Sodiepop GO

A UK based blog enabling my obsession with collecting soft drinks, and sodas from around the world

[scratch-meowt]

my hottest take

[keeper-of-the-flames]

Counter point, those machines can make me a peach sprite.

[pusheenthenerdcat]

guys did you know the tech in that nefangled machine revolutionized preemie healthcare

[maimonideznuts]

[pusheenthenerdcat]

yeah the guy who invented them made incredibly precise infusion pumps (as opposed to gravity fed ivs) which not only meant they could give medications to teeny tiny babies safely, it's also used for insulin pumps and portable dialysis machines. the key element is that it's a peristaltic pump so the liquid stays in sterile tubing for safety

(unholy drink cloaca uses it to dispense precise amounts of flavored sugar syrup)

[sodiepop-go]

Sodas and soft drinks I had during my backpacking trip around Japan

Japan is home to over 5 and a half million vending machines, roughly 1 for every 23 people. they are everywhere, from the rowdy streets of Akihabara, the northmost forest park of Okinawa, there is even one on top of Mt Fuji, 12,389 ft above sea level.

Visiting in the height of August, a glowing vending machine filled with cold, sugary beverages, was less of an eye sore and more of a dystopian oasis, sweet liquid replenishment.

Naturally, my main drink of choice (other than lots and lots of water) was Pocari Sweat, but I was never able to resist the temptation when I saw a soda I'd never tried before. Sodas do dehydrate you, but the sugar really helps with getting a little more touristness done before crashing in the hotel for the evening.

Big brands were fairly easy to find, so it was always exciting to see an off-brand soda that no one would even think to export, especially in Okinawa as they have their own bottling company and a Bottling company for Coca-cola, both producing unique drinks for the Island.

My favourite soda was the Okinawan bottler's shikuwasa soda, I thought it was nicer than the Fanta edition of the unique flavour mainly because it wasn't Fantafied. I also liked the huge can.

The premium Fantas lemonades were really nice, they were tart and sweet, lightly sparkling. I took a bottle of the Lemon home for my Partner as shes a big Lemonade fan.

My least favourite was the Ume plum, I knew I wouldn't like it, it's a very acquired flavour, but I wanted to try it anyway. it was sour like Tangfastics, I get why people like the flavour, but it's just not for me... still glad I tried it though.

As a cola fan, I was pleased to try so many different brands of Cola as well. Hard spark tasted like supermarket budget brand soda, weirdly watery. Cheerio cola I picked up in Kyoto, was really nice, more like Pepsi. I did pick up a hard cola by accident once because it said "craft cola" and I didn't realise that meant alcoholic, I took one swig and it was like fire. Delicious fire.

The thing I love most though is each soda I tried has a memory attached to it of where I was or what I was doing at the time. And that's what it's all about for me.

I did go to a non-drink based vending machine in Osaka, this was cake in a can and it was expensive but delicious.

[sodiepop-go]

Okinawa exclusive Shikuwasa Fanta

I found this in a Vending machine in Naha Okinawa prefecture when I was in Japan in 2023. released in 2019, it shows no sign of being discontinued any time soon.

Shikuwasa is a small citrus fruit that grows publicly around the Island of Okinawa, it grows so abundantly that I remember walking back to my apartment through Manko Park with my friends and marvelling at large fruit bats encircling the trees.

The flavour is like Orange and lime, but it's not too sour as you would expect from a fruit whose name literally translates to "to eat sourness" as the typical Fanta flavour profile enhances the fruits sweet side, creating something that's somewhere in between the Orange and Lemon Fanta varieties.

The packaging:

The two Shisa (lion dogs) decorate the label as they decorate almost every building in the prefecture, a reminder of the rich culture of Okinawa as The Ryukyu kingdom, and its historically close ties with China. Shisa offer protection from bad spirits, one lets good spirits in, whilst the other keeps the bad spirits out. which one does what varies depending on who you ask, but they are always a pair, one is male, one is female, one has its mouth open, and the other closed (sometimes baring its teeth)...

...And I love them.

