Honestly, we can’t work out if we’re excited or horrified by this one. US soft drinks giant Pepsi has announced that April 2020 will see the launch of its new drink flavour, Pepsi Café. The drink is a mixture of cola and roasted Arabica coffee (OK, we’ve decided on our reaction now, and it’s horror). While energy drinks containing added caffeine for a lift are common, this drink will contain actual coffee. Cola drinks used to be made with extracts of the kola nut, native to the tropical rainforests of Africa. When the recipe changed and flavours were created artificially instead, manufacturers began adding caffeine to their drinks. Now, the new Pepsi Café will contain double the caffeine of pure cola.
Pepsi isn’t the first company to try out the idea of coffee and cola together. Back in 2006, Coca Cola launched Coca-Cola BlāK, its own mixture of coffee and cola. It was first launched in France, then rolled out to the US. Customer reaction was ‘mixed’ to put it politely, and the drink was taken off the market again in 2008. It’s not even the first time round for Pepsi itself – between 1996 and 1997 it sold ‘Pepsi Kona’, a coffee-flavoured soda which was only available in Philadelphia.
The new coffee hybrid is due to launch next year – but only in the US. It will come in either Original or Vanilla flavours, and Pepsi say the drink will deliver an ‘unexpected, delicious caffeine kick’. Pepsi claim that the time is right to re-enter the soft drink/coffee market, as the popularity of ready-to-drink iced coffee sold in cans by companies such as Starbucks has opened up a new market opportunity.
Honestly, what are they doing to coffee? If you fancy an iced coffee, why not just make an iced coffee – containing pure, natural delicious ingredients with no additives or extra flavouring. Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re proud to supply some of the best coffee in the UK for your catering business, office or café. To find out more, visit our website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk .
From the country that brought you flat whites and avo-lattes (that’s lattes served in a hollowed-out avocado half, folks, try and keep up!) comes 2019’s big coffee trend prediction. Sales of non-dairy milk such as almond and soy have been steadily climbing, both among lactose-intolerant customers and those who think that non-dairy whiteners are a healthier alternative. The new kid on the block (or drop in the coffee), though, is oat milk. Baristas in Australia are confidently predicting that 2019 will see changes not in the coffee itself but in what customers are adding to it.