Est Cola was something I discovered on Cola Quest many years ago while in Shenzhen. At the time I was shocked by how similar the color packing and flavor were to Pepsi. Now I have learnt that not only Est Strawberry is available, but you can get it in Phnom Penh.
So, what is the Est Strawberry story, where can you get it and is it any good? Lets go FantaQuest!
What is Est Strawberry?
Est Cola is a Thai cola that looks a hell of a lot like Pepsi. The reason for this is that Sermsuk Public Company Limited had contract to distribute Pepsi from PepsiCo in Thailand from 1952. And it would appear that everything was great between Sermsuk Public Company Limited and PepsiCo until 2012.
Fo whatever reason the two fell out and on November 2nd 2012 Est Cola was launched in Thailand using the same color schemes, the same bottling plant and from the taste at least one would assume the same recipe…….
Nowadays Pepsi is the biggest selling cola in Thailand followed by Coke and then Est. Est have also since introduced other flavours such as orange,, grape berry, lychee-pear, cream soda and lemon-lime versions and in the interests of today Est Strawberry.
Est is also available by the half liter glass bottle, with me proudly knocking back a whole one in Hua Hin, which you will be able to see on the video.
I can now attest that not only is Est Cola available in Shenzhen, but also Phnom Penh, as is Est Strawberry too!
Est Strawberry Quest Challenge….
This was my first time trying Est Strawberry and being the sad man that I am I was legitimately excited! Although while I was indeed exited there really is not that much to compare it with except, well Strawberry Fanta..
On this not and this comparison it did really well and was not too sweet, not did it taste like an own brand soda. Alas though this was all hypothetical until you have it with liquor. I can duly confirm that it is great as a chaser for Soju, particularly of the Smirnoff variety.
So, the FantaQuest grade for Est Strawberry? A good solid 7.5/10.