#ThirstyThursday: Chupa Chups Sparkling Drink: Tastes Like Your Childhood With A Splash Of Diabetes

Guys, it’s Thursday, and you know what that means!

Reader: Yup, tomorrow’s Friday, woohoo!

What? No… I mean it is, but there’s something more important happening today. 

Another Reader: Yes, it’s my birthday! Thanks for remembering.

Well, happy birthday, dear reader, but that is not what I meant. I’m talking about the thing we do every Thursday. 

Yet Another Reader: Oh, you mean Throwback Thursday? Why is Goody Feed writing about Throwback Thurs-

I’M TALKING ABOUT THIRSTY THURSDAY GODDAMIT!

Readers in Unison: Jeez, someone wore their cranky pants this morning. 

Well, thankfully I have a little something to ease my crankiness.

Chupa Chups, The Sparkling Drink

If you were a kid in the 90s and possessed a mouth, you’re probably familiar with Chupa Chups.

It’s that sweet lollipop you were addicted to as a kid and devoured like a, well, literal kid in a sweet shop.

But then we grew up, and sucking on lollipops past the age of 16 is generally frowned upon and probably illegal.

So, we started eating grown-up candy, like Eclipse mints. Boring, extremely minty, Eclipse mints.

Do you miss the good old days when you could stick a lollipop in your mouth without others judging you? Well, I’m here to tell you that you can get another taste of your childhood, but in an entirely new form.

The Korean manufacturers didn’t get too weird with the design; they just stuck to the traditional look you find on the wrappers.

But it’s a thing of beauty. For a can, anyway.

As I pop open the soda can, my mind is suddenly flooded with memories of my childhood. Then I realize it’s because my boss was playing some Backstreet Boys on his computer.

I politely ask him to switch it off, get back to the can, and take a huge sniff. It might sound crazy, but it smells exactly like the lollipop. My nose was pleased but my mind was confused.

Does this mean that this is one of the few candy-to-drink transformations that actually taste like the real thing?

Taste Test – Strawberry Cream 

Well, yes and no.

If you’re confused as to why the drink looks almost white and translucent, it’s not because of my awful photography skills.

If someone gave me a glass of Chupa Chups Strawberry Cream and said it was 100 Plus, I’d believe them, because it has the same colour and consistency.

After a few sips, the little kid inside me is smiling but my health-conscious-adult mind is worried.

You see, the drink really does taste like the real thing. It’s creamy and delicious, with hints of strawberry. But the overwhelming flavour is that of sugar.

The drink is so sweet that I got a headache after drinking it. Out of curiosity, I checked the can to see the sugar content, and found this:

They pasted the ingredients over the nutritional information table. Yes, the nutritional information is in Korean and I wouldn’t have been able to read it anyway, but I’m still pissed.

At any rate, when the second and third ingredients in your drink are “Liquid Fructose” and “Sugar”, you know you’re in trouble.

I have to hand it to them though. Getting diabetes used to be a struggle, but this Chupa Chups Sparkling Drink makes it so easy.

Hoping that the Grape flavoured drink is a little less sweet considering there are 2 fewer calories listed on the can, I give it a sip, hoping for the best.

But it’s the same, overly sweet sparkling drink with a taste of grape so muted you wonder why it’s on the can at all.

For their attempt at creating a drink that evokes nostalgia for your childhood, I’d give the Korean manufacturers a 5/5.

But, while it was almost executed to perfection, the drink’s overpowering sweetness makes it almost undrinkable after a few gulps.

If you’re a massive Chupa Chups fan with a sweet tooth, I’d say go for it. Otherwise, stay far, far away.

Rating: 2/5