish, shrimp, and seaweed drinks can be found in Japan, fear not. Ramune is not seafood flavored. Basically, it's Sprite - just a clear, sweet, carbonated soda beverage.

While I've purchased original-flavored Ramune several times because of the novelty of the bottle, I've never been particularly impressed by it's generic flavor. There are many other flavors to try, however, including: lemon-lime, pineapple, raspberry, kiwifruit, melon, strawberry, orange, lychee, Blue Hawaii, and peach.

While the act of forcing the marble into the bottle to start the fizz reaction can be a fun activity and something that you can show off to your friends and family who have never seen this kind of bottle before, it can be annoying at times to drink a bottle of Ramune; depending on the angle you hold the bottle as you drink, the marble can block the flow of liquid to your mouth.

Taste (4)

Weirdness (6)

Satisfaction (4)

50th Post - dorinku.com launched!

2007-11-22T23:51:00.000+09:00

To celebrate our 50th! post we're launching a dedicated url just for our site...

dorinku.com

...is the place to point your browsers at from now on.

Thanks for reading and just remember, "The feeling of wood in milk is drinking tea..".

Tea for 2? [KIRIN | Milk Tea]

2007-11-22T23:47:00.000+09:00

This was an enjoyable milk tea beverage, it was refreshing and mellow and didn't taste artificial or cludgy like other milk teas. It tasted like milk tea should taste.

The drink is manufactured by Kirin, and the bottle contains quite a large amount of tea (500ml), and my only complaint if any would be that it was hard to drink more than half in a sitting which could be inconvenient if you're on the go and don't want to carry a half bottle of tea around. However in my case, I was greatful for that extra half when I woke up with a hangover this morning.

The tea flavour is quite mild, and it might have been better if it was a stronger brew, also the amount milk seemed inadequate creating a slightly watery taste. Overall though, if you're looking for a milk tea this is the best I've had so far. There's a review of another milk tea by asianbev, have a look for an alternative take on milk teas.

Taste (6.5)

Weirdness (2)

Satisfaction (7)

Update: The feeling of wood in milk is drinking tea..

Sports? [POCARI SWEAT | Ion Supply Drink]

2007-11-22T22:22:00.003+09:00

It's gonna be a bit hard to give this drink a full review as I drank it last night after getting home from a big night out, and my memory from that point isn't great.

I've had Pocari Sweat before a few times and it's quite a pleasant drink. It's somewhat akin to sports drinks such as gatorade or similar and I would best describe it's flavour as mild grapefruit without the real bitterness. You could also say that it's a but lemony, but not like lemonade, and again it's only a mild resemblance to lemon.

The drink is manufactured by a Japanese company called Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd however the bottle pictured here is the South Korean version which references a Korean website. The choice of the name is quite intersting and whilst it may not be that appealing to westerners it certainly is targeting the right audience, ie. people who sweat. According to Wikipedia, the word Pocari translates to, "like a cloud floating in the sky" and means something like lightness or buoyancy.

It's most closely related to the drink Calpis reviewed earlier by asianbev although it's not milky like Calpis/Calpico.

As a sports drink it's got the right stuff in it to replenish the lost nutrients in your sweat and the flavour is quite enjoyable. It's not the sort of drink I would have regulalry, but definitely if I've been exercising it's appeal increases.

Taste (6.5)

Weirdness (6) for the name

Satisfaction (7.5)

Chunks [POKKA | aloe v - blueberry juice]

2007-11-22T22:05:00.002+09:00

Light on the blueberrys, but high on the chunks this drink was refreshing but could have been a bit tastier.

Manufactured by Pokka, this juice is a flavoured aloe vera, supposedly blueberry flavour, however without the text on the can you'd think it was grape. Accordingly the ingredients listed on the can are 3.3% blueberry juice, 1.5% grape juice and 17% aloe vera juice and pulp bits.

This drink seems to have been designed with an overseas market in mind as it's one of the few cans that has almost entirely western text on. One side is English and the other Spanish, with ingredients listed in English, Spanish, French and Hungarian?

The chunks are nice and give you something to strain out with your teeth and chew after you swallow the juice.

Overall it's refreshing crisp style was worthwhile, but it's flavour was a bit watery.

Taste (6)

Weirdness (2.5)

Satisfaction (6.5)

Mmmm... [CROWN | Choco Heim]

2007-11-22T21:42:00.000+09:00

Now these are tasty tasty treats! I really enjoy having chocolate when there's something crunchy like wafers with it, and this is exactly the right combination. Wafer 'sticks' with soft hazelnut and milk chocolate in the centre.

I've gone through a few boxes of these in my day, and it's a snack that I'll keep going back to. The crisp wafers on the outside are very crunchy yet light enough so that they don't cover the taste of the chocolate within. The only negative about these snacks is that the boxes only contain 5 individually wrapped Heims, which is never enough!

