Puriku Golf Mike Mixed Berry Flavoured White Tea – or the drink that doesn’t really have a name, more like a list of ingredients – is a flavoured ice tea from Thailand.

Golf Mike, or were correct grammar to be used Golf and Mike, are a Thai pop duo along the lines of the Backstreet Boys were they to lose three members. To what extent the two are involved in the production of the drink I’m not sure. It would be an interesting way to expand on one’s brand and not entirely unique in Thailand (see upcoming review of Carribou Daeng).

I had not previously conceived of the idea of soft drinks being gender-segregated (perhaps I’ve been naive: diet drinks have been targeted at women for decades and excessively masculine imagery is used to push energy drinks). However all the elements are here to suggest that this drink is targeted at younger Thai females: pop star affiliation, shocking pink packaging and a very sweet berry flavour.

Puriku Golf Mike Mixed Berry Flavoured White Tea is a little too sweet to be totally refreshing.

2/5

Schweppes Grapefruit is a grapefruit-flavoured carbonated beverage from Hong Kong with light tang and a small hint of bitterness. [Ed. Insert witty pun here.]

Wow. Okay. After reading the first few paragraphs of the Cadbury PLC Wikipedia page, I’m not even going to try to source the origins of this beverage… But let me just skim over the details available. Schweppes Grapefruit is canned under the authority of Schweppes Holdings Limited who in turn is/was (I believe)  part of Cadbury Schweppes, a one time British, but now American, yet still publicly owned conglomerate, which since 2008, has been split (perhaps in title only?) into Cadbury PLC, confectionary producer, and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc, which produces Schweppes label beverages (1). To top it all off, the drink is canned in Hong Kong by Swire Coca-Cola company, a company whose headquarters are located in London (2).

Phew, wasn’t that fun?

There isn’t a lot of English language info dedicated to Schweppes Grapefruit on the internet. My favourite would be this part-review, part-stream-of-consciousness ramble from A Life Less Ordinary: The blog formerly known as “What is a Banana?” [Ed. Yeah, you know what you’re in for…]

I might not think quite as highly of Schweppes Grapefruit as the author of that post does but I do think it is mighty fine. Similar in taste to both Solo and Lift, Schweppes Grapefruit manages to avoid being overly sweet like they are. Replace that tiny-bit-too-sweet sensation with a slightly bitter one and you have Schweppes Grapefruit right there. In a nutshell. Or as a score out of five:

4/5

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadbury_Schweppes (accessed 17.6.10)

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swire_Group (accessed 17.6.10)

Frooti is a sweet and lightly tangy mango-flavoured fruit drink imported from India.

Frooti is the flagship product of Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd., an Indian company that also manufactures confectionary.

Frooti yields significant popularity online, with facebook users almost queuing up to post the drink’s advertising slogan ‘Why Grow Up?’ on the dedicated facebook fan page, and then there’s this youtube video… [Ed. What the?]

For all the love, the only alternative review I could scrounge up for you was this one… well and 27 over on this site.

While I might not share the love to the same degree as the online community, I have to admit Frooti is quite tasty. Made from Mango pulp (as opposed to watered down juice), has a slightly thicker consistency than I would expect from a fruit drink. It is also quite sour, which kept me racing back to the straw.

Frooti is best served chilled. Trust me. I tried it both chilled and room temperature – you’re gonna want to drink it cold.

3.5/5

Extra: Creativeland Asia, the company with Frooti’s advertising contract, has made some interesting and amusing commercials. Check them out.

Hey Song Guava Juice Drink is guava-flavoured fruit drink made in Taiwan.

Hey Song Corp. is a Taiwanese beverage manufacturer probably best known for its Sarsaparilla (whose can looks suspiciously like a Coke can if you ask me). The history of Hey Song Corp. is rather interesting. The company started operations in 1925, originally as a local producer of Japanese soft drink brands Fuji and Sanshou (1). In 1938 the company was “consolidated” into the Taiwan Beverages Governing Group and “forfeited the right to operate” (2). In 1946 the group was dissolved and the original owners restarted the company (3).

I’m not sure about you, but I smell a hint of nationalisation – and not by the people you might first think, as the island was under Japanese colonial rule until 1945.

Unfortunately Hey Song Corp. doesn’t have much presence on the English language internet. In fact I found nada, nothing, zilch in the way of facebook pages, youtube videos or blog reviews. So – although I apologise profusely, you’re stuck with my two cents(ences):

Hey Song Corp.’s Guava Juice Drink is sweet, smooth and refreshing. Highly recommended on a hot day. It is a shame, however, that it contains only 20% guava juice, a figure merely double that of some carbonated soft drinks. I guess 100% fruit juice just wouldn’t last the length of time it takes from overseas point of manufacture to local point of sale. Shame.

3.5/5

(1) http://www.heysong.com.tw/web_en/corporation3.htm accessed 7.6.10

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

Made in Thailand, T.V. Food Co.’s Bird’s Nest Beverage is a sickly sweet non-carbonated beverage marketed as a health drink.

I believe the drink is targeted primarily at the Chinese market, based on the preponderance of Hanzi (or Chinese pictographic characters) both on the label and on the sticker above. Then again the rest of the label is in English, including details of the local importer.

The Bird’s Nest in question is that of the Swiftlet species of bird. Normally consumed as a soup,  Birds Nest is believed to have healing properties. Laying aside my general scepticism of Chinese Medicine (and any other form of ‘alternative science), I have to say that the evidence of supposed health benefits is sketchy at best. Take this description from éNEST, a Singaporean company that sells a range of Bird’s Nest products as an example:

Bird’s Nest is very nourishing and contains unknown healing properties that are not easily available in other health products.

For Expectant mothers :
An excellent source of calcium. It dissolves phlegm, strengthens lung and liver and improves metabolism.

Women :
An excellent source of protein. It improves the quality of our cells by regenerating new cells and at the same time strengthen the body immune system. Frequent consumption can promote youthful smooth complexion and healthier skin tone.

Elderly :
An excellent source of calcium to fight osteoporosis. It strengthens the lungs, improves our digestive and immune system, which are essential to boost good health among the elderly.

Children :
An excellent source of nourishment for growth and development and improves the child’s immune system.

Smokers :
Helps to cleanse blood and rid the lungs of impurities and toxins to build healthier lungs.

If , as Wikipedia suggests, the Chinese have been lauding the medicinal values of the substance for more than four centuries, I’d like to see something a little more concrete than “unknown healing properties” (2). It is an interesting cultural phenomenon, however, so I would recommend a little independent research if you’re interested in Chinese culture.

Oddly enough, the taste of T.V. Food’s Bird’s Nest Beverage is not unlike that of Wong Lo Kat. It is similarly too sweet, and yet Bird’s Nest Beverage takes the sweetness level up a notch and then some. The texture is what some might call interesting, others off-putting. It is thicker than a juice and somewhat creamy. Hidden inside the viscous liquid are small amounts of what I assume must be the Bird’s Nest, which are similar in texture and to coconut jelly, if cut roughly.

T.V. Food’s Bird’s Nest Beverage is too sweet and thick for my liking, and – being sceptical about the supposed health benefits – too expensive as well.

1/5

(1) http://enest.biz/Nutritional_Benefits_of_Bird_Nest.aspx accessed 27.5.10

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird%27s_nest_soup accessed 27.5.10