Alright, so I got curious about Korean drinks lately. Not the boozy kind, the other stuff. See ’em all over the place online, you know? Looked kinda interesting, different from the usual sodas and juices I grab. Figured, why not give it a shot? Needed something new anyway.
Finding them wasn’t super straightforward, not where I live. Had to actually drive out to that bigger Asian supermarket across town. Took me a good chunk of Saturday morning, honestly. Navigated the aisles, felt a bit lost for a while. Place is huge. Finally found the drinks section, and wow, tons of options. Labels are mostly not in English, obviously, so it was a bit of a guessing game based on the pictures.
Here’s what I ended up grabbing
- Milkis: Saw this one a lot. Looked like a creamy soda? Intriguing.
- Sac Sac Orange: This had little pulp bits in the picture on the can. Reminded me of something from when I was a kid, thought I’d try it.
- Crushed Pear Juice: Looked wholesome. The can felt kinda heavy.
- A Banana Milk thing: Everyone talks about banana milk, right? Had to see what the fuss was about. Small carton.
- Some kind of Aloe Vera drink: Had bits floating in it. Looked weird, but people seem to like aloe drinks, so in the basket it went.
Got home, stuck ’em all in the fridge to get properly cold. That’s key, right? Warm soda is just sad. Later that day, decided to start the tasting session. Didn’t do anything fancy, just sat at the kitchen table, popped them open one by one.
Started with the Milkis. Yep, creamy soda is about right. Fizzy, milky, kinda melon flavor? Hard to describe. Not bad, actually. Different, but I didn’t hate it. Might get it again.
Then the Sac Sac Orange. Poured it into a glass. Yep, loads of pulp. Tasted like… orange juice, but milder, and with chewy bits. It was okay. The texture was the main thing. Not sure I’m big on chewy drinks.
Next up, the Crushed Pear Juice. This one was thick. Like, really thick. Sweet, very pear-y, almost like drinking pear sauce. It was intense. Quite nice, but probably couldn’t drink a huge amount.
Okay, Banana Milk time. Poured it out. Smelled like bananas, duh. Tasted… exactly like liquid banana candy. Very sweet, very artificial banana flavor. Not really my thing, I guess. Felt like a kid’s drink.
Last one, the Aloe Vera drink. This one had those weird jelly bits. The drink itself was super sweet, vaguely grape-ish? The jelly bits were kinda fun to chew on, reminded me of bubble tea pearls but softer. Refreshing, I suppose, but again with the chewy stuff.
So, yeah. That was my little adventure into non-alcoholic Korean drinks. It was… an experience. Some hits, some misses. The Milkis and the Pear Juice were probably the winners for me. The others? Glad I tried them, but probably won’t rush out to buy them again. It was fun trying something totally different though, breaking out of the usual routine. Definitely made me realize how varied drinks can be outside the usual American stuff. Worth the trip to the market just to see what’s out there.
