Crystal Pepsi (2016)

Few other products evoke such a bout of savage nostalgia as Crystal Pepsi.  Because it was sold for only about a year in the early 90s, whatever fill that people sought to have was clearly not sated.  I've heard people talk about Crystal Pepsi for the last 20 years.  It's a wonder that Pepsico took so long to bring it back.

Much like how some folks stick to clear liquor (as opposed to "brown" liquor) because they think it's a bit gentler on their body, so too did there exist some fad in the 90s about how clear products are better than opaque ones.  For this, Pepsi shuffled around their ingredients list a bit and issued Crystal Pepsi, a clear but otherwise unsullied formula of the original soft drink.  Initial sales were strong, but soon tapered off, and Pepsi eventually pulled the product.  Like many things, people didn't realize what they wanted until it was gone, and so I've been hearing about Crystal Pepsi yearning for most of my life.

I only recently just found the stuff in stores as of this posting, but evidently Pepsi rolled out Crystal Pepsi again starting in 2015.  How is it?  Delicious.  Why?  Because it tastes just about the same as Pepsi.  Whether they meant to or not, they did a much better job with Crystal Pepsi than with Mountain Dew DEWshine.  Btw... does clear soda always have a stronger carbonation than dark soda?  I swear it does.  Anyway....

Much like the original 90s version, Crystal Pepsi lacks caffeine.  This was initially done in the 90s because Crystal Pepsi was supposed to be a "cleaner" product than Pepsi, which contains artificial coloring and the addictive drug caffeine.  I'm pretty sure caffeine is clear also, but I imagine Pepsico kept this feature today to remain loyal to the original recipe.  Does this taste exactly like the original?  I have no idea; I was 8 years old in 1992.  Besides, I wouldn't advise you to drink a 20 year old Crystal Pepsi to compare it either (warning: vomit).

The point is this: caffeine is bitter, and any cola that is caffeine-free tastes sweeter than its caffeinated counterpart.  In conclusion, Crystal Pepsi tastes almost identical to Caffeine-free Pepsi, which you can still buy today; go see for yourself.  If I had some on hand, I would compare it, but I don't, so I won't.


Crystal Pepsi:- Great
Original Pepsi(for comparison):- Great