Pepsi Raspberry Ripple Flavour (Ocado) By @Cinabar

We've been a bit spoilt for cola flavours this year. Every time I look, there seems to be another new variety of Pepsi to try. So far we've had Max Tropical, Salted Caramel, and Cherry & Vanilla, and now we have Pepsi Raspberry Ripple. As a cola fan, I'm absolutely loving it.

This new flavour is part of the ice cream range, and the bright pink can looks really cute with the ice cream design on the front.

I chilled the can before giving it a taste test. It had the usual fizzy kick, but the aroma was very sweet and fruity. I took a sip and this was a full-on raspberry ripple experience. It absolutely nailed that wonderful pink raspberry sauce you get on a 99 from the ice cream van (which always seems to cost a lot more than 99p these days!).

The sweet, fruity raspberry flavour is right at the front, with the cola taste coming through afterwards. It works surprisingly well, creating a refreshing drink that's perfect for summer. This is definitely one to enjoy over ice on a nice hot day.

Pepsi Cherry & Vanilla (Tesco) By @Cinabar

There was a mixed response on social media to the new summer flavour, Pepsi Salted Caramel. Personally, I liked it, but I do have a very high tolerance for anything aimed at those with a sweet tooth. The other new flavour released alongside it is this Pepsi Cherry & Vanilla, which feels like the safer option. Cola flavoured with either cherry or vanilla has been around for years, but this combines both together.

Again, the label features an ice cream motif, so naturally I’m thinking this would work brilliantly as a cola float. For the purpose of the blog though, I tried it on its own first. After a sip, I found it much milder than the Salted Caramel version. The cherry flavour is there, but gentler, allowing the cola to shine through before finishing with a smooth, creamy vanilla note.

This is an easy-going drink, slightly fruitier than standard cola with a pleasant creamy edge. It may only be a small twist on cherry cola, but I can’t deny that it works really well.

Salted Caramel Pepsi (Tesco) By @Cinabar

This new Salted Caramel Pepsi seems to be the soft drink flavour of the summer. There is a drawing of an ice cream cone on the label, although the flavour itself doesn’t actually mention ice cream. It certainly looks like the sort of drink designed for warm weather. This is also a zero sugar drink, just to warn anyone who isn’t keen on sweeteners.

When I opened the bottle the first aroma was very much caramel. Poured into a glass it was impressively fizzy too. The first flavour you get is caramel and it is an extremely sweet drink. Then the cola flavour arrives, along with the promised touch of salt, while the caramel lingers long afterwards. I have quite a sweet tooth so I rather enjoyed it, although I can imagine it might be a bit too much for some people.

As I’ve been drinking it I’ve also been wondering whether the ice cream cone on the front is a suggestion. Maybe this is supposed to be poured into a tall glass with a scoop of ice cream for the ultimate summer float? The weather is meant to stay hot for a few more days, so I may well give that a try.

Pepsi Max Tropical (Ocado) By @Cinabar

This is an interesting new flavour from Pepsi called Pepsi Tropical. The can artwork shows pineapple and what looks like melon and possibly peach. It is not the clearest from the tiny icons, but that is my best guess. It has only just launched, yet it already feels very much like an early summer drink. This is also a sugar free Pepsi Max variant.

When I opened the can, the fruity aroma was very distinct. It immediately reminded me of a bag of fruit sweets. Very sugary and very tropical. Poured into a glass, it had a lovely strong fizz.

On the first sip, it is clear this drink is all about the tropical fruit. Pineapple comes through strongly and, honestly, it made me think of a fizzy Um Bongo. I really enjoyed it, although the cola element is definitely more muted in the background.

To test this theory, I passed it to Spectre, who normally dislikes cola of any kind, not just Pepsi. He was very reluctant to try it. After a cautious sniff, he admitted it smelled nice, took a sip, and declared it lovely and fruity and said he would happily drink it. That pretty much confirms it. There is far more fruit than cola going on here.

Kraken Rum Gift Set [@NLi10]

 I dropped Santa the hint that the Kraken Rum gift sets were only £10 before Xmas in Tesco and he delivered!

