What is Coca-Cola Clear?
I’m in Japan – the mecca of novelty junk food! Of course, I sought out some new and quirky offerings. Coca-Cola has introduced a colorless version of its signature pop – trailing a quarter of a century behind Pepsi in the clear soda arms race. Without all that pesky caramel-y cola, it’s billed as lemon-flavored and is a zero-calorie drink. It is currently only available in Japan.
How is it?
Right out of the bottle, the aroma veers away from the usual Coke. It’s milder with a low-level citrus smell.
I was expecting something with a strong lemon taste, ala Sprite or 7Up, but this was subtler – like squeezing a lemon wedge into your already-sweet seltzer water and adding a dash of cola. Despite the lemon base, it was identifiable as a Coke derivative and had the same sweeteness level, but was lighter and brighter than regular Coca-Cola. It didn’t have the neon citrus feel of other sodas.
While not unpleasant, Coca-Cola Clear failed to establish its own flavor personality. Hence, it’s easier to describe what it ISN’T – it’s not cola, it’s not un-cola. Because of this vagueness of character, I wondered why this? Why now? Is 2018 the right time just because Coke hadn’t done it yet?
Is there anything else you need to know?
Be prepared for the pop. The Coke products I sampled in Japan were packaged in a way that caused the initial rush of gasses out of the bottles to be downright explosive. My travel companion and I startled each other all week with the loud cracks of Coke bottles opening.
Conclusion:
Overall, an OK lightly lemon soda, but as Dr. Ian Malcolm would say – Coca-Cola scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should. Try it if you’re a hardcore noveltyist, but only one bottle.
Purchased Price: 48 yen (approx. 69 cents US)
Size: 500 ml bottle (17 oz.)
Purchased at: MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya, Tokyo
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (100 ml) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 0 grams of total sugars and 0 grams of protein.
What’s the Root Beer situation in Japan?
They don’t drink root beer in Japan. I lived there for four years. They have very different drink taste than we do. They like citrus a lot.
They don’t drink Root Beer? No wonder they lost WWII. Thx.
What a fucking asshole.
You ever hear of “White Coke”? It was a clear version of Coca-Cola created at the request Georgy Zhukov (Marshal of the Soviet Union) in the 40’s.
I don’t recall seeing root beer in the vending machines and convenience stores I frequented, but I wasn’t specifically looking for it, so might have just not noticed. Most places had huge selections of beer/alcoholic drinks, energy drinks and coffee, but surprisingly modest soda selections.
Thx