"Being Loved long Crown Heim" - Manufactured in South Korea by Crown.

Taste (8.5)

Weirdness (4.5)

Satisfaction (8)

only 500.. [KWANG DONG | Vita500]

2007-11-22T21:25:00.000+09:00

Not sure what to say about this, they say good things come in small packages, but this 100ml brown bottle of C didn't quite do it for me, although again I was greatful for any fluids this morning to nurse the hangover. It doesn't actually say what the 500 refers to although I assume it means 500mg of C, which isn't a great deal imho. It says on the label that it represents 0.50% of the "Daily Value". I have chewable vitamin C tablets that are 250mg a pop and I don't think that is really a lot.

The flavour was unusual in that it didn't taste like orange or anything that springs to mind or is associated with vitamin C. It was sweet and slightly syrupy, but the taste wasn't great, sort of like a mild version of a bad cough medicine, and drinking it out of brown bottle helps to give you the illusion that that's exactly what it is.

Although my body was probably greatful for the C, this is not a drink I will be getting again any time soon... asianbev has reviewed other C drinks which are probably much better, buy those instead!

Taste (3)

Weirdness (6)

Satisfaction (1)

More chunks [JIN JIN | Lychee Coconut Jelly]

2007-11-22T10:25:00.000+09:00

Yes, I love lychees, and lychee jellys with coconut chunks are no exception.

These mini tubs of lychee jelly are quite tasty, but I've had better. This particular brand sports the addition of little chunks of coconut embedded in the jelly, which quite fankly - works .. It gives you something a little bit more chewy to contend with as you slurp the jelly down. There's only one left in the packet there... damn they go quick!

Taste (8)

Weirdness (2)

Satisfaction (6)

[Calpis | Calpico]

2007-11-21T14:46:00.001+09:00

This is one of the most popular drinks in Japan (along with Ramune Soda.) In it's native country it is called Calpis Water, but in the English-speaking world, it is known as Calpico (because Calpis sounds too much like "Cow Piss".) The name Calpis means Calcium (cal) good taste (pis).

Quotes on the bottle include:

original flavor
refreshingly sweet and tangy
non-carbonated soft drink
tastes like nothing else in the world. refreshing and light, sweet and tangy flavors
Hello Kitty -- (this is a special edition kind of like Santa on cans of Coke at Christmas time

This is a very sweet water with a very light milky taste. If you're not a milk fan, don't let this deter you, because it's incredibly subtle, and you might be surprised. I'm not blown away by amazing flavor, but this is something I could drink most days because of it's subtle refreshingness.

Taste (8)

Weirdness (4)

Satisfaction (9)

More Lychees [TAO TI | LYCHEE WATER]

2007-11-20T13:34:00.001+09:00

Aah lychee... the fact that they import these things to Australia makes me truly greatful! Lychee is probably a fruit that would automatically get high satisfaction ratings from me, and this drink is no exception.

It's a bit milder than the straight lychee juice I reviewed earlier, and accordingly it's labelled as a lychee water. The mildness has it's advantages, as it makes the drink smoother and easier to consume.

Lychees in general have such a unique taste, and drinking a beverage like this really reminds of their unique nature. The flavour is somewhat reminiscent of a fragrance, the kind you would expect to smell on a bunch of sweet scented flowers, yet you can drink it down.

"Looking for something different, something exotic? Pampers your desires. Opens you up to a brave new world of sensuousness."

I don't know who wrote that, but a "brave new world" based on a single beverage might be taking it a little too far, but who am I to disagree?

The drink is produced by a company called Telford International under the brand name Tao Ti , which distribute from Hong Kong.

Taste (9)

Weirdness (3)

Satisfaction (9.5)

2,500 mg Vitamin C [Pine | Fruit Rings]

2007-11-20T11:22:00.000+09:00

The Lemon 1000 makes a nice compliment to Fruit Rings brought to us from a Japanese company called Pine. The Fruit Rings contain individually wrapped Life Savers filled with Pop Rocks all through them making for a nice 2 in 1 candy experience. The Pop Rocks explode whenever you suck the Life Saver down in size to the points in the candy structure which they reside. The 2 flavors you're forced into getting in each sack are the awesome lemon and the not so hot green apple (shouldn't this flavor have died out with the 80s.) The bag of around 24 Fruit Rings contains 2,500 mg of Vitamin C - 45 times more than a human being can absorb in a day's time.

