almaza & malt star

Seriously. What is up with the maltas? I keep thinking I can get away with avoiding them, and then they just go and creep their way back into this blog.

A few weeks ago, just before Michael and I moved to our new place, Michael called me -- he was very excited.  He had found a new bottle cap and it was AWESOME. He couldn't wait to bring it home. But there was one small wrinkle. It was a malta. Not just any malta: a malta from Israel. Whoa! Maybe this one had a chance.

The bottle cap is pretty cool -- it's red, black, has some wheat on it, and, yes, it is in Hebrew. Does it say Malt Star in Hebrew? I'm not sure.

But the actual taste: well. You know what I'm going to say. It tastes like licking grass and dirt. Michael thought there was a coffee undertone. But I couldn't keep it in my mouth long enough to taste that.

And since we live in a new neighborhood, it is obligatory that we check out all of the new corner delis for beverages that weren't within the small radius of the old place. The corner deli has already brought us this: Almaza. We thought that since it was right next to the Laziza, it might also be a fruity beverage that would be relatively palatable. But no. It tasted even worse than Malt Star. Michael mentioned to me the other day that if it weren't for this blog, he would never have known how many malt beverages there are, nor how popular they are. Me neither, Michael. Me neither.

goya: malta & refresco

I'm not sure why I keep torturing myself with these Malta drinks. Each one is worse than the last. Yet, I keep spotting them in my local bodegas, and clearly people drink them and like them. I've yet to develop a taste for them and probably never will. Life goes on.
One of the most prominent Maltas in my neighborhood is Malta Goya.

Claiming to be nutritious, and brewed in a similar style to beer (hops and barley), this nonalcoholic  beverage borders on Sangria Senorial territory. And by that I mean terrible. Don't get me wrong: I love a good beer--even a good stout--so the fact that I cannot stomach a Malta is slightly puzzling. Yet, they are everywhere. I guess since I didn't grow up on Malta, it might be a taste that I never acquire. Or maybe one day I will wake up and crave the taste of chewed-up crackers mixed with grass and dirt, and then, lo and behold, a Malta will be waiting for me. I mean, it took me until after college to really like beer (man, that was a sad realization -- I missed out on good beer!!), so maybe by the time I'm 50 I'll be all about the Malta. And looking at how many Malta's there are in the world... I'm afraid that I will have to keep drinking them until I like them. It will take me until I'm 50.

Goya doesn't just stick to Malta though. In my travels I've also found Refresco Goya: a line of tropical fruit drinks. Being the adventurous type, I went for the coconut flavor over your typical berry flavor. I think I'll stick with the berries next time.

As for the design of the cap (always the most important part!) Malta Goya proudly struts its stuff. Big and bold and blue. Refresco is slightly more "refreshing" looking, as if saying, "Look! A tropical refreshing drink! I'm using a relaxed and cool font as opposed to the bold flavor of Malta." At least they advertise what they are! I'll give them points for that, but don't expect anything more....

bavaria, kazouza

Living in a neighborhood that is predominantly Muslim, I run into a nice variety of non-alcoholic beverages from the Middle East (see Laziza, etc). A recently discovered malt is Bavaria, found at a new restaurant around the corner from me. At first, we mistook Bavaria for an actual beer, but upon realizing the error of our ways, we found one that was apple flavored (always a good choice for these malt beverages -- stay away from the Malta Goya!) and went on our merry way.

An interesting side note: there seem to be two schools of malt beverages that I've come across: those like Malta Goya that are dark and molasses-y in flavor/color, and those like Bavaria -- lighter, fruity beverages. Both claim to be malts but one tastes like sipping liquid mashed-up cracker mixed with dirt, and one tastes like nonalcoholic wine coolers. It will be one of my projects to figure out who on earth drinks the first kind.

Another newly discovered carbonated fruit drink is Kazouza, which has nine flavors to choose from (well, only two in my case). I tried the strawberry melon, which tasted like a strawberry kiwi drink. It was incredibly sweet, and came in a lovely bottle. Thumbs up!

