Sure we love Japanese Curry Pan, but do we love to drink it?

In Japan, ciders are non-alcoholic, fizzy beverages that taste similar to lemonade. Not all ciders are made the same, though, as some of them use the plain lemonade-like flavour as a base to experiment with some more unusual combinations, which brings us to today’s weird cider of the day: Curry Pan.

Curry pan, as curry breads are known in Japan, are a popular snack usually sold at bakeries, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Featuring a Japanese curry filling encased in dough, which is then coated in bread crumbs and baked or deep fried, curry pan is a favourite staple for our reporter Seiji Nakazawa, so when he came across the cider version at his local supermarket, he didn’t hesitate to add it to his shopping basket for a taste test.

▼ Seiji brought the drink into the office and mentally prepared himself for the challenge that was to follow.

▼ With his senses primed and ready, Seiji lifted the bottle and took a tentative first sip.

▼ The first thing his taste buds told him was that this drink was sweet. Incredibly sweet.

▼ And then, before he knew it, the sweetness turned into…the taste of curry bread. 

Seiji was both alarmed and confused by the way the drink changed from sweet to savoury in his mouth, with the carbonation creating little pops of curry on his tongue. It tasted distinctly like Japanese curry, and as the liquid went down, he was left with the aftertaste of curry pan.

▼ This was no normal cider.

Seiji had clearly underestimated the curry component of this beverage, and taking a look at the ingredients label, he found what was responsible for its strong flavour: 香辛料 (“spices“). Japanese curry contains curry powder as its main component, along with garam masala and sometimes cayenne pepper, and while the drink itself wasn’t hot, it did taste like it was filled with curry spices.

The carbonation made him burp, and that’s when he could taste the whole thing all over again. The fact that he was burping curry bread afterwards is a true testament to the power of the spices in the drink.

The makers of the Curry Pan cider, Kimura Drink, are no strangers to creating weird cider flavours, and Seiji also found a couple of other, more pleasant offerings from the company: Anpan Cider, which contains the flavour of adzuki red bean paste bread, and Melon Pan Cider, which tastes like Melon Bread.

These two were much more palatable than the Curry Pan Cider, which Seiji hopes to never try again. While our reporter did enjoy putting his taste buds to the test with a unique beverage, next time he’ll stick to drinking Kimura’s Sakura Cola instead.

Related: Kimura Drink
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