Taste (7)

Weirdness (6)

Satisfaction (5)

1,000 mg Vitamin C [Pokka | Lemon 1000]

2007-11-20T11:03:00.000+09:00

Japan is a culture obsessed with indicating the amount of Vitamin C contained in a product on the packaging. In the case of Pokka's Lemon 1000, it's 1000 milligrams - about 15 times more than your body is capable of absorbing and using a day. Thanks.

It doesn't taste too bad, but it's a lot more simple than I was hoping for. It basically amounts to a heap of lemon juice squirted into
water. There's enough lemon that you can't call it lemon water, but there's enough water that you couldn't call it lemon juice. Both flavors exist in a nice harmony. I wish that there was more sugar to sweeten it up like lemon flavored candy. As it is now, it's a bit much on the sour side.

Taste (5)

Weirdness (3)

Satisfaction (4)

[Taste Nirvana | Thai Coffee]

2007-11-20T05:51:00.000+09:00

Crap.

Part of me wishes I could stop my review at that, but I will trudge on. This is my second and perhaps final stab at a Taste Nirvana Thai drink product. Much like the Creamy Thai Tea, the Thai Coffee has a decent taste but a miserable artificial aftertaste almost certainly caused by it's dairy substitutes and preservatives. The flavor of the coffee is crisp yet rich. I think Thai coffee has the potential to be excellent, but Taste Nirvana fails to provide it in bottle format. My biggest gripe is that it is full of floating white chunks of dairy/sugar/preservatives. They have the consistency of wax and there's nothing that can be done to avoid them. In other words, even if all you want is to drink some Thai Coffee, with this product you're going to be eating a mouthful of wax in the process. Taste Nirvana - thank you. Thank you for letting us all down again. On a continent of superior coffee, it doesn't make sense to go with one that barely makes the grade.

Taste (4)

Weirdness (2)

Satisfaction (2)

U R Sacked! [Haitai | ??? Bonbon]

2007-11-19T15:06:00.000+09:00

This stubby sized can is one I keep going back to. I haven't it had for a long while, but now I remember why I like it so much. If you've gone looking to buy grape juice, you'll probably have noticed that you can usually only buy red grape juice. In fact I've never seen white/green grape juice for sale in Australia, except for the above.

Now plain grape juice you might say, okay what's so good about it? Well, firstly, this ain't no ordinary plain grape juice. Second having made my own "grape juice" as a kid from white/green grapes that I squashed in my mouth, you'll understand that I have a thing for white/green grape juice.

The thing that makes this grape juice so special is the fact that there are actually whole peeled seedless grapes inside the can! Which are juicy and tasty and totally complement the drink. Each can contains at my reckoning just under a dozen grapes, more than enough to satisfy, although a word of caution, don't drink this on an empty stomach.According to the english version of the Haitai website, "Fruit Drink with Sac(Contains Fruit Sac)" .. and that's about all the information I could gather as there's no english on the can. However there is a handy importer's label which says, "Haitai Podo Bonbon" and "DO NOT RETAIL BY INDIVIDUAL CAN". I bought mine individually.

The grape sac with fruit sac drink sac, is a tasty and refreshing sac with sacs that you can individually sac into your mouth sac! If you don't want to be potentially put off this drink, don't click here.
Taste (8)

Weirdness (6.5 sacs)

Satisfaction (8)

Review 2 [Lotte | Let's Be Mild]

2007-11-19T09:47:00.000+09:00

See previous review of same product posted by dorkinu.

This chilled milk coffee beverage is cheaper and better than the Starbuck's Frappuccino that they sell everywhere in the glass bottles even though it is imported.

I'm beginning to realize that Lotteness is next to Godliness. It's mild coffee flavor is both crisp and refreshing. Coffee doesn't always have to be an event. With Let's Be Mild, it can be a quick fix.

If you're a Starbucks-head, you will probably doubt me thinking I'm an Asia bevo freak. After all, you have this site to back up your claim. In a last ditch support of my case, I present you with a quote from the bottle:

Ultimately tasting is comparing.

Lotte is a major company with many products beyond just drinks. To find the product page for this product would be nearly impossible, but if you have faith in your Korean, I dare you to try. In fact, if you find it, I will presonally mail you a hand-written thank you card.

Here's a little Lotte trival for you: The name of the company comes from a character in a German novel.

Taste (8)

Weirdness (4) (for the name)

Satisfaction (8)

コーヒー買える? [Suntory | BOSS COFFEE - Super Blend]

2007-11-19T09:37:00.000+09:00

This is probably my favourite brand of coffee in can. Super Blend is a great coffee, full strength black with just a touch of sugar. Although I do prefer a dash of milk too, (I'll hopefully track down a BOSS Cafe au Lait at some point to review).

In the meantime, sit back kick up your feet and enjoy a soothing koohii (coffee) experience. This mighty little can delivers the caffeine hit you desperately require, there's no messing about. The coffee is full flavoured and rich and is probably about as good as coffee gets straight from a can.

