Star Wars Space Punch

I picked this can up a while back when The Last Jedi was released, but had forgotten about it in the back of my fridge until now. I'll be pretty honest, I don't expect great flavor experiences from these kinds of "collector" cans/bottles because that's not what their marketing is about. I'm not even really sure who made it, some company called Drink Department One US Inc., which is apparently a division of Drink Department One in Germany. The can looks nice though and has an interesting textured finish. 

The smell has a sort of wheat-like smell. This is not a good drink. It has one of those weird energy drink tastes, yet has no caffeine. I think some of that bizarre flavor may come from the blueberry and blackberry listed in the ingredients, but there are other juices listed in the ingredients I can't taste. While not a good tasting beverage by my standards it was an interesting try.

Tree Fort Ginger Ale

I came across this bottle in a co-op grocery in Maple Plain, Minnesota, right outside Minneapolis. Tree Fort Soda is only a few years old, but is reportedly distributed to specialty shops like organic markets, delis and co-ops around the upper-Midwest. Tree Fort was brought to life by a teenage Eva Duckler, who with help from her brother David, got the company off the ground from the beginnings as a school project for Eva. What I find intriguing is how their website mentions tasting soda as kids the way adults tasted wine. This is was very much my impression growing up as I mention throughout some of my posts pairings for some of these sodas. They claim to use all natural juices and extracts, that and cane sugar are things I'd expect from a boutique beverage company.

The ginger scent from this bottle is a pungent punch in the face. There's adequate carbonation that keeps bubbling up after opening, re-effervescing with each swig. Gladly the flavor is light. Some ginger ale's tend to border on the spice of ginger beer, and I was worried that might be the case after smelling. This ginger ale, however, is lighter than it's appearance or scent may forebode, but heavier than say Canada Dry. It makes a good palate cleanser and would probably make one heck of a Moscow Mule, if you're into those.

Fresca

Here's a glass bottled Fresca found this bottle in a foreign foods market. Fresca is a Coca-Cola Company brand, but this particular specimen was bottled in Guatemala. Fresca was created back in 1966 and marketed as a diet beverage with a grapefruit flavor in the U.S. However, Fresca made in Latin America is not a diet beverage.

As mentioned above certain Latin versions are not diet (no calorie). The bottle pictured here, bottled in Guatemala is listed as 130 calories. It does use corn syrup rather than cane sugar. I can smell that powerful citrus scent without even getting my nose near the top of the bottle when it's been opened. I love the heft of this particular bottle as well. It's a returnable bottle so they are made thicker to withstand reuse. There's something satisfying about the weight of returnable bottles. This actually tastes better than I remember Fresca tasting, but its been many years. Maybe it tastes better because it isn't the diet version? This is a refreshing drink with decent carbonation and good for a hot day or to pair with breakfast. 

Ginseng Up Cranberry

It's been a while since I added any new posts from Ginseng Up. You can read my previous post with a little about them here. 

The frosty red color of this drink with the black label makes it look attractive. I prefer glass bottled sodas when I can get them, but if you're going to use glass bottles why cheap out on these twist caps rather than use a true crown cap? Even twist-off crowns are better than the type on these bottles. I'd say the aroma given off from this drink is sort of like a mix of cranberry and pomegranate. It's scent is sweet and fresh like a fruit salad. Unfortunately, the flavor falls flat for me. The initial punch is very tart, nearly pucker inducing, but then you feel a finish that is quite tea-like. This finish is probably coming from the ginseng extract. Once that flavor evaporates from your taste buds the sourness felt earlier leaves you salivating. The good thing is that there is no lingering aftertaste. This choice isn't bad if you like sour candies, or super fruity natural flavors. Personally, I'd nurse it over a while, not to savor it but because of the intensity. 

Fanta Green Apple

I've reviewed many varieties of Fanta before, but here's a new flavor, Green Apple. 

The color is a bit neon green looking and there is plenty of carbonation, as I'd expect from Fanta. The scent is reminiscent of green apply Jolly Ranchers. It has a very tart taste but is essentially a strong granny apple flavor. This is a strong flavor and not something I'd probably ever finish a bottle of, or even a can. However, if you like the very sweet candy-like sodas on the market this might be appealing to you as well. 

Postobon Manzana

Postobón, a South American beverage company headquartered in Medellín, Colombia. Gabriel Posada and Valerio Tobón founded the company in 1904, naming the company after compounding their two last names. 

