I wrote about Pepsi Japan‘s new drink that they started selling this week called Pepsi Shiso.
(Click here to read it).
I decided to buy a bottle of it today to try it just for the novelty value.
"Pepsi Shiso" on the convenience store shelf.
I know what シソ (Shiso), the Japanese herb, tastes like. We actually have some growing in my wife’s garden right now.
I like it fine…but the idea of “Shiso flavored cola” seemed very odd to me.
I was right. Pepsi Shiso smells and tastes alot like the herb. As I said, I think Shiso is good…as an herb. But in a cola, I found it unappealing.
I took a couple sips to try it, and gave the rest of the drink to my kids. Even they found it “mediocre”.
I guess we won’t be buying Pepsi Shiso again.
After trying the Pepsi Shiso, I opened my favorite drink…an ice cold beer! (Actually a 発泡酒 (Low-malt beer), which is just as good to me).
Yesterday, I bought a case of Kirin Beer‘s newest offering: 「コクの時間」 (I would’ve translated it as “Wonderful Time“…but it says on the can “Golden Moments“).
Regardless, the beer was much better than the herb cola! (Actually, a cold beer is better than any other drink! 🙂 )
Tokyo Five 
JapanProbe quoted your review at http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=11062.
I’ll have to try this one of these days.
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Thanks for telling me about that.
If you want to try the Pepsi Shiso drink…don’t wait too long. It’s probably a “limited-time only” gimmick (just like Pepsi Japan‘s other unique flavors were).
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i like American Coca-Cola better than any beer… If I had a choice it would be either Pacifico or Warsteiner… both are smooth and great tasting beers =) i think that Icky-Bon beer tastes like PBR aka cheap Amaerican redneck beer… but that’s just my opinion
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Actually, Coca-Cola bottled in the U.S. is too sweet! I think the “recipe” is slightly altered in each country for local tastes…because Coke bottled in Japan is less sweet.
>i think that Icky-Bon beer tastes like PBR aka cheap Amaerican redneck beer
It took me a minute to figure out what you meant. 😉
“Icky-Bon” means “Kirin Ichi-ban” beer and “PBR” means the American beer “Pabst Blue Ribbon“…right?
Do you really think they taste similar? I think “Kirin” is “ichi-ban” (#1). 😉
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I havent had a cola for a very long time and as for beer ..its been almost 3 months since I drank any
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Three months?? (+。+) Too long!
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I know …ive slowly taken my alcohol again and so far had red wine ..so far so good no bad reactions ^_^ Next month Im going to treat myself to a proper pint of Guiness or maybe John Smith if they have it here or a Strongbow cider.
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I agree with Tornadoes28 a good beer is always better than cola ^_^ but I’d be very appreciative if its a proper pint of bitter.
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I drink beer everyday…but seldom drink a cola.
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LOL. I don’t think That will hit America anytime soon, but it would be cool to try. I have never had that herb. What does it taste like?
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Haven’t you ever eaten Japanese Sashimi?
It’s often with Sashimi.
I’m not sure how to describe the taste. It tastes good though…not in a drink though, in my opinion.
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About 5 months longer than when you asked me last time 😉
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HAHAHA! Sorry. Didn’t mean to repeat myself.
So you’ve been in Japan one year this month?
Getting used to it here?
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Yes, just over a year now, and slowly getting used to it. Life here is quite different to back in Europe.
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I quite used to Japan…actually, Japan just feels normal to me. Other countries…even America, are foreign to me.
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When I read 「コクの時間」I translated it as “cock time”…
What does「コク」actually mean? I couldn’t find it on Jisho.org
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>What does「コク」actually mean?
I’d say…something like “tasty”. Or “wonderful taste”.
>I couldn’t find it on Jisho.org
It’s not a “real” word.
How long have you been living in Tokyo, by the way?
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A good beer is always better then a cola.
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Any beer is. 🙂
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