The can features a prominent logo of a refined gentlemen smoking a pipe, the look in his eyes is that of a man who's taken charge of his life and succeeded, the Boss. He's done the hard yards and deserves his Super Blend coffee.

As asianbev mentioned before, coffee wars in j-land are as fierce as cola wars in the US and elsewhere, so it's good to know which one to get. BOSS coffee is brewed by Suntory of Japan who have a reputation for quality liquor as well. You may have spotted Bill Murray doing a stint for Suntory in the film "Lost in Translation". There's a clip over at dorinkuTV, hover over the video player and select it from the playlist scrolling at the bottom, there's also a BOSS Coffee TV Ad for your enjoyment.

Suntory offer a range of different coffees and I hope to take a look at some of the others in the future.

http://www.suntoryboss.com/

Taste (9)

Weirdness (2)

Satisfaction (9)

Perfume Water [LOTTE | 2% - Peach]

2007-11-18T17:25:00.000+09:00

2% flavour is probably what they're talking about, and at first glance that might sound like not much. But the subtle flavours and aroma of this product are quite exceptional.

It's more or less a perfumed water and would most likely appeal to the feminine variety of humans. However, it's a highly refreshing beverage, and the mild peach flavour is very tasty. I also like the design of the bottle, it's quite uplifting.

It's not the sort of drink you would probably have a great deal of, but for a special treat for a girl on a hot day, this is it. So go on, spoil yourself with 2% goodness.

Here's what the folks over at LOTTE have to say about it:

"For consumers being fed up with pure water, fruit juice and aroma are added to pure water. The item name 2% means that lack of 2% water in body makes people feel thirsty, which have to be quenched by the 2% near water. 2% is the main brand in near water market sharing over 90% in Korea.This kind of near water is also very popular in Japan and Korea, needless to say U.S.A." YOW!!

"LOTTE - More than Life"

Taste (6.5)

Weirdness (2%)

Satisfaction (8)

[Lotte | Orange Milkis]

2007-11-18T07:54:00.000+09:00

This is the orange flavored Milkis. I have reviewed the original flavor in a previous post. I was able to find this flavor in a 6-pack at the local Lotte Market.

The immediate taste of the orange flavor is sweet and is reminiscent of a Creamsicle. It's light carbonation, well, for lack of a better phrase, is really good! My only serious issue is at the end of each can - the last few sips are full of gross gooey clumps. I really don't know how this is excusable. Can you imagine keeping yourself calm and collected if your last few sips of Pepsi were full of gross gooey clumps?

Taste (9)

Weirdness (3)

Satisfaction (7)

[Pokka | Milk Coffee]

2007-11-18T07:31:00.000+09:00

Pokka Milk Coffee

Japanese canned coffee sales is a market as fierce an competitive as cola sales in the US. Pokka is one of the front runners. I've always liked Japanese milk coffee (as milk teat). I was draw to this particular can for its graphic. The background features 10 young professional people - possibly prep school or young college students. The head of an 11th figure is displayed predominately in the foreground with a tilted head and smile of cocky confidence. Does this mean he's had is "Real brewed" Pokka milk tea and ready to make the most of his day-to-day lifestyle? I'll go to their product website and see if I can find out anything else. No - all I was able to verify was the can I was drinking is the kind they sell in Japan and not the kind manufactured for import sales. As far as its taste - it tastes just like you'd imagine.

Taste (6)
Weirdness (2)

[??? | Assam Milk Tea]

2007-11-18T07:29:00.001+09:00

The only English on this can is:

Assam Milk Tea
Expiry Date: Two Years

Other than that, I only have the graphic to go off of: Two guys with big black beards, Greek togas, and winter caps pedal bicycles with giant front wheels toward a windmill.

Its a pretty tasty strong black tea mellowed by milk and a subtle rice flavor.

Taste (6)
Weirdness (4)

[??? | VitaLove]

2007-11-18T07:27:00.002+09:00

At the store there was a sign by this drink that said "VitaLove." It is a solid white liquid in a white bottle with a drawing of a girl with crazy hair.

It tastes exactly like extra sugary melted vanilia ice cream.

Taste (7)
Weirdness (5)

[??? | Green Tea]

2007-11-18T07:26:00.002+09:00

This is just green tea in a crazy bottle. The bottle is a non-stop party. An excited girl dares you to try the drink on the front as you can see in the picture. What I did not picture is the back of the bottle where the number "4999" is printed and there is a drawing of a CD with a signature written across it. This is not a premium green tea by any means. Even manufacturers in the states occasionally do it better than this. It is heaps and bounds better than Lipton, Nestea, and Snapple, however; and mixed with a little of the Honey and Ginseng drink reviewed above, it becomes something really special.

