Mystery drink

Goya cola champagne

by Stephen Heuser

noshing & sipping

Talk o' Texas okra pickles, September 7 Bertucci's unlimited salad, August 31 Yerba maté, August 24 Doubting Thomas's, August 17

We've always loved cheap Mexican sodas, with their Technicolor dyes and flavors not found in nature. But Goya's "cola champagne" is a new one for us: an amber liquid -- no alcohol -- with a map of Central America on the label and a taste vaguely reminiscent of cream soda.

Curious. We called the consumer-affairs department at Goya headquarters in New Jersey to ask: what is this stuff supposed to be? The rep clearly believed it was our problem that we didn't know, and explained that cola champagne is very popular in Puerto Rico, where she grew up. "It has its own taste," she said. "You know how Coca-Cola has its own taste? Same thing." There are other brands, but Goya was the cheapest we found, at 50 cents. We bought ours at the Fenway Star Market, but we'd suggest checking your local Latin grocery store first.

---

The Noshing & Sipping archive

---