Ethnic Pop

[Mooshmouse]

because of this thread i had my first jarritos this weekend. i chose the tamarind flavor. yum.

Oooh, oooh, had a Jarritos Guava soda on Sunday. Light, not too sweet. Fantastic. Can't wait to try the other flavors.

[tryska]

i'm gonna give guava a try next then. i've been fixated on Foco Coco for a while now.

[phaelon56]

My GF lives in Charlotte NC and the grocery store she frequents there has been running the Jarritos on special at 29 cents per bottle. Ouch. I pay 69 cents per bottle for Goya Ginger beer up here in NY and it ain't that special (it is nice and spicy but it uses HFCS for sweetener).

[crouching tyler]

Ting Ting Ting ?

Does anybody know where (besides Real Soda) I can buy some Ting in the Seattle area? I am having a party next weekend (sept. 10th), at which I was planning on having a case of Ting on hand.

And Real Soda is out of Ting- drat!

Thanks.

edited to include date.

Edited September 1, 2004 by crouching tyler (log)

[phaelon56]

If there's a Caribbean community of any size in Seattle, most, specifically Jamaican, look for the neighborhood grocery or deli where Jamaican foods are sold. If you don't know where that is.... find out who sells goat meat and call them to inquire. Although there is a halal goat sold to the Muslim community in many cities, you'll generally find any number of Jamaican restaurants buying from the goat supplier. They'll know where the Ting is.

[aliénor]

we love RIVELLA. it is a whey based herbal drink from switzerland. i can now buy it from someone in florida and so far have been ordering several cases. it is not sweeetened with corn syrup, but rather with beet sugar. the company doesn't seem to want to get a foothold in america, but i finally found someone down in florida who imports it and will ship it to all those who crave rivella.

aliénor

[scottie]

Kombucha, the wonder drink

Probably doesn't qualify as ethnic, it's more of a hippie/natural foods kind of thing, but it's really good, it's tea fermented by some kind of mushroom/fungus symbiant which causes natural carbonation and a tangy, sour flavor. Sounds disgusting, but I find it quite refreshing. Hard to find and very expensive, though!

I found something called Rose Rush the other day. It's a rose-flavored soda from Singapore. Well, it's not carbonated, so it's a rose-flavored sugar water. I was afraid it would be nasty, but it's actually pretty tasty. It would be great with vodka and a twist.

[fatmat]

I must strongly defend Kinnie (even to the extent of handbag fighting at dawn!!).

It's a bitter orange drink - It does taste unusual (but how wierd would cola be if you'd never tasted it before?), but I thouroughly reccommend it. It's my favourite 'ethnic' drink, although I'm not sure how kindly the Maltese would take to being called ethnics. (P.S. Great country, great people. If you ever get the chance to visit, go for it)

[torakris]

Kombucha, the wonder drink

Probably doesn't qualify as ethnic, it's more of a hippie/natural foods kind of thing, but it's really good, it's tea fermented by some kind of mushroom/fungus symbiant which causes natural carbonation and a tangy, sour flavor. Sounds disgusting, but I find it quite refreshing. Hard to find and very expensive, though!

←

Wow! I have never seen kombu-cha in a bottled form before....

In Japan you can buy the bags for brewing it at any 100 yen shop ($1 store)....

[Phatlouie07]

i like ramune soda from i think japan. from where i get it, it's a 1.19 or so. there's a marble inside the bottle while you drink it..really cool. a friend introduced it to me and been drinking it ever since

[Drunky]

My favorite is Calpis from Japan : http://www.calpis.co.jp/english/corporate/about.html

It's a fermented milk drink that tastes like a milder version of Yakult. Really refreshing and kind of milky and lemony at the same time.