Taste (5)
Weirdness (3)

[Cadbury-Schweppes | Lemon Lime Solo]

2007-11-18T07:25:00.001+09:00

Now onto something a little more familiar. Solo is the most popular soda beverage in Australia after Coke and Pepsi. It is made by Cadbury-Schweppes and in some ways, you could say it is the Mountain Dew of Australia. The Lemon-Lime flavor is pictured, but the plain lemon flavor is far more popular. I guess you could say its carbonated Lemonade.

Cultural conflict: What Americans call Lemonade is the same thing that the Australians call lemon drink. What the Australians call Lemonade is what an American would call water with lemon.

Taste (5)
Weirdness (1)

[Kirin | Lemon Ice]

2007-11-18T07:24:00.001+09:00

Kirin is a Japanese beverage company most known for its popular beer. I sampled their soft drink called Lemon Ice. It was very light; its tea and lemon flavors were both very modest. It was most similar to Vitamin Water in the US (or Nutrient Water as it is known in Australia.) This however is slightly more potent than the flavored waters, tastes better, and therefore should not be classified as such.

Taste (6)
Weirdness (3)

[Sangaria | Miracle Body V]

2007-11-18T07:19:00.001+09:00

Miracle Body V tastes exactly like Red Bull, so its got to be an energy drink with similar ingredients.
This product is manufactured by Sangaria, the Japanese company that also makes the popular Ramune (Sprite/Skittles-tasting drink with a glass marble).

Taste (4)
Weirdness (3)

Yakult

2007-11-18T07:15:00.000+09:00

Yakult is very popular here. There are commercials on television that praise it as one of the healthiest things there can be for you. Each tiny (shot-sized) bottle reads, "The Healthy Family Drink." It tastes like exactly what it is - milk that is being forced to change into yogurt by the addition of bacteria strains.

Taste (5)
Weirdness (3)

Nah [POKKA | green tea - sweet jasmine]

2007-11-17T17:01:00.001+09:00

You'd be forgiven for thinking that I've already reviewed this drink. It's a very close cousin of Pokka's green tea - honey & lemon that I looked at earlier which are both relatives of Pokka's Blueberry Tea.

Unfortunately, unlike the honey and lemon, this one failed to satisfy. I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of green tea, and the addition of jasmine in this case made it worse. It has a weird chemically after taste that is unpleasant and should be reserved for medicines only.

Although it lacked any real appeal to me in terms of taste, it was refreshing. If you're looking for a green tea with additional flavour I'd go for the honey & lemon version.

Taste (3.5)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (1.5)

Big Gun [Woongjin | Morning Rice]

2007-11-17T14:07:00.000+09:00

This giant 1.5l bottle of goodness was well worth the investment. It has hints of wood, cardboard and nuts in its flavour, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's just another wood flavoured drink.

It's milky, slightly sweet and I guess once you get past the cardboard or wood flavour, it would be best described as a rich walnutty flavour.

Again, there is not a great deal of english text on the bottle's label other than WOONGJIN and wjfood.co.kr. However there is an importer's sticker placed over part of the label describing the drink as: "MORNING RICE".

So with only that information to go on I shall endeavour to find out more.

Okay, so Woongjin Foods has an English site for Morning Rice. According to the website the ingredients are, "rice 43%, brown rice 30%". Okay, cool, but that still leaves 27% of something else... Referring back to the importer's sticker, it seems like that 27% is made up of various addatives including VITAMIN(300), probably vitamin riCe. The website claims a patented roasting and refinement process for the rice.

I'm impressed that it's possible to make such a tasty beverage with only rice and brown rice. It really does have a nutty flavour and although I tend to feel a bit queezy after a lot of it, I'm able to down most of the large bottle pretty quickly as you can see from the picture, it's almost all gone and I haven't even finished the review yet.

"The liquid is not sweet, thus not satiating. It has a soft and stimulating flavor." - Agreed.

There's nothing like a bit of liquid rice in the morning!

Taste (8.5)

Weirdness (5)

Satisfaction (7.5)

Update: "Feel Woongjin Foods through the pictures of products..." - I'm in love.

[Taste Nirvana | Creamy Thai Tea]

2007-11-16T13:47:00.001+09:00

Taste Nirvana makes several bold claims on its bottle:

A uniquely full-bodied and Rich Tea
Pure flavor enlightenment
Happiness in a bottle

This product claims to be a product of Thailand, but it turns out that this is an American from Thailand bottling this and other similar beverages out of California. They go to such great lengths to disguise this fact, that I myself am still confused. Look at this map.