I don't tend to drink spirits at home these days so I though it'd be a nice change, and give me a distinct glass to leave at a relative's house so I always have one available. 

The little bottles are very cute too - and could easily be re-filled and used decoratively.

The rum is as good as usual, darker than I'd tend to go for and with a hint of spice which complements the Fever Tree colas well.  A decent bargain (each bottle is 2 shots) and easily wrapped to boot.

(gives me an excuse to show off the octopus table matts too) Yarr!

Zero Sugar Pepsi - Strawberry & Cream [@NLi10]

 I was at a party and got offered a new Pepsi! But it’s a non citrus fruit…

Strawberries & Cream ? Hmm. Ok. 

I guess this is to copy American sodas - and it’s kinda effective.

What it’s most reminiscent of is when you make the spray cola in Burger King and mix in a fruity bit too. It’s drinkable but you probably aren’t making that mistake again!

I enjoyed it - but I think the sharp flavours work better with colas.

Pepsi Gingerbread (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I couldn’t resist picking up this festive little bottle of Pepsi Gingerbread during a quick Tesco run. The packaging immediately caught my eye: a cute wrapper patterned like a Christmas jumper, hinting at the seasonal treat inside. The flavour is clearly Gingerbread, though amusingly it’s written subtly to the side, and it’s part of Pepsi’s zero sugar range.

I popped the bottle open at lunchtime, and it greeted me with a hefty fizz. I had to open it slowly to avoid a mini cola explosion, which I suspect was due to the bottle having been dropped at some point. Once settled, it was time for a taste.

I adore Christmas spices, but I tend to favour cinnamon over ginger, so I wasn’t expecting to fall for this drink. Yet, it was a delightful surprise. The cola blended perfectly with the sweet, treacle-like gingerbread flavour. There was plenty of ginger, but without the sharp heat, and that wonderful treacle note really brought out the festive spices.

It’s a unique twist on a classic soft drink and genuinely captures the essence of gingerbread. I loved it so much I’m already thinking about getting more. If you enjoy festive flavours, this Pepsi is definitely worth a try.

Pepsi White Peach and Oolong Tea Flavour Soft Drink [@NLi10]

 Now that all English soft drinks are broken and wrong I am incentivised to purchase expensive imported ones which still contain sugar and flavour.  Here today we have a China made Pepsi - with peach Oolong tea added in!

The oddest part to this is the sparkly-ness - I'd not really make tea with sparkling water - but it adds a tingle to the peach flavour.

The tea flavour is weak and fairly invisible, but the peach and Pepsi does shine quite well.

And it's dark as normal, so no real point in finding a glass!  I chilled mine, but I suspect that over Ice on a hot day this would be at it's best.

It oddly reminded me of this old thing, that I happened to pick up to let someone else to try I used to call this Wo Long Kat when it came in steel cans in the 90s, but here it's called Wang Lao Ji - essentially it's medicinal sugar water - 10 more calories per 100ml than the Pepsi!

And it tastes as I remember - too sweet, too herby, and too morish.  The first sip is always baffling, but you'll finish it and you'll enjoy it too.

The tea here is nicer than the Pepsi, but I think the peach Pepsi just edges ahead in the taste test.  I'd more happily drink a litre of the herbal tea though.

Lemon Coca-Cola Zero (WH Smiths) – By @Cinabar

I think I’ve had Lemon Coca-Cola before. This feels familiar, so I suspect it’s a re-launch of an older product. I’ve always believed citrus flavours and cola are a perfect match, so I was feeling positive about this drink even before I opened it.

This is the Zero Sugar edition. I’m fairly sure I saw a full-sugar version in the shop too, but I opted for the lower-calorie option made with sweeteners. I don’t mind that in drinks, even though I know many people prefer the original recipe.

I opened the bottle and took a sip, and I really liked what I was tasting. The cola flavour was strong and familiar, and the lemon added a refreshing twist. It wasn’t overpowering, but it was definitely noticeable. The balance was spot on, making it taste like a chilled cola served with slices of fresh lemon and plenty of ice, ideal for a hot summer day.

