The hotter the weather gets, the more I find myself in a convenience store picking out a cold one. Problem is: so many cold ones to choose from. In the myriad of drinks offered in the 7-11 fridge, what’s good? My last discovery is the Vitalon sugar-free green tea (green bottle), a good thirst quencher, but it can taste bland after a while.
(I know what the folks from the beer alert thread will suggest, but at 10:30 in the morning, how about something non-alchy.)
Demand that your local 7-11 put “Sasaya” back on the shelves – a delicious, if calorie-laden, concoction mainly of coconut milk, in a can. It’s hard to find these days, but a couple of years ago I used to live on the stuff.
They should bring the banana milk tea back as well… with the peach ice tea as well.
Diet Coke and Diet Lemon Coke
I have been quite partial to Vanilla Coke lately…but I think it has a very high sugar content as I start flitting about like a hummingbird halfway thru…
[quote=“fredericka bimmel”]Diet Coke and Diet Lemon Coke[/quote]It’s called Coke Light now, but it’s black, so surely it should be be call Coke Dark ? 
Several years ago Gatorade used to be available at 7-11, and then one day it disappeared… It’s too bad. I also think they should install sulpee machines. Okay but enough about pipe dreams…
Recently 7-11 has introduced Smirnoff Ice. And although I’m not a huge fan of Smirnoff, it tastes great! If you are allergic to lemon don’t buy it.
Yuck! 
I was more partial to the cans of coconut water they used to have, gone as well! I was also enjoying the “fruit water” phase a year or two ago but they’ve gone by the wayside too.
Sasayat! Grooogh! Euuurgh! Slimy sugar in a can. For something else really disgusting, one of the convenience stores has alcopops similar to Smirnoff Ice, but fluorescent pink (watermelon), neon green (melon) and bright blue (blueberry).
I’m kind of partial to the mango juice – not the kind with the red mango on the label but the slightly tarter green mango. Its not in 7-11 but one of the others.
They have what appears to be 2 slurpy (wait, you did mean slurpy right? or am I spelling it wrong? :? ) Well, there are 2 new slurpy machines in the 7-11 close to work. They just appeared one day last week.
What happened to the slurpee machines? they used to be everywhere.
For my money, the best drink around is Assam’s milk tea. I also miss the hi-C mango and the Lemon Citrus or vitamin C drink.
More people have mentioned drinks that are no longer sold than those that still are. That sums up one of the most infuriating aspects of retailing in Taiwan. Whenever I find something new in the convenience stores or supermarkets that I really like, I make the most of it while I can and stock up on it if it’ll keep, because I know how likely it is that they won’t continue selling it for very long.
If you looked at a typical basket of the imported stuff I bought in Wellcome say 10 or 15 years ago, you’d probably find that 80% of those items are no longer on their shelves. Of course, often they’re just testing the market for something new, and if it appears to sell well, they quickly arrange with a local manufacturer to put out something that looks more or less the same (though is always infinitely inferior) and quickly put that on the shelves in place of the imported item, figuring that most of the locals will buy it all the same and won’t be able to tell the difference, while the manufacturer and retailer can share a nice fat profit.
My addition to the list of favourite drinks that used to be but are no longer sold in 7-11: Lucozade – totally delicious, gives a great energy boost, and brings back happy childhood memories.
One drink that is timeless in Taiwan: Hey Soong Sarsaparilla. It’s been around for decades. It’s even known to be a remedy for colds; just add salt to it and drink it warm when you get the sniffles. :?
So that’s what the wife and her friend were doing the other day – anti-SARS Sars is what they called it (although I hasten to add it was her friend’s idea and my wife actually blushed when she told me why they were drinking it). 
And it tastes like SHITE!
It’s not that bad, Sandie. My girls like it.
I look Sars. Super Supau’s my favorite though. The light coloured can of latte is good, as is a new one that I forget the name of (sorry).
I agree that most of the good drinks have since disappeared.
Laohu Yatze is a good (but sweet) pick me up. And the man niu (red bull concentrate) is essential some days.
If I want a good drink I susually go to a zhen zhu nai cha or juice stand.
Brian
ahhh Sas… my mother in law always used to assault me with a can of it whenever I entered the house. memories!
at least there’s always one constant in the 7-11–large bottles of ice cold water. what more could you ask for?
Are the boxed drink packages recycleable? If not, that should narrow your choice right there.
They may have eased the plastic bag problem here, but they’re still allowing manufacturers to elaborately package items that will be tossed out within five minutes of purchase.
Actually, I can’t handle Supa Supau… so much sugar in it that I’m practically pissing sucrose after a bottle.
However, I’m quite partial to the new drink called “Fin”. It’s not too sweet so you can “slam it down fast”, if you know what I mean.
Noting like a Supau after you’ve been sweating out in the sun!