Where I come from (Europe that is), beverages tend to be liquid. The exceptions I can think of is orange juice with small pieces of orange membranes in them, or a few chunks of fruit floating around in a punch bowl. In Asia however, things are different.
I'll never forget my first sip of grass jelly drink. A cloyingly sweet, black liquid, faintly tasting of ink, with black pieces of jelly floating around in it. Or pearl tea, I've no idea why it's called tea, the first one I had more resembled artificially fruit flavoured drinking yoghurt with big slimy balls of tapioca, nearly choking me.
But I have this personal trait, stuff I don't understand I tend to get a bit obsessed with. I get this urge trying to find reason where there does not seem to be any. And weird tasting stuff makes me happy. That might be a sight of mental instability, but it does. So I've decided, whenever I see an Asian beverage that I've not yet tasted, I HAVE to try it out. This decision has given me some of my worst experiences ever drinkwise, but also I few nice ones.
Today I tried out this one, "Basil Seed Drink with Apple".
Look: Colour is amber, heading towards peach. The most striking feature are the basil seeds, closely resembling frog eggs. They are evenly dispersed through the liquid, looking like they've never heard of gravity.
Smell: Strong artificial apple aroma, almost nauseating in it's sweet artificialness.
Taste: Not as bad as one might assume from the smell. Tastes like sweet tea, with an addition of apple aroma. Not as sweet as these kind of drinks often are. Surprisingly enjoyable.
Mouthfeel: The seeds feel like raspberry seeds coated in slime. They kind of slide around in the mouth and whenever I manage to crush one between my teeth there is a satisfying little crunch.
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| Would you drink this? |
