Tesco Cola > Reviews (19)

Introduction

Before you start reading this, I'll be honest - this isn't actually a review of "Tesco Cola". It's a review of "Sun-Sip Cola", which is part of the "Discount Brands" range at Tesco, and my local Tesco sells this instead of the Tesco own-brand, so I can't promise you'll find this in your local Tesco (if you want to after reading this review!) Additionally it isn't listed on the Tesco site, but I know it does exist because I've got it and the receipt in front of me!

I might be completely wrong here but with the trend of Tesco moving away from own brand to "Discount Brand" for value options, this may be the new replacement for the old Tesco Cola. Then again, it may not!

The Cola

The cola only comes in 2 litre bottles (at least in my local Tesco), and the packaging follows the norm of a clear bottle showing off the dark brown contents. Around the middle, as you can see in the picture, is the label, which is red and grey. As well as baring the "Sun-Sip" and "Cola" logos, a slogan at the bottom says "Great Cola taste!" and the Tesco "Discount Brands" logo is in the top corner.

The "Discount Brands" aims to provide new brands of favourite items, such as lemonade (also by Sun-Sip in my local store!), washing up liquid ('Daisy' is the Discount Brand) and pasta sauces ("Trattoria Verdi", which sounds quite posh!)

Back to the cola! At a slightly ridiculous 38p for 2 litres of Cola, I decided that it was time to save some money and plumped for it over the far more expensive Coca Cola branded cola I normally buy at £1.56 a bottle. That's a huge saving of £1.18p for every bottle!

However, it all hinged on the taste test now. While the price may have been a bargain, that doesn't mean much if it's not drinkable.

Upon pouring a glass, the first thing I noticed was the fizz. There was a lot of it, and when I finally finished pouring the cola carried on making bubbling noises for a good few minutes afterwards!

After pouring another glass (after all, who wants to leave their drink for 5 minutes to get rid of all the bubbles every time they want a glass?) I just my first sip. The first thing I noticed was bubbles, lots of bubbles. I could feel the cola fizzing in my mouth for a few seconds before I swallowed it, and while I wasn't too worried about the fizz itself, I was worried about the after effects it might have on me!

As for the taste itself - the most important part in my opinion - I was fairly pleasantly surprised. It's not extremely strong or sweet or even sickly, if anything it's quite week. The taste reminded me happily of Haribo Cola Bottles, although not quite as strong. As with most value soft drinks, there is a slight bitterness or even chemically after taste, but it isn't strong at all and disappears quickly.

After my first few measured gulps, I realised I was actually quite thirsty and polished off a couple of large glasses - probably about 600ml in total! My fears of fizz came back to haunt me a short period of time after when I felt a peculiar feeling in my stomach - slightly uncomfortable and "bubbly" is the only way I can describe it.

A few minutes after this initial feeling, I could start feeling gas travelling up from my stomach and then back down. Two or three burps later the uncomfortable feeling was gone, but I wouldn't have liked to have experienced it in polite company!

The Conclusion

Overall I must admit I'm pleasantly surprised by the Sun-Sip Cola. At 38p a litre, I was hardly expecting Coca Cola style quality, and the taste is certainly reasonable. However, it is very fizzy and the effects of that were clear to me, but I'd be interested to know if it had the same effect on everyone else or if I just have a low level of fizz-tolerance! Recommended if your on a budget, for a party where Coca Cola is too expensive (it adds up quickly when you start buying bottle) or for mixing with alcoholic drinks as you'd be less likely to drink these as quickly and thus the fizz will go away!