With the holidays right around the corner, Unikum wanted to share one of its favourite things about the Norwegian Christmas, with some of our excellent exchange students. There are countless types of Christmas soda, with some special to specific locations in the country. Whether you enjoy red or brown Christmas soda the best, is up to personal taste. Three brave international students agreed to try five different kinds, rating them between 0 and 10. With 0 meaning “I threw up” and 10 being “I wanna have this every single day for the rest of my life”. On a cold November night, they were all gathered in the STA-building, and they were scarred for life.
Test subjects:
- Ángels Aguilera, education major, from Spain.
- Michael Campell, fine arts major, from England.
- Wafa’a Selby, education, special needs major, from England.
Grans Julebrus
Ángels: It’s like liquid candy. I don’t really like sweet things, so this was not my favourite, and it tasted like medicine to me. 4/10
Michael: It’s not as sweet as I had thought it would be, considering the smell. I thought that it smelled better than it tasted, and I was expecting a lot of flavour, but that wasn’t there. But I did like it. 6/10
Wafa’a: I actually kind of liked this one. It smelt like this British treat we have in the UK, and it tasted a bit like candy cane. 6,5/10
Average: 5,5/10
Ringenes Julebrus
Ángels: Oh no, absolutely not. This one is not for me. I think the vibe here was melted lollipop, so still too sweet for me. 3/10.
Michael: I felt like I was drinking medicine, and that’s not normally very pleasant. 4/10.
Wafa’a: It’s giving strawberry. I wasn’t very fond of the aftertaste, it’s a bit too strong, and very carbonated. 4/10.
Average: 3,6/10
Sørlands Julebrus
Ángels: It smells different. I feel like this tastes like what my grandma smells like. I can’t say zero since I didn’t throw up. 1/10.
Michael: This looks like apple juice or something. It tastes like a nursing home. This is from southern Norway? Oh, in that case we love it. 3/10.
Wafa’a: Oh God, no. That was horrific. 3/10.
Average: 2,3/10
Hamar Lillehammer Julebrus
Ángels: This was fizzier, which took away from the taste, which I appreciated. 4/10.
Michael: It’s a fizzier version of the other one, more bearable. A full body reaction to it. The experience was enhanced by the fizziness. 5/10.
Wafa’a: It was quite strong, and more fizzier. 4,5/10.
Average: 4,5/10
CB Julebrus
Ángels: Completely different smell to all of them. I’m not completely sure what’s going on. What is this? This one was a whole experience in itself. Christmas soda is not for me, and neither is this one. 3/10.
Michael: It smells like soap. This one was a bit like a five-course meal, with all the different flavours going on. But the cook doesn’t really know how to cook. 3/10.
Wafa’a: It’s definitely unique, there’s kind of like a taste of seasonings in there. Maybe cardamom. It’s different from the other, doesn’t mean I like it though. This is not enjoyable for me. 2,5/10.
Average: 2,8/10
And the winner is…….
Grans julebrus!
It’s clear that our exchange students weren’t the biggest fans of Christmas soda, at least not the ones we tried. Two of my favourites (Hansa & Lerum) were sadly not available at the nearest store. So, if your favourite was not included, don’t worry. You can still force some exchange students to try it out, but maybe not these three. And if your favourite was included, but rated badly? You know where our office is…….
You can watch all the reactions in our YouTube video!