2 Strange Drinks; BibiCaffe and Karamalz

BibiCaffe advertises itself as “the bubbly espresso”, which I guess is true, but what struck me about this little Italian drink was more the caffeine than the carbonation.

I was first intrigued by the size of the bottle (only 6 ounces) and then turned on to the idea of a caffeinated pop that I may actually like. I find most American pop to be either too sweet or too fizzy (or both), but the Europeans tend to be on the same wavelength as me on this one, so I had hope.

At first blush, the drink was tasty, like coffee for people who hate the taste, or maybe for those who can’t decide whether they want a coffee or a pop. The vanilla and caramel flavours vied well with the natural espresso taste and subtle carbonation.

I was about to give it a perfect score until about 10 minutes after drinking it, I realized that I was having a great deal of trouble sitting still, figeting around and coming close to actually twitching a couple of times! I have a pretty high tolerance for caffeine, so let me tell you that that 6 ounces sure packs a punch. I like this drink a lot, but I may need to save it for road trips.

All Natural ingredients: Water, Neapolitan espresso, Sugar, Caramel, Vanilla and Carbon dioxide.
Bought at: Marketplace IGA.

If BibiCaffe is bubbly espresso, then Karamalz is surely the German non-alcoholic dunkelbrau (dark beer). In fact, on the Wikipedia list of soft drinks by country, it is listed as a “beer for children without alcohol”. Interesting.

There are also apparently some vitamins and minerals included, but I don’t think I got very many in my three mouthfuls. This drink is seriously disgusting. It has a skunk, malty fermented smell as soon as you open the bottle and that taste follows through with slight flavours of sweet caramel. Like cotton candy stored in a dank basement, or old socks with butterscotch candies stuck to them.

Like the BibiCaffe, there is only a subtle carbonation, which I was grateful for because it allowed me to gulp down 3 mouthfuls before I was completely repulsed and there was thankfully no burping.

Ingredients: Water, barley malt, glucose Fructose syrup, carbonic acid, coloring material E 150c, hop excerpt.

Bought at: Mediterranean Specialty Foods (1824 Commercial Drive)

My final analysis is that I think I prefer my espresso hot and un-carbonated – although I will have this one again, maybe in summer – and I definitely prefer my beer with alcohol.