This one gets a definite thumbs up from me. It deserves a place in Coca-Cola’s regular flavour line-up, right alongside cherry. It was that good.

On a side note, the Coca-Cola bottles with names on them are back, so keep an eye out for yours. As always, I curse the weird spelling of my name.

Pepsi Cream Soda (Ocado) By @Cinabar

This is one of the new summer flavours from Pepsi, and as we're (hopefully) about to get a bit of a mini heatwave, I thought I’d treat myself to a eight-pack and see if it brings on the summer vibe. I chilled it in the fridge for full refreshment. I also wanted to wait for the weather to warm up, it’s been pleasant, though not exactly hot yet. I gave in and cracked open a can anyway.

I gave the drink a sip and really liked the taste. The Pepsi cola is all there, but the creamy vanilla flavour smooths it out and makes it taste sweeter and creamier. Generally, I think cola and citrus are the best combo, but this worked better for me than I was expecting it to. It’s a really smooth, creamy drink, the vanilla and cola pair well.

I have to say, I’m really pleased I bought a multipack of these Pepsi Cream Soda cans. With its vanilla tone, I think this drink is going to be perfect for a coke float. I haven’t had one of those in years, but I’m now picturing a tall glass with this poured over a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. Roll on summer.

Pepsi Strawberry and Cream (Tesco) By @Cinabar

We have a small Tesco Express near us, which is perfect for picking up essentials, but it is not always the first to get new products. While popping in for the inevitable bread and eggs, something caught my eye near the till. Neatly stacked multipacks of Pepsi Strawberry and Cream in their pink packaging. It sounded like an adventurous new Pepsi flavour, so I made an impulsive buy.

Once home, I chilled a can in the fridge, ready to enjoy with our pizza night dinner. As I poured it into a glass, the sweet strawberry aroma was immediately noticeable. Taking a sip, I was impressed by the bold strawberry flavour, which reminded me of strawberry sweets. This was followed by a creamy finish before the familiar cola taste took centre stage.

The flavours are intense, seriously sweet and fruity. They might be a bit much for some, and I generally think acidic flavours like lemon or lime pair better with cola. However, this was a fun and different take that worked for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would buy it again.

Limited Edition Oreo Coca-Cola (Ocado) By @Cinabar

There have been quite a few different flavours of Cola over the years; many of them are fruity. I think lemon or lime with cola works like a dream, and I always favour those varieties, as the zesty tastes really work. This new Oreo Coca-Cola is quite a leap away from that; I’m genuinely not sure that I would have paired chocolate biscuits and cola, but I'm always happy to find out how it works.

I poured the can into a glass, and there was a lot of fizz. It is one of those smaller cans; it filled a smaller glass and was still an okay portion. The aroma was sweet like cola, but there was also a vanilla tone. I forgot about vanilla cola; that is a combination that works, so there is hope for this new one. I gave it a sip and have to say it works. The main taste is mostly sweet cola; there is the vanilla tone, and then rich chocolate comes through, which shouldn’t work, but it does. It actually made me smile. I didn’t think cocoa and cola went, but I was wrong. I’d happily pick up another can while this limited edition Oreo Coca-Cola is still around. 

Pepsi Electric Blue (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Everything in my instinct tells me not to drink blue things. I know there are plenty of safe food colourings in the industry, but it is one of those things that always gives me a little uncomfortable feeling. I love new stuff, though, and I love anything a bit different, so I picked up a bottle of this Pepsi Electric Blue drink.

Once I got home, I opened up the bottle and poured it into a glass, and I realised just how blue the drink is; even the foam from the fizz was blue. Oh my. 

I gave it a tentative sip. The drink tasted good; it was Pepsi with a super nice fruity twist. If I had to guess the flavour, I would say blueberry and lemon were involved. I think there was a nice, sharp citrus taste, but also something fruity and a bit more mellow. I might be influenced by the colour here with the blueberry element, but that is how it tasted. 

The drink is a fun colour; blue might not be my thing, but flavour-wise, this Pepsi Electric Blue worked. Have the drink chilled with a slice of lemon, and you have a perfect new summer flavour. It is one I’d buy again; just because the fruity citrus taste is just so nice. 