Here's a page with some unusual Asian sodas reviewed: http://www.noapologiespress.com/presents/a...rink/index.html

**

And Limca and ThumsUp are the best! You can find them in most Indian stores. They are much less sweeter than western colas and still come in glass bottles. They were bought by Coke in the 90's but haven't changed in flavor as far as I can tell.

http://www2.coca-cola.com/brands/brands_limca.html

http://www2.coca-cola.com/brands/brands_thumsup.html

[Jason Perlow]

GUARANA

...hands down favourite!

Find it in your closest Brazilian store

←

I like Guarana as well, but the question is, WHICH Guarana. Antarctica Guarana is the original, but is it the best? Guarana Brasilia, which is made here in the Ironbound in NJ, has a loyal Brazilian-American following. I recently picked up a case of Triunfo Guarana ( http://www.triunfofoods.com ) which is a newly imported product from Brasil, made especially for the American market. Seabra's Market in Newark was selling it for $2.99 a 12 pack. Its pretty good -- sugar cane is the sweetner as opposed to HFCS, which is a big plus in my book. In Brazil, it's marketed under the brand name Xereta.

And then you got the other Brazilian Guarana soda producers, Brahma and Kuat, which you really can't find in the US.

Speaking of rare Brazilian soft drinks, have you ever tried Matecouro? Its a carbonated Guarana and Yerba Mate hybrid, combined with a unusual herb called “chapéu de couro” which tastes similar to green tea. I've only found one place in NJ so far that carries it. Its primarily consumed in the Minas Gerais province, so it's not widely known throughout Brazil.

http://www.matecouro.com.br/en/

The company is working on various export relationships, so we may see more of it and some of their other unique flavors in the future.

By the way, if you like Guarana soda and guaranaf-flavored drinks, check out this web site:

http://www.guarana.com/

[da_coolestofall]

1. Thums Up: Strongest cola ever. Its has a real spicy bite to it. It was a given that I'd always coke on it due to the strong fizz

2. Limca: has a very lime-lemony flavor with a tinge of calcium carbonate.

3. Maaza: pure mango juice.

4. Campa Cola: Now discontinued. It was the Indian cola after coke left India int he 50's. But were ran out of the Indian market after the re-entry of coke and Pepsi. I still think they had a product more suited for Indian tastebuds and as a accompliment to Indian food.

5. Tripp: the lime/lemony offering from Campa Cola

6. Gold Spot: the orange drink from Campa

7. Citra: launched by Coke in 97, it was the grapefruit soda and one of my absolute favorite

All from India. But now Thums Up has been bought by Coca cola, and though still more spicy than coke it's considerable mellowed down. Limca and Gold Spot have also been bought by Coke but they are still good as they were. And maaza recipe doesnt have much to mess up.

[johnnyd]

Speaking of rare Brazilian soft drinks, have you ever tried Matecouro? Its a carbonated Guarana and Yerba Mate hybrid, combined with a unusual herb called “chapéu de couro” which tastes similar to green tea.

Now, that sounds interesting, and the website is very informative. My local Brasilian Store carries a Guarana in a plastic bottle whose brand was new to me. Proprietor says it's from Brasil and it tasted great. She also had a soda made from "Acai" and the usual maracuja (passionfruit) and caju (cashew fruit) juices. (I really must try them before they expire!) There's a good chance she carries Matecouro, so now I have to brave this fierce gale and head over there.

[Jason Perlow]

Speaking of rare Brazilian soft drinks, have you ever tried Matecouro? Its a carbonated Guarana and Yerba Mate hybrid, combined with a unusual herb called “chapéu de couro” which tastes similar to green tea.

Now, that sounds interesting, and the website is very informative. My local Brasilian Store carries a Guarana in a plastic bottle whose brand was new to me. Proprietor says it's from Brasil and it tasted great. She also had a soda made from "Acai" and the usual maracuja (passionfruit) and caju (cashew fruit) juices. (I really must try them before they expire!) There's a good chance she carries Matecouro, so now I have to brave this fierce gale and head over there.

←

BTW, for those of you living in the NY/NJ metro area, Seabra's Market in Newark now carries Matecouro as of last week, if you are interested in trying it.