The addition of a small hibiscus plant behind the Shisa represents another side to Okinawa, often referred to as the "Hawaii of Japan" which is true in a number of ways, but it was most reflected in the relaxed nature of the locals in what is otherwise known as quite a conservative country. One of the Karate instructors I trained under while I was there, Tsuneo Kinjo Sensei Hanshi, even lived in Hawaii for a time.

I was really excited by this Soda find, just looking at the bottle brings back so many good memories of my travels in Japan, but it is a unique edition to a special interest that means a lot to me. As it's so exclusive to Okinawa that it's difficult to find in mainland Japan, I didn't even see it all that often in its native prefecture, making it feel even rarer and more exclusive.

[sodiepop-go]

Fantas I've tried around the world

Fanta is one of the most prolific soda brands around the world, and of all these different flavours I've tried, 13 different countries are represented.

[sodiepop-go]

Cup Noodle 50th anniversary noodle flavoured soda

In 2021, Nissin celebrated the 50th anniversary of Cup Noodle with this limited run set of four noodle flavoured sodas. as it was Japan exclusive, I had to use a third party shipping company to get it here, making it my most expensive soda purchase to date.

The pack came with 4 Sodas:

Original noodle flavour

seafood cream soda

chilli tomato

curry cola

and 9 cup noodles:

Original

seafood

curry

chili tomato

tonkotsu

miso

cheese curry

shio

Karamen

Did I enjoy the sodas? Honestly, no, but as someone who loves novelty, I believe they were worth the experience. It was fun to pair them with their respective Cup Noodle. The tomato flavour was like drinking a virgin bloody mary, so it was the most "normal."

The cola was the most interesting, it reminded me of jeera masala, sweet and warm, I paired it with the curry cheese rather than the plain curry so the flavours would be slightly different.

The seafood was the worst, on opening the smell was very strong, it was creamy like a cold clam chowder, not really what I look for in an eating or drinking experience.

I really like the bottles, the aluminium stubby bottle isn't something I come across a lot, even with imports. it was nice to hold and the size / shape allowed for continuity with the classic cup noodle wrap around label design

[sodiepop-go]

Partner got me this from Prague, I don't normally enjoy drinks from mainland Europe but I was happy to see this wasn't artificially sweetened, it was really good, It tasted like Fanta before the sugar tax.

[sodiepop-go]

I've also had frostbite, volt and major melon, plus variations of the original recipe from different countries.

I really love Mountain Dew, and have done since I was a tween, I came from a Roller cola house (off-brand soda house), so I'd never even heard of it until I won a coupon for a free can in a bag of Walkers crisps, back when they did those little blue prize packets back in the 90's. my mum went with me down to the local supermarket where I cashed it in, and on the way home, I imbibed on what I thought was the nectar of the gods.

every now and then, my mum would buy me a can as a treat up until they discontinued it in the UK around the end of the 00's.

When I backpacked the West Coast in 2015, I bought myself a bottle of Dew at the first sight of one and a whole load of memories came flooding back.

Now I import every flavour I can find, just knowing there are more out there that are so hard to get over here because of the cost of shipping liquid gives me the biggest fomo.

My favourite was Gingerbread snap'd, because it was the most unique, plus you could mix it with thrashed apple and you'd get mtn dew apple pie edition. Baja blast is like Mtn Dew +, it doesn't massively change the standard flavour profile but elevates it.

The voo dew editions are really nice (still waiting to get my hands on 2024), they always taste like a mouth full of skittles to me though, but I like skittles.

My least favourite, or most underwhelming, was this year's summer collection (Freedom fusion, star-spangled splash and liberty chill) None of them stood out, they were all a bit flat.

[sodiepop-go]

pepsi wild cherry

Pepsi wild cherry, USA import. I accidentally dropped the can and split so had to drink it right away 🥲

Cherry colas are at the top of my preferred sodas, and it's a popular brand, so I liked it but I'm not surprised

[sodiepop-go]

sprite chill

Sprite chill imported from Canada.

Refreshing sprite with a cherry twist. cooling sensation wasn't really necessary but a fun novelty seen in drinks products in the past.