From Cucumber Fizz to Ice Cream Experiments
There’s something oddly comforting about opening a can of Pepsi. The fizz, the caramel sweetness, the way it pairs with pizza grease or a bag of chips. And yet, for every classic cola, there’s a shadow world of experimental flavors that only appear in limited releases during strange collaborations that come and go like fever dreams. These aren’t just gimmicks—though, let’s be honest, some absolutely are. They’re time capsules, reflecting both regional tastes and the corporate urge to tinker endlessly with a formula that already works. Here’s twenty of the weirdest Pepsi flavors you probably never stumbled across.
1. Pepsi Ice Cucumber
Imagine unscrewing a soda bottle and catching the crisp, watery scent of cucumber. This 2007 release in Japan was a bizarre mix of sweet cola with that spa-water vegetal edge. Some people loved the coolness. Others said it was like drinking salad dressing with bubbles.
2. Pepsi White
This one looked like skim milk poured into a soda bottle. Released in Japan, Pepsi White was flavored with yogurt. Not creamy yogurt, mind you—more like tangy, slightly sour yogurt candy. People said it tasted like cola mixed with a tube of Go-Gurt.
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3. Pepsi Azuki
Azuki beans are frequently used in Japanese sweets like mochi, dorayaki, and ice cream. So Pepsi decided, why not beans in soda? The result was earthy, slightly nutty, with a soft sweetness underneath. You couldn’t exactly chug it with a burger, but this concoction definitely had its share of enthusiasts.
4. Pepsi Blue
Okay, this one you might remember. It launched in 2002 in the U.S. and was as neon as windshield wiper fluid. It was a mix of berry and cotton candy flavors, though some swore it tasted like melted popsicles. It vanished quickly from the market, but nostalgia kept bringing it back in scattered re-releases.
5. Pepsi Salty Watermelon
Summer in Japan means salted watermelon at the beach. Pepsi thought, let’s bottle that. And they did, producing a sweet and fruity drink with an unmistakable saline kick at the end.
6. Pepsi Mont Blanc
The idea sounds cozy with its warm, nutty, and creamy vibes, inspired by the French chestnut dessert. The addition of carbonation is definitely confusing to the uninitiated palate and leaves your taste buds wondering if you’re drinking soda or dessert.
7. Pepsi Ice Cream
This one showed up in Russia. Basically, it was a vanilla ice cream float in a can. You know when you dump Pepsi over a scoop of vanilla and watch it fizz up? That, but premixed. It managed to be both nostalgic and weirdly artificial, like drinking melted float foam.
8. Pepsi Baobab
Yes, baobab. For those of you who don’t know, baobabs are those gigantic African trees that look strangely like they were planted upside down. This 2010 release in Japan had a slightly citrus, slightly herbal profile—zesty but earthy at the same time. Some compared it to grapefruit soda. Others said it tasted like someone put orange Tic Tacs into Pepsi.
9. Pepsi Pink
The bottle was an adorable frosted pink plastic. As for the flavor? Strawberry milk. That’s right, creamy strawberry mixed with cola fizz. It was sweet and girly on the surface, but quite confusing on the tongue.
10. Pepsi Mojito
Launched in Europe, this was non-alcoholic but carried that lime and mint twist you’d expect. Although it was refreshing, the mint was a little too reminiscent of toothpaste. The lime helped balance it out, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.
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11. Pepsi Ice Shiso
Shiso is a Japanese herb that’s kind of like mint crossed with basil. Pepsi turned it into a neon green soda that looked like the Hulk liquefied. The taste? Like drinking carbonated pesto with a sugary edge. It was a bold but divisive move on their part.
12. Pepsi Boom Boom Taro
Released in Thailand, taro root soda was starchy-sweet, kind of like vanilla but with a yammy aftertaste. Although not terrible, many felt it was almost too decadent, as if you were drinking a sugary dessert.
13. Pepsi Carnival
Bright, tropical, this limited-edition soda promised “fruity fun” and delivered pineapple-mango vibes. The issue is, tropical cola has a way of tasting like cough syrup if the balance of flavors is even slightly off. Depending on your palate, this was either reminiscent of a beachfront vacation or NyQuil on ice.
14. Pepsi Fire
This one actually spread across multiple countries. This cinnamon-flavored cola was warm and spicy, like drinking liquid Big Red gum. Others compared it to drinking Fireball whiskey without the buzz.
15. Pepsi Salted Caramel
This U.S. holiday limited release was sweet, with buttery caramel notes and a pinch of salt mixed into Pepsi’s usual syrup. It sounded like a dessert crossover, but many felt it tasted as if Werther’s Originals had been melted into soda.
16. Pepsi Strawberry Milk
This one, spotted in Russia, was slightly different from Pepsi Pink and leaned more on strawberry candy than actual milkiness. Although it was still creamy, it was less dairy-forward and more like a lollipop melted into cola.
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17. Pepsi Ghost
This Halloween edition in Japan came with a bold gimmick: the flavor was entirely a mystery and varied depending on the batch. Some bottles were fruity, some more citrus, and the packaging was designed to be spooky.
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18. Pepsi White Peach Oolong
Released in China, this soda was floral, almost tea-like, with a soft peach sweetness layered over cola. It was honestly elegant and somewhat tasteful compared to some of the others on our list.
19. Pepsi Strong Shot
This tiny can contained double the caffeine content and was only available in Japan. It was marketed as a quick jolt, an energy booster rather than a leisurely drink like other versions.
20. Pepsi Christmas Cola
This one might take the cake. Only released in Japan, of course, this white cola was flavored with strawberry and cream. Festive, yes. Delicious? That depends on how you feel about cake-flavored fizz.
