Who loves Guatemala? Kel loves Guatemala. Is it truuuuuuuue?? I do, I do, I doooohoooo.
Kel Mitchell from Kenan & Kel, Probably.
Ah, Guatemala. One of the many places that the American War on Drugs has absolutely decimated and *continues* to decimate. A beautiful country that continues to be torn apart and held-down by gang/drug related violence. My heart is heavy when I think about Guatemala.
On a less sad note, though, they have Orange Crush down there! Which basically makes up for everything, I’m pretty sure. How different will it be from American Orange Crush? Or from Canadian Fanta Orange, which I reviewed a few years back? (let’s be real, American Orange Crush and American Fanta Orange are basically the same thing)
Place of Acquirement: Saraga International Grocery, Columbus, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 20fl oz (600mL) bottle, clear plastic.
AROMATICS: 8/10
Smells orange-y, but like… the smell of an orange, not “orange flavor”. Promising!
FIRST SIP: 8.5/10
Woah, uh, OK. I like this.
TASTE: 8/10
So here’s the thing, the label says “orange flavor” or “saborizantes de naranja” which says would mean orange flavorING. I don’t know if that’s semantically different, but the flavor ends up tasting more like actual orange. Which is a good thing!
As I’ll get to in a second though, the sugar level is wild. It’s real sugar though, which I love.
AFTERTASTE: 7/10
Goes away relatively quickly, but otherwise pleasant.
MOUTHFEEL: 6.5/10
Something isn’t quite optimal here. It doesn’t detract from the soda
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 5/10
I mean, it’s an orange soda, what do you expect? The orange flavoring used is definitely more interesting than an average orange soda, but you still taste one thing: orange.
SWEETNESS: 9.5/10
I expected this to be sweet and gosh does it deliver. Here’s the thing: it’s a bit too much. And I’m an American, our national flavor palette is crying out for Faygo redpop and white bread. Our national flavor palette is also a juggalo, apparently. But I know Mexico has a reputation for making everything sweet, so it would make sense if their neighbors in Guatemala did as well.
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: orange-y goodness
LAST SIP: 7/10
Loses some carbonation but the flavor is there and my sweet taste-buds are worn out.
OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10
I’ve gone back and forth on this, but ultimately: the sweetness made this soda, in a 20oz form at least, a bit less pleasant to drink. Honestly, this would probably be an 8/10 if I only had 12oz of it (and my primary care physician would be happier). But I had 20oz of it and the sweetness only seemed to get sweeter.
It was still good, though! The flavoring was neat and definitely better than the artificial flavoring you’ll get in an average orange soda. Just maybe find a friend or ex-wife to split it with.
