Stappj Bitter

I haven't found much about Stappj except that it's an Italian company. They use mineral water, which gives it a unique taste. I found a 6 pack of this stuff in an Italian grocery store.

Appearance

Wook at it

It is an adorable bottle. It's a teeny tiny little glass thing. The label is a bit forgettable but the bottle is cute, and an interesting shape. I really want to know why they only put in 3.4 ounces. Is this just a drink your don't drink much of, or what? Is it like a digestive soda that doesn't necessarily taste good? Now I'm kind of worried.

penny for size

But regardless

Appearance Score 

8/10

Taste 

It has a fruity, mild cherry/stawberry/apple smell to it. I'm a bit of a wimp today so I felt the need to smell it before I taste because "Oh dear it's in a tiny bottle, that must mean terrible things for taste"

But time to steel myself and actually drink the dang thing.

Ahhhh.

First taste its not bad. Fruity taste, mildly cherry. and then OH God the secondary flavor. It's more something you feel than taste. The back of the tongue constricts and writhes. It's like drinking straight unsweetened grapefruit juice. Like that but amplified. And that wouldn't be too bad. It would be an interesting novelty. But then that writhing leave you and it leaves behind a terrible aftertaste. Like what you get after spitting out your week old bazooka bubble gum.

I find myself drinking more, just to get the aftertaste out of my mind.

Taste Score

4/10 Interesting experience, worth a try, but nooope. nope nope no more please.

Oh man, I still have five more of these left.

Aloe Drink

Aloe is an African plant with large fleshy leaves. The leaves are used in many applications, specifically known for their soothing topical qualities. The drink itself does not appear that appetizing. It definitely looks like I will be drinking leaf juice.

Appearance

Mmm leaf juice

The bottle is large, green square and plastic. Loses points for plastic bottle.I don't mind the label. It's simple and honest.

A

Korean Flavored

Appearance Score

4/10 Unremarkable

Taste

It's actually excellent. It's has a great flavor. It's non carbonated, which actually works in its favor. It's a bit thicker, more syrupy feel to it. There is Aloe pulp in it that feels awesome. It's like drinking little minnows. That is a terrible analogy. I'm sorry. Just trust me, it's great.

Never get the image out of your head

It has a great sweetness and it's really refreshing overall.

Taste Score

8/10 No joke, I loved it.

Belvoir Fruit Farms Elderflower Pressé

I've realized I should start posting links to the companies that I'm drinking from. I'll do that from now on, and retroactively if I get around to it.

Belvoir Fruit Farms is a British soda and cordial company. They refer to them as Pressés. They have a very nice selection of drinks, I am told.

http://www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk/

Appearance

The bottle is gorgeous. It's simple and elegant. The label has a very home struck feel to it, with it's rough edges and paper texture. The design is simple and understated.

So slender

It has lovely touches like the flowers on the inside of the back label.

I love the perfectly clear soda too. They didn't mess around with any dyes. In fact, there are very few ingredients at all, just water, sugar, elderflowers, lemon juice and citric acid.

Appearance Score

8/10 Lovely, wonderful

Taste

Ok, spoilers, I already have had this soda, and was really just looking for an excuse to go to the little restaurant that I know serves it and buy it again. So I know how this review is going to end before I even crack it open. This soda is lovely. Every thing about it. The taste is simple and understated. The carbonation is soft and delicate. It tastes like a very soft litchi or dragon fruit, with just a hint of tang, and a bit of floral. It kind of tastes like rose, if rose tasted good. There is also a lovely bitterness hiding behind the layers. It's wonderfully sweetened and have no overbearing aftertastes. It lingers like a peck on the lips before gently fading away.
So it's amazing, I love it. I can't wait to try the other flavors. I highly recommend you get your hands on some.

Taste Score

9/10 I can't get enough of it

Grapefruit Kiss

Kiss soda is made by the Orca Beverage Soda Company. The same company that makes favorites like Dad's Rootbeer, The Americana Huckleberry soda from a while ago, and Frosties novelty soda.

Appearance 

No pretty pictures today. Enjoy my pants.

I don't mind the bottle. The green bottle is pretty, and the label is simple enough that it pleases me. I really like it doesn't have two labels and the back is clear.

Appearance Score

7/10

Taste

Ho boy. Let's say I'm not exactly excited about this one. I suspect this will taste like Fresca, the popular american grapefruit soda, love by old people and Canadians alike. I hate fresca. With a terrible and burning passion. I don't even have a valid reason for not liking it. It just tastes horrendous. So not looking forward to this one.

Let's crack it open.

It's not great. It's not Fresca though. It's not an explicitly bad taste. It has the base of a grapefruit flavor, but it doesn't own up to the bitterness like it should. It tries to sweeten it up too much, and is not executed well. It would be so much better super sour. Maybe I'll add straight lemon juice to it and see if that makes it better.

