Coke Blak

Coffee plus Coca-Cola sounds like the Frankenstein's monster of soft drinks. Filled with coffee extract and caffeine Coca-Cola Blak is an energy drink looking to stake a claim with the espresso crowd. The "fusion" (to steal from the bottle) of coffee and cola surprised my taste buds.

When the cap comes off you smell the familiar cola aroma. Along with it comes mocha and coffee scents. If you did a blind smell test you could momentarily mistake Blak for a bottled Starbucks Frappuccino.

The soda's mouth feel isn't different from any ordinary Coca-Cola. There's no Frapaccino-like creaminess. It feels like you're drinking a soda. The taste isn't bad. The coffee flavor isn't strong. Both the cola and coffee balance well. Nothing dominates.

Calorie-wise it's a winner with only 45 calories in an eight ounce bottle. The biggest downside is it's $6 for a four-pack. If it's $1.50 a bottle in a supermarket it will easily run over $2 in convienence stores. That's putting it into Red Bull country only it's not as mixible with alchohol (although adding Kahlua could make for something very yummy).

Coca-Cola Blak is a more adult taste. It's sweet but with an earthy, coffee flavor that's more sophisticated than any Coke product out there. The best part of Blak is its glass bottle in the old school style.

Coke + Coffee = ???

Coca-Cola Blak is a new "cola-coffee beverage" coming soon to a store near you. In the words of the company's press release:

Coca-Cola Blak is not just a flavor extension. It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth when poured.

When I think of soda I dread anything having to do with "texture" in it. Water plus flavoring should not have texture. Still, I'll try it. Maybe it will be a winner with me like Coke Zero is.

"Coke to Launch Coffee-Infused Coke Blak"

Give Me One of Those

Sales at Japanese McDonald's have been down in the dumps since the 2002 mad cow scare. The resturant's latest attempt to woo customers is the shrimp burger, described by the AP as "a bit similar to the Filet-O-Fish, except it's filled with shrimp." It may be similar to something sold in McDonald's in South Korea.

The real problem with the chain is demographics and culture:

[T]he Japanese market is increasingly problematic for McDonald's: people are having fewer children while the population is growing older and health-conscious.

Big Macs aren't so hot when you're worried more about your cholesterol than feeding kids who grew up and moved out of the house.

To see how different Japan's McDonald's are to their U.S. counterparts check out these sandwiches I snatched from the company website:

Either the Japanese like sesame seeds for breakfast, or they like eggs and bacon on their burgers. Weird but not unappetizing. I eat steak and eggs, so I'd try them.

"McDonald's in Japan Offers Shrimp Burger"

Coke Zero: Better than a Zero

Coca-Cola has a new product, Coke Zero. You may have seen the cut-rate pricing they're doing to get people to try the stuff. The premise is a zero-calorie cola that doesn't taste like Diet Coke. I was shocked when I found out years ago some people actually like the taste of Diet Coke. For me, the only diet soda I can tolerate is Diet 7-Up (and I like it better flat--yes, I'm weird). Since I'm a sucker for trying new stuff and Coke Zero is selling for 59 cents I gave it a shot.

Originally I thought Coke Zero had Splenda in it. Nope, that's the new version of Diet Coke. Coke Zero has a combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Aspartame is what was in original Diet Coke. Aspartame is what gives Diet Coke a harsh, chemical aftertaste. There was some of that with Coke Zero, but the acesulfame potassium softens the edges (yikes, this is turning into a wine review). It does succeed in tasting more like original Coca-Cola. I liked it enough I bought a second bottle. Repeat drinkings is a definite possiblity. "Flat Coke-scented cardboard" Coke Zero isn't.

Rasberry Coke

This stuff needs to get to the states. I'll try it in a heartbeat.

[via AdJab]

Soda and Candy

Here's two quick reviews on 7Up Plus and Reese's cookies:

• 7Up Plus is Cherry 7Up with a new label. Somewhere in a wherehouse hidden in some red state are millions of bottles of unsold Cherry 7Up. The company thought it would be a good idea to slap on a new label and try selling it again. It's pink and tastes like the old soda. A light, not-too-sweet, slightly tart flavor tickles your tongue. The supposed nutrional benefits from the added fruit juice, calcium, and vitamin C mean zilch to me.