Coca-Cola Lemon Zero Sugar (Ocado) By @Cinabar

My mind is playing tricks on me. I'm sure this isn’t the first time I’ve had lemon cola. The thing is, this little blog on new products has been going on for more than ten years, and I searched my previous posts and couldn’t find any. There were a few citrus flavours, even a clementine, but no actual lemon. These tastes feel like they should go together well. 

Another important note is that this new flavour is one made with sweeteners, which I know will immediately put many people off. I don’t mind full-sugar or sugar-free drinks; I’m not too fussy. 

The launch drink, Coca-Cola Lemon Zero Sugar, is a lovely bright can, and I decided to have one with my dinner this evening. The drink is the usual colour and has the usual strong fizz. The taste is good; there is some zingy lemon, but the taste softens to a sweeter version, and then the cola taste washes over, leaving a citrus tingle. This does work; it is refreshing, like a strong cola with a lemon slice. I really liked it. I don’t know why they haven’t done it before, but I’m rather pleased they did, and I hope they keep it on the shelves. 

Gusto Organic Cola - Real Cola (Gloucester Services) [@NLi10]

 On the way back from exciting places we stopped off in the Tebay services in Gloucester and picked up a few bits.  One we saved for later was this lovely cola.

I think I’ve had this Gusto cola before but it’s nice enough that we can have more,

This is what’s in it - fairly low in ingredients but high in taste. Mostly spring water, but nice and refreshing.

Good strong old-style cola flavours and not too sweet, overall a good cola.

HIP POP - groovy small batch UK soft drinks @drinkhippop [@NLi10]

I get a lot of targeted Facebook adverts for food & drink - and I buy a lot of them!

Here I got advertised a cool, UK based brewed soft/ social drinks company HIP POP and I figured I'd bump into them in stores.  I failed to do so - and so I got in touch with them and ordered a mixed case.

This is the Buddhist approach to sampling a companies wares (one with everything) as I basically couldn't decide which I'd like most.

It comes in a pretty sturdy box

That I've now flipped on it's side and am using like a wine-rack for cans, and as the first pic shows they look fantastic (to the extent that I've already lost two cans to on-lookers).

First up - the baseline - Lemonade.  It's got fibre in it apparently which is confusing but not noticeable.  The flavour is well rounded, the sweetness is spot on (no sweeteners too so my mom can have these!) and it's a great pub lemonade.

The Kombuchas are a little different to the normal pops, again - no sweeteners but lots of culture.

These are very kombucha - of you don't like the 'vinegar' side of this drink then this is not for you - but fortunately I'm into this.  The flavours are quite slight, but that's just the nature of the thing.  Lovely stuff.

Cola - closer to the Fentiman's traditional cola taste than the modern corporate one - and a lovely smooth sweetness too.  As a lot of the bigger brands recalculate their formulas to avoid the sugar tax, smaller brands like this are going to thrive. 

Not a fan of grapefruit, but a big fan of blood orange - and this mix works well.  Again - the kombucha flavour is much stronger than the extra flavours.  The CBD here is unobtrusive and took a little while to have any noticeable effect but it did take the micro-pains from my arthritis off eventually which is a nice bonus.

Similar to the above - the cherry sweetness is nice and the kombucha CBD mix is still good.

This one I probably couldn't have guessed the flavour of, but it was just a nice tropical kombucha.

So - six cans in - what's the verdict?

The Kombuchas all taste very similar, I'm not sure that I have a favourite, but I bet if I tried them side by side then I'd know which was which. The CBD is a nice bonus, but I don't feel it really adds much to drinks.

The regular pops (lemonade & cola) are the stars - these are really grown-up versions of their respective drinks.  I hope that pubs can get a few of these in for the summer.

As something to offer guests though these are absolutely perfect. Little self-contained tins of awesomeness.  In fact I think I'll test the Orange one now...

You can message them on the website to create your own box, but the Buddha Box I had is linked here.  It's not an affiliate link or anything, it's just good enough to share!

