I know I'm not supposed to have caffeinated beverages, but I couldn't resist trying Pepsi Blue this morning. I am attracted to strange beverages, so naturally the blue cola drew me like a moth to flame.

It promotes itself as a Berry Cola Fusion, but upon opening it, I discovered that has a bouquet almost (but not quite) entirely unlike berries. The label proclaims that it's Naturally & Artificially Flavored, and I suspect that the berry flavoring is what's artificial. It smells like a blue "raspberry" Slurpee, with faintly bitter undertones. There's very little carbonation, at least in the bottle I bought.

It's cloyingly sweet, but it has very little actual taste; most of the flavor is in the aftertaste, which has an overwhelmingly chemical character to it. The "berry cola fusion" contains almost no discernable cola taste; it's very much like drinking a melted blue Slurpee, with the bitterness of caffeine added into the mix.

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about whether or not to ignore my doctor's orders on this one; Pepsi Blue isn't going to tempt me into drinking caffeine on a regular basis. (Now, if Afri-Cola were readily available, I'd be in trouble; fortunately, there's only one place in Tampa where I can find it, and it's all the way across town, so it's a special treat that I have only once every few months.)