The aroma from the bottle is closer to flowery perfume than that of fresh cut apples and sweet like candy. Interestingly, this isn't the first time I've encountered apple sodas with a pink or purplish color. When taking a swig of this it doesn't taste like apple. Give it a few seconds though and the after taste at the back of the tongue presents a tart apple skin-like flavor. Having tried many apple sodas, this is actually a decent option. 

Colombiana Kola

Colombiana is made by Postobón, a South American beverage company headquartered in Medellín, Colombia. And although the beverage is South American, this specimen was actually bottled in New York. Postobón began back in 1904 and they were actually selling bottled water in 1917.

This is a cola flavored drink, but is a transparent orange color. The aroma is creamy.... and the taste too is closer to a cream soda or one of the many Latin American Champagne Kolas. Strange that they label this as kola flavor, I would call it a cream soda. It's rather weak flavored as well. The cream soda taste has vanished from your tongue in seconds. 

Sangaria Ramune Orange

You may have seen previous reviews on here for various flavors of Ramune. This is the first from Sangaria. I mentioned Sangaria in a previous post here. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to learn too much about their company or its history. 

Once again, the Japanese Ramune style does not disappoint. This bottle has plenty of carbonation that helps bring that natural orange scent to the surface. It smells like a fresh cut orange, not like sugar. The orange flavor is very light, not over powering. The one thing about that light flavor is that there really isn't an after taste. A few moments after sipping it you could almost forget you were tasting an orange flavored drink. 

Solo Banane

I found this bottle in the Hong Kong Market in Atlanta. That market carries mostly asian products but has some Latin American and Caribbean products as well if you look closely. There seems to be more than one brand of Solo beverages out there, one is based in Norway and appears unrelated to this one. This banana flavored soda was bottled in Trinidad and Tobago from the Solo Beverage Company, founded in 1949. 

Banane is French for banana, though I think it's strange it's colored orange rather than yellow. It smells sickeningly sugary and not quite like banana. It has the faint hint of a red-cream soda mixed with banana scent. This bottle seems quite flat regarding carbonation and tastes nothing like banana. I'm not even sure how to describe the flavor, perhaps something closer to a cotton-candy flavored soda. It's not a flavor I'm taking a liking to. 

World of Coca-Cola

It's been some time since I've made a new post but I have been on the road and since I was visiting Atlanta I made a stop at the World of Coca-Cola. The World of Coca-Cola is a museum, exploration center, and promotion rolled into one. This building is not attached to the Coca-Cola headquarters, which is about a mile away, but is located in the old Olympic park used for the 1996 Olympics. It shares this site with the Georgia Aquarium and Center for Civil and Human Rights.

At the time of my visit the cost of admission for adults was $17, however I opted for the VIP package. The VIP package cost $32. With this package you get a personal tour guide, VIP lanyard, 40% off at the store, and at the time of this visit a VIP lapel pin. I went with a friend and our tour guide was Kelly. Kelly was a consummate professional, very fun and friendly, and full of energy. As we passed other visitors listening to the narrators for general admission it was very evident some of them were bored or didn't want to be there. One of them sounded depressed, and another sounded so smooth and even toned I thought he was on a load of muscle relaxants and anti-depressants. The woman who stood at the entrance of the Vault exhibit was more energetic and friendly however. The VIP package also means you get to cut lines to enter, and at each exhibit, plus lines for the photo ops where they have staff that take your picture with a costumed polar bear or the Coca-Cola sofa from American Idol, if you're interested in those photos. They charge extra for those photo prints and calling them "professional" photographers is a reach.

The Loft

Upon entering the first room from the Lobby, called The Loft, you will see walls and display cases of various memorabilia with a brief welcome from one of the staff and discussion of some of the memorabilia in this room. After leaving this area you enter a large theater which basically shows a 4-story commercial for Coca-Cola trying to prompt you to believe that the drink makes "moments" in your life and is tied to happiness. I thought it was a little too much pandering. This is followed by an atrium, named The Hub, which each of the exhibit areas branches off from. 

Various Memorabilia

The first exhibit we were led through was the Milestones of Refreshment. Once you're in the exhibit areas having the wireless headsets that the VIP package affords you really helps because there are many people and it would be difficult to hear the guide without them, so that was very nice. In the Milestones area you are led through chronological showcases of memorabilia such as original documents, early advertisements, syrup and soda dispensers, etc while the signs and guide present you with the evolving history of the brand. Most of this area is focused on Coca-Cola, but towards the end of this exhibit there is some introduction to other Coca-Cola owned beverage brands. Fanta. I tried to tactfully address this but it felt like they had prepared guides for how to deal with that, and I was trying to be a graceful guest so let it go.

