Ramune melon flavor

This ramune is imported by hadson of Maspeth ny. It was about $1.50 and 200ml. The label is different but it's the same ramune bottle as before. Popping the top was very easy this time, as there was no surprise. The picture is with a half drunk ramune since I was showing someone how it works before I took the pic. Glad a cheaper version was found. It's the same ramune, just different importer. The label says only 70 cals for the bottle.

The flavor once again reminds me of carbonated sugar drinks. The hint of melon isn’t bad, but there is a weird taste. Almost bitter, slightly. Once again the wow factor is not in the drink but in the bottle itself. It's a cool discussion piece, but as far as the actual drinks go, ramune isn’t anything special. I find myself drinking the
bottle because it's open and you can’t close it, not because it's yummy. One thing I found was that if you suck it backwards, you can get the marble stuck again. lol!

I would buy again, but again, only for the bottle novelty.

Verdict: A good conversation piece, not that great as a drink.
2 stars **

Calpico aka Caripis

It is a Japanese non-carbonated soft drink that has a white coloring to it. It is quite popular in Japan. It's Japanese name is caripis, but sold outside as calpico. Here's the reason someone told me.

Say Caripis really fast in a Japanese accent.

Ka ree pis.

Real fast.

Sounds like CowPiss. Lol! And it can kind of look like it. Ewww.. lol.

The bottle itself is a squarish bottle with a nice design to the sides. The cap is just a normal twist cap. The bottle cost about $2, and it has 230 cals for the 500 ml (16.9oz).As I took a sip It felt it has a its a sweet fruit flavor. It leaves the after taste of a mentos fruit chew or tums fruit tablet. Yes tums is not a candy. But it does taste like candy. The texture is very smooth of the drink. A few minutes later there is a slight dryness in the mouth. I'll wash it down with water.

Ask any Japanese friend and they will endorse Calpico and I will to.
Verdict: Should try!
3 stars ***

Ramune Strawberry Soda

ramune strawberry

This is a Japanese drink imported by sangaria us. the bottle is oddly shaped with the neck becoming very thin. The bottle holds 200ml, which is less than 7 oz. For the small size it packs a high calorie punch at 100 cals. Comparable to mountain dew in cals.
Getting the bottle open was a pain in the butt. It's not a twist off cap, or bottle cap. There is essentially a marble preventing the soda from leaking out. Literally. I had to pop out the push top from the first cap, then shove the push top into the bottle. It took a few tries, and some force I might add. I guess thats a great way to keep kids from drinking it. I was surprised it took so long to open.
Once I got the topper shoved in, the marble just fell into the soda. The slim neck design helps the marble from dropping into the bottom of the bottle, and at the same time, when trying to chug, the marble will prohibit more then a little bit of liquid from coming out at one time. In effect, it helps you make the soda last longer since there is so little of it in the first place.
As for the drink itself, its a nice sweet flavor. Like a carbonated version of some strawberry drink from the supermarket isle. The drink itself was not that fizzy though. The scent of the bottle after finishing it is quite pleasant.
I can see why parents would want their kids to drink it since it only lets them drink a little bit at a time, and they probably need practice opening it themselves. For those who are calorie conscious it can make a good sweet drink in a small package. The bottle cant be resealed so once its opened it has to be drunk.
At almost $2, the drink is more of a novelty than something I would buy all the time. I was spending more time thinking about the bottle then the actual drink. The drink itself is nothing spectacular, just an average fruit flavor beverage. I would recommend to try it once just because of the bottle design, but I wouldn't keep it around the house. Nice novelty though. IF it were $1 I might keep it around though.

Verdict: Should try once. Bottle more interesting than the drink itself.

You can see the marble here. I'm still trying to extract it from the bottle. Not too hard, it is glass.