I guess dragonfruit is the appropriate fruit flavor for The X Factor’s Limited Edition Pepsi X since almost everything that comes out of Simon Cowell’s mouth is verbal fire that can burn egos.
Dragonfruit, or better known by Future Farmers of America members as hylocereus undatus, hylocereus costaricensis, or hylocereus megalanthus (depending on the color of the fruit’s skin and flesh), is grown in tropical areas, like this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean I live on.
Just like I’ve never seen an episode of The X Factor, I have yet to try dragonfruit. So seeing as how I could easily get the exotic fruit, I thought it was necessary to taste an actual dragonfruit before writing a review about the dragonfruit-flavored Pepsi X.
It’s a good thing there’s a farmer’s market down the street from me, but it’s a bad thing that dragonfruits were selling for $4.99 a pound. I bought the smallest one, which cost me $5.15.
If you’ve never seen a dragonfruit in real life or saw one when accidentally choosing a Google Image search suggestion for exotic fruits instead of, what you really wanted, exotic females, the most common type of the fruit (hylocereus undatu) has a pretty, pretty pink skin with green leaves protruding out of it and behind it there’s white flesh with tiny black seeds.
A few other interesting factoids about dragonfruits, there’s also a red-fleshed dragonfruit (hylocereus costaricensis) and if you eat too much of it you may get pseudohematuria, which is a harmless condition that turns your urine and feces reddish in color. Now that you know that, I hope you never accidentally choose a Google Image search suggestion for pseudohematuria. And knowing is half the battle.
Oh, speaking of pseudohematuria, the color of Pepsi X was noticeably lighter than regular Pepsi and it looked like it had a reddish hue.
Now that I know what dragonfruit tastes like, I can definitely say Limited Edition Dragonfruit Pepsi X doesn’t have a flavor that’s recognizable as dragonfruit. The dragonfruit’s flesh was mostly bland with a very mild sweetness. It’s as flavorful as cucumbers or kiwis. However, Pepsi X has a strong fruity and slightly floral flavor that doesn’t taste anything like dragonfruit. There’s also very little cola flavor.
Of course, I might’ve selected the wrong dragonfruit to taste and needed to buy the pseudohematuria-causing one. Or maybe, because it’s a little floral, Pepsi is trying to reproduce the flavor of dragonfruit flowers. Or maybe the flavor was developed by blending together dragon meat with fruits.
Whatever the case, I didn’t really care for Pepsi X. It’s interesting and not horrible, but I don’t see myself buying more because its unusual fruity/flowery flavor just doesn’t have The X Factor.
While I didn’t care for Pepsi X’s flavor, I LOVE that Pepsi did something I never thought they would do — release an unusual Pepsi flavor. A dragonfruit-flavored Pepsi is something I’d expect Pepsi in Japan to release, but it was released here in the U.S. That’s extremely exciting. So, within the past few months, Pepsi has launched a malt-flavored Mountain Dew and this dragonfruit-flavored Pepsi. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
(Nutrition Facts – 12 ounces – 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 35 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 30 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein.)
Item: Limited Edition Dragonfruit Pepsi X
Purchased Price: $3.00*
Size: 12 ounces
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Not horrible. It’s a weird Pepsi flavor that sounds like it should be from Japan, but it’s not. Being able to buy dragonfruits down the street. Future Farmers of America.
Cons: Doesn’t taste like dragonfruit. Fruity/flowery flavor is a bit odd and doesn’t have The X Factor. Very little cola flavor. The price of dragonfruit. Pseudohematuria. Simon Cowell.
*To ensure I could review these as quickly as possible, I bought some off of eBay. It will most definitely be cheaper if you bought it in a store.
Dragonfruit looks like the love child of a radish and kiwi.
I am a dedicated pepsi drinker, have been since the age of 10, I got the dragonfruit issue by mistake, and thought my hubby had put something in it. We poured out the first glass, thinking that the glass had been contaminated, and poured a new one,from the same bottle, Then I looked at the bottle, And I have to say I am sorry I bought it, I don”t like the taste and will be more careful what I by from this company in the future
Ditto!! I bought a Pepsi without looking at the bottle first. It was the best thing and the worst thing I ever did. The worst thing was buying something so bad wifhout looking. The best thing is I’ll never buy another dragonfruit Pepsi. PEPSI is PEPSI. It can not be improved upon.
I am glad you put a picture of a Dragon Fruit because I had never even heard of one, let alone seen one. What an insane flavour and what on Earth made them choose that!?
Insanity?