Vintage Vending

World Advertising

Some of the highlights of this exhibit are early advertisements, a collection of gorgeously maintained vintage and retro vending machines, and amazing collection of the various Olympic pins and Olympic torches Coca-Cola has been involved with. As someone who really loves vintage advertising and coin-op devices I was drooling over the vending machines. There is also a great display of international advertising. I'm not so sure I agree with the narrative they present with regards to their involvement with

The next exhibit was the Bottle Works. Because this is more of a museum and not an actual bottling plant this area presents an actual, functioning bottling process on a scaled down size. They have the water purification equipment, syrup tanks, bottle cleansers and fillers and test lab, just on a small scale.

The Vault

The next exhibit is called The Vault. In this area they have some fun and games for kids and address the history of the secretive formula and steps taken to protect it. After Asa Candler bought Coca-Cola from the Pemberton family in 1889 for $2,300, he would go on to sell it to a group of investors in 1919 for $25-million. The investors didn't have this much money and secured a bank loan from Guarantee Bank in New York on the condition that the recipe be held at the bank as collateral for the loan. After repayment of the loan, the recipe was secured at the Trust Company Bank in Atlanta. When a vault was built at the World of Coca-Cola, there was a big show made of relocating the recipe from the bank to the vault inside this exhibit. There is also a room in this area regarding myths of the brand over the years, many of which I'd never heard of and are quite amusing. I think they made a mistake in making the vault itself though. Supposedly they hired an actual vault manufacturer to make it, the hand scanner is most likely non-functional, just for show, but there are also three combination dials on the face. But it's a "black box". It's physically huge, but its so easy to say, "Sure, but is it really in there?" They should have built a window into the vault similar to the way the famous 9,000 year lease at the Guinness Brewhouse is stored inside a thick window in the floor. Obviously they can't show the formula but give visitors something to see in there.

On the second floor, there are a few more exhibits. The Pop-Art exhibit is fun. Here you can see folk art made around the world of coca-cola or from coca-cola cans/bottles. This seems to be the only location in the building that addresses the New Coke fiasco. Here you will see a small display with company documents, a few cans, some copies of lawsuits files by angry consumers and a looping video of the announcements and backlash the company faced from it. Next to this exhibit is an area that shows Coca-Cola commercials from around the world. I was not interested in that as there is already an enormous amount of promotional materials around you. 

Up next was what I felt to be the worst experience in the building, the 4-D Theater. This was another advertisement attempting to pull on your heart-strings, told through a story of a "mad scientist" attempting to find the secret behind Coca-Cola. There they provide you with 3-D glasses, though I found it difficult to focus my eyes. The 4-D part comes in because the seats move. My complaint here is that A) The story is told to you, you are not looking through someone's point of view, so the movements seem random and not particularly aligned to the action on the screen, and B) the seat movements are so hard and jarring I'm surprised it hasn't injured anyone. Someone mentioned you might feel a spray of water, and there were moments in the video that probably could have happened, yet I felt nothing. Overall, I felt this this exhibit has a lot of room for improvement. 

Finally, we reached the Taste It gallery. Here there are large stands with self-serve soda fountains for regions of the world, such as Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, North America. While the spigots circle each station they have the same flavors all the way around except at North America. They stated that they do periodically rotate flavors. While I tasted nearly every offering, I did make a note to taste one of the new flavors my guide mentioned from Asia, a drink called Smart, with a new Sour Plum flavor. She had mentioned it seemed odd and did not taste like sour plum. This drink smells and tastes like mild barbecue sauce. It wasn't unpleasant but very unexpected. Bjäre from Europe had a Lingonberry flavored soda, which I did not care for. I enjoyed Fanta Exotic at the Africa station, but I believe this is also available in Europe. Fanta Blue Raspberry was not something I would drink and I found it pleasant to see Tab at the North America station as well... apparently it's still chugging away without sign of being a killed off flavor. Of course there was also a separate area in the tasting room for all the Coca-Cola standards, Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Coke Cherry Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, Coca-Cola Cherry, Diet Coke, Diet Caffiene Free Coca-Cola, and Coca-Cola Life. Next to this were several "free-style" machines, these are the machines that allow users to navigate a screen to choose select custom flavors or make their own mix-and-match creations. 

In summation, it was a fun experience, though I was mostly there for the museum section to see memorabilia and see more historical information as well as learn of and taste exotic flavors from around the world. Younger kids may not enjoy it, but I think kids 10 and up will. I don't enjoy parts where I feel like a captive audience to their commercials and I think there is room for improvement, but I had fun. It can definitely take you longer to explore and see everything than you'd imagine so plan accordingly. If you're in Atlanta and have some time consider stopping in.