My Russian COLA Experiment Went Off the Rails: A Review

Hello everyone!

I recently stumbled upon Lemonardo sodas on Ozon with some really interesting flavors, including rhubarb, dandelion, and jasmine. Out of curiosity, I ordered a few flavors that caught my eye, one of which was the Blackberry Cola. What happened with this experiment, I'll share in this review below.

Where to buy? I've never seen these sodas in any supermarkets, so I ordered them on Ozon (link)

Price? 143 rubles

Packaging:

It's become rare to find a soda in a glass bottle, so I was surprised to find such a great packaging option for a product that's only sold on marketplaces (at least, I couldn't find it anywhere else).

But these sodas are already unique, and the packaging definitely adds to their cost

Lemonard's Choke Cola I really loved the design of the label. It was super cute and stylish. I also appreciated how the label matched the color of the lemonade, especially when it glows red in the sun.

My partner Ozon actually attached his own barcode to the information part of the label, and I managed to rip it off as much as I could. That was how I found out that this drink is made based on a Coca-Cola recipe, but with the addition of blackthorn and black currant juice. You can learn more about the recipe change on the product card below.

The recipe for our Choke Cola is based on the OpenCola recipe, which is unique because its preparation recipe is freely available. Anyone can make this drink themselves and modify the recipe as they see fit, since it's released under the GNU General Public License. We removed sugar, caffeine, and caramel coloring from the recipe, replaced orthophosphoric acid with lemon juice, and used black currant juice as a natural dye.

I have to say that the recipe turned out to be really unusual and bold, but will it actually taste good?

Black Currant Cola without sugar The cap of the lemonade is a metal screw-top, which was a bit of a pain to open with a bottle opener. I mean, who uses these anymore? It's not exactly convenient, especially when you're thirsty on the go.

Lemonard's Choke Cola

My Verdict:

I was surprised by how much foam comes out when you first open it up and the drink starts fizzing.

Lemonardo Choke cola But on its own, the drink is lowly carbonated, and the bubbles disappear really quickly, leaving the lemonade tasting more like juice. That's nothing compared to cola, of course. Lemonade from rowan berries without sugar There's no foam when you pour it into a glass either. The color is a beautiful dark red, almost black in dim lighting, but it's a bright Lemonardo Choke cola Honestly, I was planning to have a nice, relaxing lunch on my day off. I made some pasta, poured the lemonade into a nice glass, and sat down with a book in the sun. Usually, this would calm me down and put a smile on my face, but not this time. Lemonade from black rowan berries Let's start with the fact that this lemonade has a horrendous smell, like some kind of medication. I couldn't even figure out what it was. The aroma just wasn't pleasant, but for me, the taste is what matters most. Lemonardo Choke cola I knew the drink would be unusual, since the ingredients are a mix of everything (apparently all natural):Water, concentrated rowan berry juice, concentrated honeysuckle juice, concentrated plum juice, concentrated apple juice, natural

When I saw the list of essential oils used in this drink (apricot, lime, cinnamon, lemon, nutmeg, coriander, neroli, lavender), I thought it would be a refreshing twist on traditional cola.

But I remembered how much I loved blackcurrant juice from Ikee, so I was hoping this drink would be a hit with me too.

Blackcurrant Cola without sugarThis drink is nothing like cola, not even remotely. I'm still trying to figure out why they chose that name, even 1% similarity.

Blackcurrant Cola without sugarThe flavor is dominated by blackcurrant, and let's just say it's a nasty taste, like a strong spirit or some kind of awful cough syrup. Since there's no sugar in the ingredients, the drink is quite sour, but the aftertaste is overwhelmingly bitter.

Blackcurrant Cola with ozoneIf I try to drink it cold, it's still somewhat palatable, but as soon as it warms up, it becomes so unpalatable that it's almost impossible to finish. I couldn't even finish this tiny bottle. The last time I had a drink that bad was with Vlad's A4 lemonade. Lemonardo Choke colaThis drink is NOT like cola, NOT refreshing, NOT tasty, and in general, it's not even a real cola, as the carbonation disappears quickly. I'm still trying to figure out what's so special about this drink for me...

✅ The packaging was top-notch.

✅ I loved that it's got natural ingredients and no added sugar.

The downsides:

❌ It just didn't taste great to me.

❌ The aftertaste was pretty bitter.

❌ It smelled like medicine.

The verdict:

I have to admit, not all food experiments are winners. I was really curious to try this rowan berry cola, but I just didn't get it - and I was actually disappointed. I was expecting something with a bit of a Russian twist, but unfortunately, it didn't deliver. I'll keep looking, and I wouldn't recommend it to you either.

Thanks for listening