I don't drink a lot of soda (or pop), and in general, I usually prefer Coke and Sprite over Pepsi and Sierra Mist, but I still tried out some Crystal Pepsi that my boyfriend and I found at Fry's (Kroger).
I didn't have any Crystal Pepsi in the '90s and don't really remember it coming out (but I didn't really drink sodas in the '90s, and I was fairly young).
I haven't had Pepsi in a while, so my boyfriend and I tried the Crystal Pepsi along with regular Pepsi. The taste of the Crystal Pepsi is hard to describe. It tasted similar to Pepsi, but not quite the same... like when you have the dream that you're in your own house, but it's not really your house and some things are different.
It seemed to have a more watery taste or something compared with regular Pepsi to me. My boyfriend thought it tasted just like regular Pepsi, except with a bright finish similar to Sprite (and without the limey taste).
We later found that sodium citrate and sodium benzoate are found in both Sprite and Crystal Pepsi... so my boyfriend is now convinced he has a new super power: being able to detect the taste of those two ingredients.
My boyfriend and I also left a little bit of the Crystal Pepsi and regular Pepsi in the fridge, and the regular Pepsi definitely went flat faster, or at least tasted flatter than the Crystal Pepsi after the same amount of time.
We also compared the nutrition and ingredients of a regular Pepsi with Crystal Pepsi.
The main differences were:
Crystal Pepsi has sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, and gum arabic as ingredients. Regular Pepsi does not.
Regular Pepsi has 55 mg of sodium per 20 oz bottle. Crystal Pepsi has 90 mg of sodium per 20 oz bottle.
Regular Pepsi also lists caramel color and sugar as ingredients, and Crystal Pepsi does not.
Everything else appears about the same:
Both 20 oz bottles have 250 calories, 69 g of carbs/sugar, and 63 mg caffeine content.
The same remaining ingredients: carbonated water, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid, and natural flavor
And they both have same statement that they are "partially produced with genetically engineering"! 😛
Nutrition Facts for one 20 fl oz bottle: Regular Pepsi vs. Crystal Pepsi
Overall, it tasted fine to me and fairly close to regular Pepsi. It wasn't bad at all. My boyfriend also liked it and preferred the Crystal Pepsi over regular Pepsi.
Food: Crystal Pepsi
Source: Fry's Food & Drug Store (Kroger), Tucson, AZ
Price: $1.00 (on sale!)
Rating: Good
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