[rockhopper]

I'm not sure what "ethnic" means in this context. If it mean non American...

Back in the 80s when I was living in London I drank a ton of

a soda named Lilt. I remember liking it a lot. Through the fog of time

I think it was like a grapefruit flavor.

I've never seen it stateside anywhere. Is it still made in the UK?

[disneyfan1313]

I am a huge fan of Ting. I usually buy a case of it any time I am in South Florida ( I live in Orlando and I have not found a place to get it besides individual bottles). I have found it in Jamaican, Hispanic and Caribbean markets and have been told it is distributed by Pepsi in some areas (for those of you who are looking).

I also fell in love with Apple Tea soda when I was in Japan last year although I have not found it in the US. Has anyone seen it here?

[Maria]

I tried Miranda when I was in Mexico. It's probably the same as Sunkist orange or any orange soda though. ;-)

[Jenny McClure]

Lilt is still around. I believe it is pineapple & grapefruit. I get my fix every time I go back home. Ribena is another one I miss. It is a blackcurrant drink. It comes either premade or in dilutable from. My favourite thirst quencher when hungover.

[lambretta76]

Earlier in this thread I extolled the virtues of Peardrax from Trinidad. I tried its sister drink, Cydrax, and, I'm sad to report, that it's awful. One wif and I knew something was off. Looked at the ingredients and, yup, there it was. Apple cider vinegar. In a soft drink. It doesn't taste nearly as bad as it smells, but it's still pretty awful. Avoid this one.

[Jason Perlow]

I have to say this is a country that probably merits further investigation -- they seem to have a soft drink culture that is just as sophisticated as Japan, and it also seems that the price of their imports is considerably cheaper.

My local Korean supermarket carries quite a number of soft drinks from Korea, as well as Japanese stuff. Today I brought home Dongwon Greentea Cider -- which if I am interpreting the flavors correctly (the ingredient list is totally in Korean) is a carbonated combo of Apple (although I can't be certain) and Green Tea flavor. I really like it. Actually, now that I have had a few glasses, it tastes a lot like Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray.

I've tried Chilsung Cider in the past (a lime/lemon flavor drink like 7UP or Sprite) but I found it overwhelmingly sweet. Anyone try some of the other Lotte Chilsung drinks and liked them?

The Korean bottled ice teas also seem to be comparable to the Japanese ones (like Itoen) but are considerably less expensive. However you don't really get as much variety -- Itoen has some of the more interesting flavors such as Oolong and Lemongrass, whereas the Korean stuff I have access to is either Green Tea or Boricha (barley tea). Still, for $2.99 for a 1.5 liter versus $5 for a 2 liter of Itoen Green Tea, its not a bad buy. The quality of the Green tea in the bottle seems comparable to the Itoen stuff as well, but then again, we are talking mass market soft drinks.

There seems to be a number of other Korean knockoff brands of various other Japanese drinks, like various coffees in a can, but I havent looked at them further. Anyone got any good suggestions?

[M.X.Hassett]

I have not had much experience with korean soft drinks, I believe there is a store in tenefly down the streat from old "Villa Cortina" before the salon on the corner. I think I used to buy korean drinks there, I will have to check it out next time I make it over there.

Edit: the place is downstairs from mr.wok I think

Edited September 26, 2005 by M.X.Hassett (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Yeah, I have occasionally gone into that place. But lately I have been buying most of my stuff from Han Ah Reum. The one in Englewood is probably closest to you. There's also a big Korean supermarket on Teaneck Road in Bergenfield in the shopping center across from Wallgreens.

[M.X.Hassett]

I have been to both. I have picked up on a fishy smell at the place on teaneck road(fine for packaged goods though). I forgot about Han Ah Reum in englewood. Looks like it is time for a korean soft drink tasting.

[rlivings]

lotte's strawberry and orange milkis are pretty tasty.