Kazouza's bottle cap is fun - it has some bubbles on it, and also the numbers 1941 which is explained nicely here.  It's a Lebanese-based drink, adding to the many countries that I've found in just a few square blocks.  I guess when you can't drink beer or wine, you have to come up with some other interesting beverages to keep you occupied. I'm glad that I have the ability and proximity to all of these cool stores to try them all.

northwest microbrews

In January, I had an opportunity to take an extremely short trip to Seattle.  I was there for roughly 24 hours to take in a few meetings and then hopped on a red-eye back to New York City. It wasn't my first time to the West Coast, but it was my first time to the Pacific Northwest, and despite the shortness of the trip, I had a blast and can't wait to go back there for a longer stretch to explore the city.

I did manage to snag three amazing bottle caps to add to my repertoire. Across the street from my hotel was an amazing deli that had a wide variety of sandwiches, breakfast options, beers, sodas and micro-brews.  I was in heaven!  It was a little overwhelming with so many selections, though I'm not ashamed to admit that I purchased my beverages based SOLELY on the bottle caps.

Alas, I do not know the name of one!  Bottle cap designers be forewarned -- if you do not put the name of your company/beverage on your bottle cap, people like me wills not remember you in the long run.  Anyone with insight into the names of these companies so that they can get their proper due, do not hesitate to reach out! 

Let's start with what we do know.  Cricket Cola is described as an alternative to Coke & Pepsi.  I believe it includes green tea (or at least my bottle did!).  I think it is an acquired taste, but I definitely liked it.  I enjoyed the bottle cap even more. I mean, come on, it says "Twist for happiness." I'm a softie for things like that. You'll notice that it's in this blog's hall of fame. Obviously.

Next on the list from Seattle are two root beers.  This one:

Is apparently Henry Weinhard's Soda -- and there are quite a variety of caps within the company.  There is "Can't Top This," "Mmm, My Favorite," "Flip My Lid," "Roll Out the Barrel," and "Heads Up!" (Thanks, BottleCap.net!)  I desperately wanted to get a bunch of caps, but with limited time and limited funds available, I could only get one (and I also didn't want to look like a complete lunatic to the woman at the checkout counter.)  It makes me always want to travel with friends in order to get the most out of deli outings. Where were you, Michael Lober?

The other root beer I purchased has a beautiful design with snow-capped mountains/pyramids:

If anyone knows what this brand is, let me know!  I do remember that it was a root beer, and that it was quite tasty. Not like some of the fruit-flavored sodas I've been taste testing recently.  And 100% better than a Malta.  In fact, I wish I had one of these to chase the next Malta I have to drink! Oh, Goya Malta, why do you haunt my dreams?....

china cola, marathon & more malta

You would think that a product with a name like "china cola" would a) be from china and b) maybe have a panda on it or even some bamboo. But no. It's actually an American soda, with some natural herbs (the company claims the herbs are imported in from China).  Anyway, China Cola isn't too bad. At first sip it tastes somewhat like Coca Cola, but with a funny, lime-like aftertaste.  If it was the only cola left on the planet, and I really had a craving, I would probably go ahead and have another one. But with real Coca Cola still around, I think that I'll pass if ever offered China Cola again.

Next on the agenda is Marathon Beer. Procured at a local Greek grocery store, Marathon has an excellent bottle cap with a crown and some runners.  It invokes not only an actual marathon, but Greece as well!  Good job, Marathon Beer. I approve of your bottle cap!  The beer, well, it tastes like Budweiser. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping for something a little more, I don't know.... Greek. In a pinch, I'd drink it again.  There is nothing inherently unpleasant about it!

Last on the list today is... another Malta.  Malta Vitarroz.  I enlisted my sister to try this one, because I'm done with maltas. The last one did me in. Once opened, the aroma is very off-putting.  But it doesn't taste as badly as it smells.  The taste might best be described as halva-ish with a vaguely rice-y aftertaste. The only other Malta I've noticed in the neighborhood is Goya Malta.  That is for another day....and I may have to find someone else to taste test Goya!

pony malta

One of the great things about buying soda and beer for the bottle caps is the possibility of discovering delicious, unusual and tasty beverages.  Who knows what kinds of drinks are out there that I haven’t tried and will love some day?  However, one of the downfalls is having to taste some that are truly awful.  The latter applies to Pony Malta.  I think the best way to describe it is drinking a tree sandwich. That’s right—a tree stuffed between two pieces of malty bread.  A malt beverage hailing from Colombia, Pony Malta was procured at my local corner deli. It’s billed as an energy drink, but I am not quite sure who will have the energy to drink this. Yuck.