Mets Cola: The Finest Diet Cola of All

Japan's Kirin Reinvents Diet Soda While Helping Keep Your Weight Down

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Name: Mets Cola
Category: Soft Drink
Ethnicity: Japanese
Brand: Kirin

For decades, the delicious tooth-withering syrupy soda has always been accompanied by its "healthier" aspartame-ridden brother, diet soda. First Tab, then Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, people started flocking to the somewhat tasty no-cal drink because it gave them caffeine without the calories. So it does make sense that paired with mesmerizing ad campaigns, diet soda, specifically, diet cola, would become massively popular in American. Currently, the beverage industry is satiated with dozens of popular diet sodas, guaranteed to give you a refreshing jolt while keeping the "S" word out of your diet. Not that I agree with diet soda being healthy, but Americans tend to add unnecessary sugar into almost every processed food made in the country; it's not the worst way to cut calories for the average American. Diet Cola has received a few updates over the past years but none that I would consider game-changers. That is, until I tasted Mets Cola. Japan's beverage giant Kirin created a carbonated diet cola that I believe is the finest of all the diet colas. I see Mets Cola as the Diet Coke lover's dream drink. The most important box this drink checks off is that it tastes almost exactly like Coca-Cola (to me the most critical goal of a diet cola taste). The taste is undeniably light and refreshing. The body tastes like a sophisticated herbal cola with a light finish and no nasty aspartame aftertaste. Each sip, I am not reminded of a synthetic laboratory soda but a real drink that tastes natural and purely delicious. As a diet coke drinker, I have found what I've been looking for for so long. Perhaps I've been drinking American diet sodas so long that I chose not to search for better tasting alternatives around the globe. But this Metz Cola is something else; it transcends the category in both taste and presentation. And I didn't even get to the best part...

Japan's premier beer maker Kirin has made the world's first health-conscious soda. Beside from keeping consumers cool, Mets Cola is scientifically designed to help you keep fat off. What allows for this is an added fiber supplement that makes it more difficult for your body to absorb fat molecules during mealtime.  Kirin has also vetted this beverage's functionality by backing it up through successful clinical research. From a marketing standpoint, Kirin successfully targeted and won over men in their thirties who love indulging in food and drink but fear putting on extra weight. Seems young Japanese men love a drink that can help keep up with late night jaunts at their local Izayaka.

With science and marketing on their size, Mets Cola wins huge in the battle for the best diet cola. Most importantly, Mets Cola has massive longevity because it has 10 calories and tastes like the real deal. It's not an easy beverage to find. But when you see it, DRINK UP!

Rating: A+ (This Drink is the Current King of Skinny Colas!)

Cheese Pretz (Cho Umaboso)

Above and Beyond the Duty of "Cheese-Flavored Pretzel Stick"

Name: Cheese Pretz
Category: Pretzel
Ethnicity: Japanese
Brand: Glico

It's hard to sometimes break associations of foods with the places they originated from. Even as an intrepid food eater, I sometimes get weirded out when ethnic foods are taken out of context and appropriated into different cultures. Take pretzels for example. The traditional lye-treated pretzel we all know and love is a European-born doughy treat from the middle ages most famously perfected by the Germans. Though pretzels are sold and consumed throughout the world, they are typically not associated with Asian cuisines. Japanese snack generals Glico have decided to create a line of pretzel snacks and turn the pretzel world on its head. Well, that might be taking it a little too far. But I am very impressed. To me, PRETZ isn't a box of pretzel sticks. PRETZ turns boring old salt pretzels into flavorful works of art. They of course do not come close to the authenticity of hard, dried baked pretzels. But they do something else: they improve upon them. PRETZ sticks are seriously thin and come thirty to a box. The portion is important because it seems like they know I will be wanting many more of these as soon as I devour the first five sticks. These pretzel sticks are simply amazing. They're crunchy, delicate, and deep in savory flavor. Now just like pretzels aren't indigenous to Japan, neither is cheese. Well, butter and other dairy products are quite prevalent in northern Japan (Hokkaido) but elsewhere it's just not around. These pretzels are covered top to bottom in an absolutely delicious aged cheddar cheese flavor that I cannot get enough of. It goes beyond cheese too. Each bite gives something new notes to love: peppercorns, basil, soy sauce, Parmesan, complex saltiness. After each bite, I am reminded that these are really not similar at all to the cheese-covered pretzels I ate for most of my life. Then I realize that I don't care because PRETZ are so much more than your average pretzel snack. The crunch is perfect, the flavor is rich in profile and the size is just right for serious snacking. There are dozens of PRETZ flavors and I plan on trying them all with great zeal. I have Glico to thank for taking someone else's snack and making it more delicious and interesting than ever before. Thanks for the innovation!

Rating: A (Sophistication is a Cheese Dust Pretzel Stick)

Bikkle: Japanese Yogurt Drink

The Tastiest Yogurt Drink from Asia. Bikkle Get's It!