Oh well. It has a bit to much of a sweet aftertaste, but it's not that bad.

Taste Score

5/10 Meh, not great.

Chrysanthemum Tea Drink

Appearance

The can is not bad. It's floral and pretty. The logo is well matched to the background. I don't have much opinion. It would probably be better in a bottle.

Appearance Score

5/10 No vast opinion of it.

Taste

The taste isn't bad. I wasn't expecting anything good at all. "Chrysanthemum tea" just sounds gross. But it's actually pretty good. It tastes like a nice english tea. The sweeteness is wonderfully executed. It's not overly sweet, and it has a very clean taste. My only issue is that it has a tad to much aftertaste, though no where near that of conventional soda. It's still odd to drink things from cans that aren't carbonated though. I think I would drink it again.

Taste Score

6/10 I liked it.

Americana Huckleberry Soda

Appearance

It's a nice, if generic bottle. I like the label. It makes me feel like I'm pulling the soda out of a general stores coolers. Something the tinted glass doesn't tell you is that the soda itself is a lovely periwinkle.

The soda itself was a beautiful periwinkle color

Appearance Score

5/10

Taste

It has a bit of a grapey- berry smell to it. First sip, it starts off with a dimatap-y, grapey flavor, and then turns very tart before fading away. The tartness is actually quite pleasant, and probably the best part about the soda. The carbonation levels aren't bad. I don't know if I like it or not. It's interesting. It's certainly not bad. Maybe it would be better if it tasted more like real huckleberries, and less like a candy's interpretation of huckleberry. Unfortunately, a great idea, unremarkable execution.

Taste Score

3/10 I poured most of it down the drain, so that says something.

Fukkokudo DragonBall "Dydo"

So I found Dragonball soda. I don't know how I feel about this. In the Korean Convenience store there is like 3 different character/varieties. I don't know if each character can tastes different, or if its all the same flavor, but I bought two, so we'll try them both out and see.

For those who aren't aware, Dragonball is a Japanese manga and anime series. The main character, Son Goku, travels around the world trying to collect 7 dragonballs, that if gathered together make a wish granting dragon appear. 

Appearance

Now with 30% more chest

The facade of the can is the torso of a Dragonball character. I am not familiar with the show, so I don't know who the character is. The can is busy, with lots of art aside from the torso.

It's cute, I guess. It's pretty novel. Just not that appealing. It certianly did catch my eye though, so there's always that.

Appearance Score

4/10 for novelty

Taste

 I checked the ingredients, and it's a high fructose corn syrup soda, so I'm not exactly excited it about this. I've been spoiled by all the cane sugar sodas I've been drinking. Though I should probably go into soda blind and not make judgements before I try them. Oh well, next time. Let's crack it open.

It's not bad. It's mildly orange.  A little lemony. The carbonation levels are nice, if generic. It doesn't have a super overpowering sticky sweet aftertaste. It's kind of like a Orange Crush with the lights dimmed down low. A level where you could drink the entire can and not feel like a bloated sack of tapioca pudding afterwards.

So yeah, pleasantly surprised. 

Taste Score

6/10 Not bad. Not earth shattering, but would drink it again.

And because I'm a 7 year old. I present my soda can with a variety of poses.

With a festive hat

With a festive head

Spoiler alert: The other cans were the same flavor

Fentamins Dandelion and Burdock

I've already covered the background of Fentamins, so I guess I'll talk about Burdock. Burdock, also known as Arctium, is an edible plant that is popular in Asian cuisines. The roots of the taproot can be eaten and are sweet, crisp and slightly pungent. It's used in traditional Chinese medicines and it's burs were the inspiration for velcro.

I've never actually had it before, but apparently Dandelion and Burdock is a popular soft flavor in the UK.

Appearance

Similar apearance to the Rose Lemonade. I love the bottle, I love the label, the soda has a great color to it.

One of the things I love about glass bottles is the vapor you get when you first pop the cap. It's like the fog is rolling in, or a smokey stage is set, getting ready to present your next beverage experience.

Appearance Score

9/10 Love it. Great bottle, nice label.

Taste

And what an experience it was.

The soda does not smell appetizing. It smells primarily of licorice and Twizzlers with a cough syrupy smell underneath. Its sweet and medicine and not pleasant.

Alright, so lets ignore the smell and take a sip.

I wish I had better words to describe this. The first flavor to appear is a sweet mild citrusy something. Then there is a really weird abrubt flavor switch and it tastes like licorice, and medicine, and plant matter. Then it leave behind a sticky, stale bubblegum and licorice aftertaste.

The worst part of it is I keep having to drink it, because there are more flavors in there that I just can't put my finger on. 

Taste Score

1/10 Ew