Movement Limited Edition Coca-Cola by Rosalia - Our Guesses!! (Tesco) by @cinabar

I have found another limited edition Coca-Cola, this one is called Movement and it is by Rosalia. The can is very funky and very pink, but I know better than to think the colour will influence the flavour. I poured the cola out into a glass, it was the usual colour, so no clues there. The aroma was very similar to that of Vanilla Coke. This might be easier than I thought.

I took a sip of the drink, and while it didn't taste exactly like Vanilla Coke, it was close. There was a background taste of something else too, something similar and annoyingly familiar that I couldn't quite pin down. I think there might have been coconut mixed in there, it is creamy and sweet and works nicely with the cola, but it wasn’t quite tropical.

If I had to pick a flavour for this Movement Limited Edition Coca Cola by Rosalia drink, I think I would settle on coconut macaroons as my guess. That would explain the creamy vanilla coconut flavour without being too heavy on the coconut milk side of things. Other guesses at Foodstuff Finds included cheesecake and the idea that there was something like berry or floral mixed in, so we weren’t sure ourselves on it. Have you tried it? What are your guesses? 

Dreamworld Limited Edition Coca Cola (WH Smith) By @Cinabar

I actually feel confident about this one. We have been trying quite a few items recently with mystery flavours and I find it really hard to guess them. Sure I can categorise them into fruity etc, but actually narrowing down the taste to a precise flavour is so difficult. The guess from the Cadbury Dairy Milk bars says it all really, not many repeated ideas in the comments at all.

Anyway this particular drink didn’t offer clues from the name, Dreamworld Limited Edition Coca Cola but the minute I poured it out I could already pick up a fruity finish from the aroma. When I gave it a sip my brain narrowed this down to tropical fruit, and further still I ended up with smooth sweet mango. I think there may have been a hint of papaya too, but the mango I am sure about. I love mango, I know the flavour well so I’m happy with this. It also worked surprisingly well with cola, but the fruit flavours often do. It had such a nice tropical edge I was savouring the rest of the can. It was a delight to drink and if they made them in multipack cans I’d be buying them up.

Tayto Fizzy Cola Crisps (A Taste of the States) By @Cinabar

What kind of crazy is this? Cola flavoured crisps, yes that is potato and cola, I don’t even know what to think. On one hand I am crazy about new flavours, but on the other, this one felt a bit bizarre. The bags of crisps are big too, almost sharing size, but I guess it is supposed to be one large portion for one.

I opened up the pack of Tayto Fizzy Cola Crisps and the aroma was very much cola, they were sweet scented. I gave one a try and the taste is just like the fizzy cola bottle sweets you get in the pick n mix. They are very sweet, and very much cola and they have that element of sour sweets too. What I didn’t expect was that the crisps would actually be fizzy. They fizzed not like popping candy, but they were super tingly. This made me smile, which is a good thing.

I couldn’t decide if I liked them or not, but I finished the bag, which I think means they weren’t bad. I don’t think you could make a crisp with the intention of flavouring it with fizzy cola bottle sweets any better than this offering from Tayto, so on that they succeeded. Would you fancy giving these Tayto Fizzy Cola Crisps a try?

The Artist Marshmello’s Limited Edition Coca Cola (Tesco) By @Cinabar

We have a new summer edition Coca Cola out in the UK. This one is a flavour created by The Artist Marshmello. As the whole artificial sweeteners thing is a very Marmite concept, I will just make it clear the can I bought is a no-sugar drink. I don’t mind the extra sweetness that brings, but I know it will put a lot of people off completely.

Anyway, I poured out the drink and the colour was not unusual at all; standard Coca Cola brown. The aroma was cola with strawberry laces, it was very sweet and fruity and like sweets. When I tried a sip the fruit taste was a bit softer, for me it made me think of peach. If this had been a flavour to guess, I would have gone Peach Melba. The explanation of the flavour is on the can, it is strawberry watermelon. As I said, the strawberry is very present, and the sweet fruity mellow taste but I couldn’t pick out watermelon.

The Artist Marshmello’s Limited Edition Coca Cola drink was fine, it was sweet even for me but fun for the summer. I still rate the Coke with Lime over this, that is a proper refreshing flavoured cola for a hot day.