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Name: Bikkle
Category: Yogurt Soft Drink
Ethnicity: Japanese
Brand: Suntory

Meet Bikkle: a Suntory manufactured Japanese yogurt-centric drink that will have you hooked at first sip. Bikkle is part of a popular style of milk-beverage that is as functional as it is tasty. These drinks contain additives such as probiotics, nutrients and bacterial cultures which are known to balance acid in the gut and aid in healthy digestion. This one contains fermented milk, skim milk, citric acid, lactate and sucralose.  There are many successful brands in this milk-based beverage sector including Yakult from Korea and Wahaha Lactic Acid Bacteria Drink from China. Bikkle here is one of the finest examples of why yogurt-based drinks have become so popular in Asia over the last several decades. This drink comes in a two sizes: the two-sip tiny size and the 500ml version which I thankfully tested. The bottle features a strikingly cute label, adorned with a hand-drawn Bikkle mascot and fun complementary colors of cream, gold, blue and red. The hue of the beverage is creamy, opaque and straight-up cloudy; not even necessarily appetizing. It’s slightly golden cream color is reminiscent of grapefruit juice or peach nectar.

Upon first sip, I am in love. This is like a yogurt drink soda without the carbonation. I know I’m tasting a yogurt drink but its flavor is brighter and bolder than I’m used to. The flavor is the ultimate combination of airy sweetness and the yogurty sourness people clamor for. The flavor develops quickly. The sweetness and sour flavors turn to a fruity tartness found in an orange and a creaminess found in a banana. I am stunned by how each flavor balances out so perfectly. Every sip I distinctly each facet of flavor : sweet, sour, acidic, tart, juicy, creamy and milky. As I continue to consume each delicate sip, I start to realize why I love this so much. Bikkle tastes like many flavors found in the breakfast foods and drinks I grew up on: orange juice, cereal milk from sugary cereal, sweet and sour yogurt, and slices of ripe bananas. Maybe I’m going to far? Notes of butterscotch and roasted almonds, anyone? How about this: Bikkle is a sour orange creamcicle yogurt drink you are going to fall in love with. Bikkle may look like soapy dishwater in a bottle marketed to kiddies, but it is a complex drink with fantastic flavors, both new and old. Bikkle is bold and beautiful and now I want more. 

Rating: A- (Completely Unique and Utterly Delicious)

ITO EN Mugicha Barley Tea

Japanese Barley Tea Misses the Mark Behind Korean Barley Tea Giants

Name: ITO EN Mugicha (Unsweetened Barley Tea)
Category: Cold Tea (Bottled)
Ethnicity: Japanese
Brand: ITO EN

Japan has some of the finest tea in the world, right? White, green, oolong, black, sencha, matcha, jasmine, Japan simply has some of the best that you can get. And when it comes down to these lovely teas, ITO EN is a leader in the business. Their bottled teas are easily the best bottled teas I've ever consumed. Even when they branch out from their classic flavors into lightly sweetened teas and even coffee flavored lattes, they're pretty much flawless. With ITO EN, I expect excellence in every bottle because that's what they've always delivered. That is...until now. Here is ITO EN Unsweetened Barley Tea: a normal looking ITO EN tea bottle with great packaging and presentation. On the bottle, it claims that the barley is steamed and roasted twice for a robust taste and aroma. They claim to use premium whole barley, not powdered or concentrated barley. Sounds good so far. Upon first taste, I am not in a good place: The tea is sour and bland. The tea leaves a sharp and bitter taste in my mouth. It has no notes of roasted barley or wheat, which is often requisite in barley teas. Now, I will say I have had many barley teas in my day, and yes they are different from other teas. They are typically light in flavor, mellow, and rich in roasted nuttiness. This version simply did not have those classic tastes I've come to know and love from Korean barley teas. I don't think Japan makes bad barley tea. However, I do think that Korean barley tea is so fantastic that Koreans should be the leading producers of this gently, subtly nutty, golden roasted liquid. ITO EN is a king beverage manufacturer but this one should be cut from the line. 

Rating: C- (Japan Better Start Improving Their Barley Tea)

Skal Premium Mango Drink

Japan Makes the World's Finest Mango Soda. It's Science.

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Name: Skal Premium Mango Drink
Category: Soft Drink (Bottled)
Ethnicity: Japanese
Brand: Minaniniho

If we were to look at the history of soda flavors, Mango would probably not be remembered as a powerful, influential, or popular choice. Mango isn't even common fruit indigenous to Japan, the manufacturing country. But wouldn't you know it, Japan has figured out a way to take Mango soda and make it a smashing tropical success. I say Mango soda but it's more like a Mango soft drink. This drink is half carbonated and half still, producing a gentle and delicate bubbly effervescent mouthfeel that proves seriously refreshing.  It is, however, a soda in that it tastes like candy; a sugary squishy mango gummy to be exact. For one, it is quite sugary and mimics the sweetness that only candies and fruity nectars share. Secondly it is balanced elegantly by the sourness found in mangoes and the hyperbolic candies that inspire them. Overall, this drink is more sophisticated than people might initially think. Along with bright mango flavors, there are sweet exotic notes of lychee and mangosteen.  Though it has sweet candy qualities, it is not overly sweet. Though it tastes like a mango candy, it also tastes like a real mango. And unlike a soda, overly packed with carbonated fizzies, its bubbles are light and mellow. It's a spring and summer drink; one that would balance a plate of pan-fried gyoza or a spicy noodle soup. Its fruity bursting flavors and refreshing nature make put Skal as the finest mango soft drink I've come across as of yet. 

Rating: A- (The Perfect Mango Soda When You Need Sweet, Sweet Refreshment)