This illustrates why weird Pepsi flavors aren’t introduced in America very often – they really aren’t that great. Not one of the ones I tried in Japan was something which I thought I’d like to drink regularly. Some were good and some were bad, but they were all one-off novelty experiences. That works better in the Japanese market, which values novelty over predictability, but not in the U.S. where people like what they like and tend not to be so adventurous in their tastes.
It’s rather ironic that the Japanese are supposed to be traditional and hidebound, but will eat nearly anything and Americans are supposed to be creative, open-minded and expansive in their attitudes, but they tend to order the same stuff again and again at restaurants and don’t embrace exotic flavors.
Has anyone actually seen this at a store? It was supposed to be released 2 weeks ago & I haven’t seen it anywhere. FYI: I’m in San Francisco.
My daughter just bought me 2 cases of “Pepsi”…well…started to drink one can and said..ummmm this is NOT pepsi…its Dragonfruit flavored…Might and As a 100% Pepsi drinker, Might be able to drink these 2 cases…maybe…Some might like it, But dont count on me being added to that list…I would donate mine to Japan..lol
Don
You said “The dragonfruit’s flesh was mostly bland with a very mild sweetness.” I do not think you picked a bad one because dragonfruits are like that, it’s just that the sweetness of it varies. It could be bland with a mild sweetness, or bland with it being very sweet (like eating sugar cucumbers). I like it though, but the best ones I ever tried were in Thailand & Vietnam. The ones they sell here in America are never really sweet imo.
The dragonfruit with white flesh really are bland and they don’t merit the high price. But the ones with the purple/reddish flesh are much more tasty. They’re kinda hard to find unless you live in a warmish climate (I know people grow it in their home gardens in SoCal).
Bought my accident….Not a fan
Dragonfruit definitely looks more exciting than it tastes, I remember being disappointed when I tried it for the first time.
It was on sale for $1.00/2L bottle, and with a $.75-off-in-store coupon, it cost $.25. That should have been a clue.
Generally if you want to use something as a flavoring, you use a substance with enough distinctive flavor which you can extract, NOT a vague, mildly sweet whatever. Only Kiwi has less flavor for a beverage. The cola flavor is virtually absent, and in its place is a bitter, almost medicinal, flavor which I would say belongs more in root beer, sarsaparilla, or cough drops.
Colas are good drinks to drink with acidic and greasy foods like pizza or pastas with tomato sauce because of the phosphoric acid content to prevent hearburn. I hope they didn’t reduce that.
I was disappointed, and I think more people will be also. I won’t buy it again.
I don’t want to unfairly bias anyone before they try it, so I’m going to back-pedal a bit on some of what I said yesterday. I would modify my description to say “mildly bitter” as opposed to bitter. Rather it’s an odd, unexpected flavor that clashes with what we expect from Pepsi. After having consumed about 1 liter spread over four drinks, spread over 36 hours, I’d also add that there is a sort “gap” between flavors so it lacks the rounded fullness of complimentary flavors present in regular Pepsi.
I have tried it and i like it. I have never eaten a Dragon Fruit but being Cuban and from Miami I grew up drinking Materva and Ironbeer which are made from the Mate plant. This Pepsi tastes almost like it. Do not know if it was a fluke or not but I would definately buy it again.
I brought Pepsi X, for the discount. When I noticed that the soda foam was a different color I realized that I was in for a change.
I was not really impressed by the flavor, mainly because I was expecting Pepsi. BUt! After reading this article it reminded me of when as a child at the soda fountain we combined all kinds of flavors and made what we called a “Suicide”.
However! After slurping a little more I realized that it was like mixing, “Fruit Punch” with Pepsi Zero. However! there is a last note flavor that is like Cactus fruit.
So! There you have it.
Initial taste 3 on a scale of 5.
Subsequent slurps move it to a 4, once you get over the initial shock.
(-:
Well I on the other hand bought Pepsi X because it was on sale. To discover that I absolutely love the flavor. Especially considering how much less calories pepsi x has than the regular pepsi.. being that I HATE diet pop. Too bad it’s a limited edition.
oh and just a side note. it mixes/chases great with captain.. even better than coke.
Haven’t tried your dragon fruit pepsi x, is it white or the red variety bec certainly if it was the red variety that was use it would probably have a sweeter taste.I’m a grower of a dragon fruit, white and red variety.Where can we possibly buy for a try? Great job Pepsi you have introduce the healthy fruit in you pepsi drink.
You know What, 2 cans of Pepsi X factor worked as a Viagra tablet with me. It made my P- stronger and harder??? I don’t know why?? !!
That surprised me, I tried it many time, and it works every time.
Also I like it’s taste. I love it and I hope they keep sell it forever.