I have loved Thai Tea for a long time. While I still enjoy the flavor that comes from the bottle, nothing can beat Thai tea made fresh at a Thai restaurant. Something in the preservatives used to keep the milk/cream from spoiling and allowing years of shelf-life fundamentally destroys the after taste. If you want a great dream with a little nightmare mixed in, go get this drink today. If you just want the good without any of the evil, order Thai tea from a Thai restaurant.

Taste (5)

Weirdness (2)

[Famous House | Papaya Juice]

2007-11-15T10:45:00.001+09:00

Asia is a continent of extremes. Depending on the drink you drink from there alone, you may think that Asia is like heaven on Earth or that it is as royally messed up as your brain will allow you to comprehend.

I was immediately attracted to Famous House Papaya Juice because of its green and white cow in the middle of a circle on a bright orange can. Other than that, there's no other English on the can.

Famous House is a Taiwanese company. They also sell this beverage in a smaller can with a slightly different name and design.

The liquid poured out a milky orange. This is contrary to the "juice" it promised, however it does account for the oddity of the cow on the can.

The taste? Fake milk combined with fake fruit. Would this complement a dish of beef bulgogi? Sure, what wouldn't? Would I go out of my way to find a can of Famous House's Tropical Milk Juice? No of course not. Asia is a big slab of land, and we still have much work ahead of us.

Taste (5)

Weirdness (7)

Sweet! Mate [??? | ???]

2007-11-12T22:56:00.001+09:00

Now that is a seriously sweet drink! Although I don't really have a clue what the fruit is, it tastes kinda like a combination of green apple and unripened mango, but I'm not sure it's either.

The picture on the can looks a bit like a green apple, but shaped more like a peach.

There's no obvious english on the can, but after closer inspection the words "NEW & BEST" are written in almost illegibly small print on the back of the can below what looks like the logo.

Anyway, the flavour was very enjoyable and it was an extremely refreshing 180ml package.

Taste (9)

Weirdness (6.5)

Update: I found a small url embedded in another obscure spot on the can and after going through the site I found the product. The company is called HTB, or Haitai Beverage Corporation. The following is a google translation from their site, so that probably contributes to its classic nature but: "...Haitai Beverage (HK) is a leading product in Your love and faith, not to repay their loans in order to work." - Right. I'm still not sure what the fruit is but it does look like an unripe or green mango....(the image is linked from their site). [nah just joking, it's olive oil {not}];

Double Update: And don't ask how I figured this out, but the fruit is referred to as an Ume Plum, although it's apparently more closely related to an apricot, and yes it is green, originally from China. [Thanks Wikipedia!]

Beanz [LOTTE | Let's Be MILD]

2007-11-11T14:09:00.000+09:00

Ice cold milk coffee in a can. It's a great invention and this is one of the better ones. Let's be MILD is a pretty relaxing and full flavoured brew, great on a hot humid day and just strong enough to get a nice caffeine fix off it.

"Enjoy the rich flavour & aroma of carefully selected coffee beans. Indulge yourself with the soft taste!"

Thanks for carefully selecting those beans guys! I appreciate it.

Taste (7.5)

Weirdness (5.5) [for the name!]

[Chin Chin | Grass Jelly Drink]

2007-11-11T02:23:00.000+09:00

Where do I begin?

Grass Jelly is an Asian desert drink. The can depicts a wide glass full of a dark green/brown chunky liquid and three lychee berries beside it. I opened it and poured the liquid into a glass. It is a dark, cloudy brown with small particles floating within. It looks a lot like flat Coke. It tastes very sweet and minty. In fact, it is so sweet and minty it is difficult to determine any other tastes except perhaps a slight root beer taste. While it's nothing I'd be drawn to in the future, the experience was far less horrifying that I expected. The only other shock came when I went to refill my glass. The bottom 3rd of the can wasn't liquid but dark brown jelly. It wouldn't pour out of the can because it was too large for the mouth hole, but I could clearly see it.

Sorry about the darkness of the photos. There is a small chance they will be replaced with brighter ones one day.

Taste (5)

Weirdness (9)

Pomegranate [LOTTE | PUNICA GRANATUM]

2007-11-11T02:22:00.001+09:00

Okay, this one was a seriously unexpected taste sensation in a tiny can from Lotte. Good work guys!

I guess pomegranate isn't something I've had a lot of and this tasted really exotic to me, and totally delicious. Shame it's such a small can, cause it was all over in a matter of seconds.

I will be reinvesting in this one. If anyone can read what the name of the drink is, would appreciate the knowledge.

Taste (9)

Weirdness (5)

Update: Found the Korean TV ad for this beverage!

[Want Want | ???]

2007-11-11T02:16:00.001+09:00

This is a different flavor of a drink I previously reviewed. The only visual differences are that the can is red (as opposed to yellow) and the letters "DHA" appear in a pink circle on the red can.

