The Truth About Pepsi's New Coffee-Flavored Soda

When it comes to getting your caffeine fix, what's your pick? Do you go for a cup of coffee, or are you more of a cola drinker? If you've ever had trouble deciding between the two, Pepsi's about to offer you an all-in-one solution... one that the world's been waiting for — coffee-flavored soda! 

According to a recent Pepsico press release, they plan to release the new Pepsi Café, a beverage they describe as "blend[ing] the taste of deep flavorful coffee with the refreshing, crisp taste of a Pepsi cola" in both Original and Vanilla. Caffeine fiends take note: this new drink is said to have double the jolt of a regular Pepsi, although Our Community Now points out that this would still only be about half as much caffeine as is found in the average cup of coffee.

What does coffee-flavored Pepsi taste like?

Although Pepsi Café is not set to hit the market until April 2020, Adam Campbell-Schmitt from Food and Wine magazine was invited to be part of a special pre-release taste test. His verdict: the new coffee/cola mashup is an interesting combo that does the coffee-soda mashup concept justice. 

He did prefer the Original variety with its distinct coffee flavoring to the Vanilla, though the latter, he felt, was more reminiscent of cream soda — or perhaps Pepsi Vanilla. He did note that even if you're not a black coffee drinker, Pepsi Café should still go down smooth and easy. If you really want it creamy, though, you could always try it "Milk Coke" style.

Will coffee-flavored Pepsi be a hit the second time around?

As to whether this new coffee-flavored Pepsi is going to fly — well, this isn't exactly Pepsi's first venture into the same territory. In the mid-'90s, they test-marketed a beverage called Pepsi Kona in Philadelphia. 

Never heard of it? Well, in the words of Pepsi themselves, it was a product ahead of its time. In other words, it flopped big time — harder than Crystal Pepsi, even. However, times (and tastes) are changing, and Starbucks is already selling their take on fizzy cold coffee — and don't forget, coffee-flavored beer is totally a thing (via CraftBeer). Perhaps Pepsi knows best, after all, and the time is finally right for coffee soda to take off and become the new must-have beverage of 2020.