Food

Rating The Sodas From Around the World at Epcot

We all have our weird favorite little nooks and crannies at Walt Disney World. If you go with me, sorry, but you're going to have to ride the Carousel of Progress. You're also going to wait for me to make a pit stop to try the sodas from around the world at Epcot for the zillionth time. It's free. There's a short line. And there's air conditioning... my 3 favorite things at Disney World. The Coca Cola Flavors Around The World fountains feature 8 different carbonated beverages from around the world. None taste like a typical American Coke. Some are radically different. One even tasted like buffalo sauce. I was a sport and tried all 8. Here they are in order from left to right. The taste test tour did not start well in Italy. ItalyThis one's called "Beverly." It's got a bitter flavor. I had high hopes. I love Italian food. I could eat Chicken Parmesan for every meal for the rest of my life and be happy. As for soft drinks, maybe I have to give Italy the boot. As you can probably guess from my facial expression, Beverly and I did not get along. One sip and the rest of the tiny sample cup was poured out. I couldn't wait to try the next soda to get the taste out of my mouth. MadagascarThe "Bon Bon Anglais" was sweet and a nice change of pace. It's a mix of tropical fruit flavors. I gave it a B+. Of all the sodas from around the world at Epcot, this one turned out to be the best of the bunch for me. Dominican RepublicThe "Country Club Merengue" also has a sweet tropical fruity taste with a creamy twist. I dug it. Not as good as Bon Bon Anglais, but a close runner up. Another B+. KoreaMinute Maid Joy Apple Lychee seemed like it'd be a good one for me. I love apple anything. They blend with a lychee a tropical fruit native to southern China. There was zero Joy for me on this one. Almost as bad as Italy. I gave it a D. PhilippinesThe Royal Wattamelon didn't look appealing to me from the get go because I'm not a watermelon guy. But it wasn't so bad. The soft flavor made it ok... a C-. ChinaThe "Suan Mei Tang" is a sugar plum tea. It's a traditional Chinese beverage that's been around for over 1,000 years. The Smart Sour Plumb has a savory, sweet and tart flavor. To me, it tasted like barbecue sauce! But somehow it wasn't bad. I had to refill a few times and see if I really liked as much as I thought I did at first. I did. As weird as it sounds, BBQ flavored soda kinda got me. I gave it a B. RussiaSprite... with Cucumber? Sounded weird to me. And it was. I'm more a fan of the U.S. lemon-lime flavor combination. Sorry Vladamir. C-. MoldovaI'm not a big raspberry guy so "Viva Raspberry" didn't seem too promising. This Eastern Europe soda has a slightly tart, but somehow sweet flavor. B-. After traveling the world in a few minutes, I have to say I'm still partial to good old American Coca Cola. Even Coke Zero beats all of the sodas from around the world at Epcot.

More Food