As best as I can tell this is the "original" flavor and the yellow can is the "fruit" flavor. The red can tastes nowhere near as good as its cousin.

I would best describe it as dehydrated milk.

Taste (1)
Weirdness (8)

Seafood Packs

2007-11-11T02:14:00.001+09:00

This is a large bag of many smaller packs of flavored fish jerky. "Natural is Best" is written across the front of the outer bag. The ingredients are printed on an English label on the back of the sack, and I have written them below.

Ingredients: Sleeve-fish, Cod, Mintai Fish, Yellow Croaker, Chzong Fish, Sugar, Soy Sauce, Salt, Chili Powder, Sesame, Ginger Juice, Spices.

I started out by eating the lower-middle green pack in the picture. It was alright, I guess. It was small pieces of salty white fish jerky. The second pack I tried was disgusting. The top middle red in the picture - it was thick slices the size of sardines. They may have had a slathering of BBQ sauce too, but the most predominate flavor other than the fish were the giant sugar crystals. Fish is not a candy. This combination works as well as ice cream topped with wood chips. I then tried the yellow on the bottom row. Small light cubes with alternating rows of fish and sesame seeds. Absolutely terrible. I wish I had never made this purchase, and there's not much else I can say other than that I didn't try the 4 remaining varieties.

Taste (1)

Weirdness (8)

[Woongjin | Honey and Red Ginseng]

2007-11-11T02:11:00.002+09:00

Hey Sean! ... I mean everyone.
I'd like to quickly provide a series of mini-reviews as my back log is beginning to fill up. The first drink is Honey and Red Ginseng made by Korean manufacturer Woongjin. It is the second drink down on the left hand side in the link. Of this drink, the company says, "beverage made with carefully selected honey and six year-old steamed red ginseung."
- wow. I'll keep my eye out for some of their other drinks like Morning Rice, Ski Bori, Spring Scent, and You and C. Honey and Red Ginseng has a vivid gold color, a potent ginseng taste, and a light honey taste. Annie took a light sip and was revolted. While ginseng has a potent earthy taste and certainly won't be liked by all, I like it once in a while.

Taste (5)
Weirdness (3)

[Lotte | ???]

2007-11-11T02:02:00.001+09:00

It's impossible to say much about what this beverage may be from its bottle alone. The only English written on it is "Lotte" which is its Korean manufacturer. Otherwise, the 370 ml bottle consists of alternating purple and green flowers and some Korean writing. It's hard to say exactly what this tastes like. It even takes multiple sips to determine if its good or not. It turns out that it's not good. At first sniff, it smells somewhat like the remains of a campfire from the previous night. The first taste that I detected was wood. After many sips, this was the only flavor I could name, but I knew there was another familiar aftertaste much more subtle than the wood flavor. I now believe this to be tea. Annie tried it and at first described it as chocolate with no sugar and then also noted that it tasted like sesame seeds. There's a very distinct possibility that this may be Sesame Tea. Its good enough to eat, but I wouldn't drink it if I were you.

Taste (2)
Weirdness (7)

[??? | ???]

2007-11-11T02:01:00.003+09:00

The only English on this can is written very small on the side: "Let's Keep Our City Tidy," indicating it should be thrown away. Other than that, I don't have any other background. I made this purchase entirley based on the image on the can. In this case it paid off wonderfully. This white beverage tastes almost exactly like Fruit Loops in milk. (Annie confirmed this taste and added that it has a slightly more vanilla taste than Fruit Loops in milk.)

Taste (8)
Weirdness (8)

[Lotte | Milkis]

2007-11-11T02:01:00.001+09:00

Korea's Lotte hails Milkis as "A New Feeling of Soda Beverage." This is written twice on the lable - once below a drawing of a circus barker being carried off into space by a balloon, and once by what I presume to be a cross between an 1800's French maid and one of Santa's elves being lifted upward by the umbrella she carries. I have seen Milkis sold in bottles and cans of various sizes in Chinatown and Koreatown. It even comes in multiple flavors: orange, strawberry, mango, muskmelon, and classic. Its flavor immediately reminded me of Calpis Water from Japan (which I have no immediate plans to review any time soon). Milkis is a nearly opaque white color most similar to low-fat milk. It is very lightly carbonated - almost indistinguishably so. This alone gives this soda beverage a new feeling. The taste is a combination of Milk, Skittles, and Sprite. This may sound gross at first, but listen to my theory: The acidic properties of the traditional soda ingredients and the basic properties presented by the addition of milk work in conjunction to eliminate the problems of both, leaving only their positive qualities. Thus, Milkis is one of those gems... One of the reasons I conduct this search for all of us. When stranded in Asia, go for this safe bet. In other words, "yum."

