[Kirin | Koiwai Brand Original Recipe Strawberry]

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)

Burendo [DyDo | DyDo Blend Coffee]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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」]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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!

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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)