Tuesday, March 9, 2010

An American Taste Test

Soda is not very popular in Japan, but you can usually find Coke at McDonald's or in the occasional vending machine. I told my Japanese friends one day that I prefer Pepsi, and I was just met with blank stares. Many Japanese people have never had Pepsi, or they didn't realize there was a difference!
I decided to hunt down some Pepsi and teach them about the good ol' Pepsi vs. Coke taste test. After a few weeks of searching, I did find a vending machine with Pepsi (oddly it wasn't even available in any foreign food store), and we set a date for the "tasting party".
Here is a pic of me and my friends one day at lunch tasting Coke & Pepsi!

I told them that I thought Pepsi was sweeter (more sugary), and that Coke had more carbonation (bubbles). Four of the girls agreed, and the fifth one said she couldn't tell the difference. Of the 4 girls, they all prefer Coke because it's less sweet. Yuri (far right in the pic) said that if Coke sat out for a couple hours and became flat, it would probably taste just like Pepsi! Hariyama (far left in the pic) looked at the cans and reconfirmed her vote for Coke because it has 3 fewer calories per serving!
I thought it was bizarre that someone so thin to begin with counts calories, but it also got me thinking... On the Japanese cans, the serving size is 100ml, which is about 3.5 servings for a normal 12 oz. can. In America, a 12 oz. can is 1 serving size! Let's just add that to the list as another reason Japanese people are so tiny compared to Americans!
They had fun though, so I'm taking suggestions as to what I should teach them about American food next!! Let me know if you come up with any good ideas that I can find in Japan or bring back easily from Kentucky!!

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