Taste (8)
Weirdness(5)

[Vedan | Herbal Tea]

2007-11-11T02:00:00.001+09:00

Taiwanese Herbal Tea. This has a potent tea taste. It is moderately sweet with a subtle, cooling mint taste. It is manufactured by a company called Vedan.

Taste (7)
Weirdness (3)

[Bisleri | Chinotto]

2007-11-11T01:59:00.001+09:00

Bisleri Chinotto - This is an Italian Coke/Pepsi sold in Australia by this name. It was in the root/ginger beer section, so I expected something more along those lines. Unfortunately, the only flavor I could detect was dirt, so the remainder had to be dumped out and thrown away.

Taste (1)
Weirdness (2)

[??? | Rice Beverage]

2007-11-11T01:57:00.001+09:00

This is my first in a string of Asian Beverage reviews. This particular drink is Korean. It is 238 ml (approximately half a can of Coke).
The only thing written in English on the can is:

Nostalgia Drink, Shikhye
Since 1994

There is also a web site: www.yakult.co.kr
Yakult is a very popular Australian milk beverage which I will review at another time.

The color of the liquid contained in the can is clear. The first sip had strong rice and sugar/Skittles tastes. The experience was both interesting and enjoyable until I tasted a solid particle in my mouth. I spit it out; it was brown. I decided at that point I had enough and dumped out the very bottom into the sink. As the remaining liquid poured out, I noticed that there were around 200 grains of rice dispersed throughout it. I'm glad I didn't drink the rice.

honey? [POKKA | green tea - honey & lemon]

2007-11-10T03:02:00.000+09:00

This is one of the few drinks they sell at my local supermarket that is Japanese (brewed in Singapore). Whilst I'm not generally a huge fan of straight green tea, this one is pretty tasty and it's definitely the honey and lemon additions.

It leaves a weird after taste in your mouth and i feel a bit nauseous after drinking it, but i keep going back to it so there must be something good about it.

It's pretty easy to drink although I don't usually get through a whole bottle in one sitting. Overall pretty standard but tasty.

Taste (6.5)

Weirdness (4)

asianbev [SOMETHING BLU?]

2007-11-10T02:47:00.000+09:00

Hopefully we'll be welcoming asianbev to the fray here whose done some good work over at another blog which I hope will be integrated into this one...

Yokoso! asianbev

Taste (1.5)

Weirdness (9.8)

Blu-berry [POKKA Blueberry Tea]

2007-11-10T02:42:00.000+09:00

I'm a big fan of blueberries, but this was a let down. The blueberry flavour was so mild that the bottle could have had any label on it and I would have believed that that's what it was. Having said that it was still refreshing and actually an unusual flavour, unexpected, but again a bit watery so overall not that great.

Taste (4)

Weirdness (3)

Lycheese [FOCO LYCHEE DRINK]

2007-11-10T02:10:00.001+09:00

Okay, well let's get started with one of my all time favourite drinks, Lychee Juice. In fact let's start with a story about how we went to every convenience store in the city searching for Lychee Juice, which is usually imho one of the easiest drinks to find, but not this time.

So eventually it seemed like we found a place that had it, I say to the shop attendant, "do you sell Lychee juice?", and he takes me over to the dairy cabinet and shows me a package of cheese... and i'm like, na mate, Lychee, and he's like Light Cheese... and i'm like na, you are kidding mate, I don't want cheese.

Anyway to cut a long extremely exciting story short, we got lychee tea instead, it was okay. But this drink here on the left was goood stuff.

Taste (8.5)

Weirdness (2) +1 for "FOCO", never heard of it before. So just Foco f mate.

(also featured, the cheese. see below)

Yokoso! Dorinku

2007-11-10T01:23:00.005+09:00

Welcome! Drink

..please to enjoy burogu..

thank you, -dorinku

Winning Review

2007-09-18T02:24:00.001+09:00

Meito Japanese Soda Candy Mix (Product 1)

This is a bag with four flavors of individually wrapped hard candies. They are meant to be sucked on and have a very light fizz (much like an incredibly light pop-rock). To the right is a photo of the four flavors lined up under direct sunlight.

I will attempt to determine flavors by color:

Pink - Mixed Berry
Brown - Root Beer
Blue - Unknown
Green - Apple

I was able to find the site for the product. Good luck.

Taste (4)
Weirdness (5)

You Choose the Review

2007-09-13T02:14:00.000+09:00

While I will continue to regularly post drink reviews, I'd like you to please vote for which food review you would like me to do next by commenting your choice on this entry. The votes will be tallied and the winning review will be posted on Tuesday, September 18th. The choices are:

Product 1

Product 2

Product 3

Product 4

Product 5