Of Pepsi and Perilla

Summer has arrived in Tokyo again which is a signal for all types of things. The first being the extreme rise in my electrity bill due to near constant air conditioner use, but after that, is the release of another strange flavor of Pepsi.

Like the others most of you probably know about (cucumber, yogurt) this year's entry into the wide world of Japanese Pepsi variants is Shiso:

Shiso Pepsi

Shiso, also known as perilla or beefsteak plant, is commonly used in japan as a wrapper for various things. It is also used as flavoring in soups and for all types of other dishes, my personal favorite being Shiso Gyoza.

I must admit, Shiso is not the first flavor that comes to mind when I think "this would be an awesome flavort to sweeten and carbonate!", actually it's pretty low on my list, somewhere in between hot dog and shallot. So, needless to say, I didn't quite go into the taste test of this with high hopes. However, the taste ends up being not so terrible. It's definitely shiso but sweet enough to not be overpoweringly so. I would describe it as a sweet, grassy flavor with a hint of mint. Actually, that kind of makes it sound worse than it is.