The Internet Is Baffled By Coca-Cola's New Starlight Flavor

Few have traveled to outer space, but many wonder about the expansive last frontier. Billionaires build rocket ships to get a small glimpse of Earth from a different angle, humankind has spent its existence staring into the starry night sky in awe, fascinated by the thought of perhaps one day living on another planet or terrified of the great unknown. Coca-Cola has taken a small step for mankind, introducing a new beverage, Coca-Cola Starlight, whose flavor is as mysterious as the cosmos.

According to Eater, astronomers discovered a dust cloud in the Milky Way made up of ethyl formate, the same chemical that gives raspberries their flavor (it also smells of rum). This led people to wonder what space might taste like, and Coca-Cola aims to answer that question with its new red-tinted drink "inspired by space" (per CNN). The beverage giant describes Coca-Cola Starlight as having "notes reminiscent of stargazing around a campfire" and a refreshing taste that "evokes the feeling of a cold journey to space," which cleared up nothing, since nobody has ever tasted any of that word cocktail.

When you can't get the hard facts, take to the internet, where speculation runs wild. In a Reddit post, one user asks the question on the tips of our tongues, "tf is space flavored?" Another takes Coca-Cola's hints, coupled with the berry flavored dust cloud discovery, and wonders if Starlight tastes like raspberry mint.

Coca-Cola Creations is a new innovation platform created by Coke to engage younger consumers and revive its product line with unique flavored beverages (via Beverage Industry). Its first new release is Coca-Cola Starlight, and trying to figure out what it tastes like has the internet going into orbit.

When Coke hinted at Starlight tasting like a campfire, Redditors wondered if it tastes like s'mores, with one suggesting is tastes like "Teddy Grahams and cola." Of course in true internet fashion, everybody has a different impression of the new beverage. One person tweeted that it tastes like "caramel plum and the feeling you get when you inhale really cold air," while another wrote that Starlight "tastes like Coke but has an aftertaste of cereal milk." Another Twitter user thinks the new beverage has notes of cotton candy, while one Redditor commented, "It tastes like floor." Clearly not everyone is a fan of the mysterious new drink. There have also been conflicting reports of mint flavor and cinnamon spice. Thanks for nothing, internet.

Coca-Cola Starlight will be available for a limited time starting February 21, 2022, in regular and zero sugar. Unless you're a billionaire tech mogul, trying it may be the only way to explore the taste of outer space.