• The Reese's cookies looked like the Thin Mints you can buy from the local Girl Scout troop. It tasted like how I'd expect: crunchy chocolate wafer, smooth peanut butter, and smothered in chocolate. They're nice change of pace when getting my peanut butter/chocolate fix.
  

Take Five with a Take 5

Hershey's has a new candy bar, Take 5. The five comes from its five main ingredients (I counted 8+ main ingredients on the package): pretzels, caramel, peanuts, peanut butter, and milk chocolate. If you like salt and sweet you probably will like this. For me, I only tasted the salty pretzels and the sweet chocolate. I did note the chewy caramel. It's not bad, but it only rates a C.

The Razor of the Future

Laurence imagines a razor that hasn't even been invented yet. When it does you'll read about it here.

"Razors"

I've created at new catagory devoted to "new stuff." This isn't Engadget or Gizmodo. It's much broader than that. I'm talking about new flavors of soda, new fast food items, new home products...new stuff. If you find something new send me an e-mail, and I'll see if it catches my eye.

New Stuff II

The second installment of new products that catch my eye is devoted to only one item: the Black & Decker Automatic Jar Opener. Is this a sign that the U.S.'s obesity battle won't be won anytime soon? If some are too lazy to open a jar I doubt they'll be willing to take a walk after eating whatever was in that jar.

I'm not married but would any self-respecting husband allow something like this into his house? The next thing you'll know someone will invent a device to take out the garbage with just a press of a button. When that happens what will be the point of husbands?

With my luck I'll be getting this for Christmas. If so I'll put that unopened box right next to the unopened soft-serve ice cream dispenser I got last year.

[Added to OTB's Beltway Traffic Jam.]

New Stuff

I'm a sucker for trying out new stuff. I could care less about low carb anything yet I tried both C2 and Pepsi Edge. (They're both awful.) Here are some new items I've tried in the last few days:

• Nescafe Ice Java: Think of it as coffee-flavored Quick. Not bad. Not too sweet and with a earthy coffee flavor. Imagine this stuff with Kahlua?
  

• Mountain Dew Pitch Black: First, it isn't really black, it's purple. Second, it tastes like watered down grape soda. Thank goodness it will be gone after Halloween.
  

• Mountain Dew Baja Blast: This is blue, tropical lime Mountain Dew--as opposed to temperate lime MD. Imagine letting a pack of tropical fruit Starburst soak in a cup of Sprite. That's what Baja Blast tastes like. Thankfully I can easily avoid this creation by not going to Taco Bell.*
  

• Hillshire Farm Deli Select Ultra Thin: The only selling point I can see with this product is the reusable Glad Ware container that holds the coldcuts. I think the idea behind this is you can quickly get to your fresh, highly-processed sandwich meat. That may be the theory, but something went awry in the execution. To get at the honey roasted turkey you have to peel the tape off the Glad Ware container top. Then you discover, not yummy turkey goodness, but a plastic bag protecting the meat. You have to take the bag out, figure out how to open the bag (I ended up ripping it open), then drop the meat back into the Glad Ware container. Such convienence! Before, I had to open the resealable bag the supermarket deli put my sandwich meat in. How have I lived so content this long without the ease of Hillshire Farm Deli Select Ultra Thin? As for the honey roasted turkey, it was a little too salty and I detected none of the honey roasted sweetness.
  

*Mountain Dew has been on quite a roll in the past few years. It's become the carbonated drink most associated with extreme sports. The original is good as are the newer Code Red and Livewire orange. The marketing gurus at Pepsi can't hit home runs everytime. Now, if they came out with different colors of MD but with the same flavor they might have a big hit. Kids could color coordinate their soda with their outfits.

P.S. Diet Caffeine-Free Mountain Dew makes no sense to me. Colored, unsweetened soda water that doesn't stimulate is a complete waste.

P.P.S. Yes, it's been a slow news day.