Care For a Bean Flavored Pepsi?

Over the years, a plethora of strangely flavored snacks and drinks have been released out of Japan: burger flavored chips, sushi tacos, veggie-flavored Kit Kat bars, Pepsi Ice Cucumber (flavored like a cucumber), and now the new bean flavored Pepsi Azuki.

Pepsi Azuki is based off the azuki bean, which is an extremely popular bean grown in East Asia, especially China and Japan.

When the average person thinks about beans, they probably conjure up the image of a greasy  burrito. For the Japanese, however, beans are more commonly associated with desserts like baked buns, Kit Kat bars, ice cream, and even cakes.

Suffice it to say, beans are to the Japanese what beer is to men: a great addition to any snack. It makes sense then that Pepsi would choose to offer it as a soda pop flavor in Japan.

Taste testers at CNNGO revealed that despite its pinkish red hue—which may lead some to think it tastes like strawberry cola—the Azuki basically tastes like a barely carbonated Pepsi with a tiny tinge of sweetness and a noticeable aftertaste of Azuki bean. As for the smell, Japanese Snack Reviews eloquently stated that, “It smells like barf.”

Apparently, Pepsi’s goal is to simulate the sensation of having eaten Azuki beans, while also adding a minute caffeine buzz and a major case of sinuses. Will it last or fade away like a fad?

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By V Saxena on 16-11-2009