Bikkle: Japanese Yogurt Drink
/The Tastiest Yogurt Drink from Asia. Bikkle Get's It!
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)
