Reaction: Vitasoy Red Bean

The human senses have psychological expectations due to our previous experiences. And when those expectations are fooled, we tend to react in two ways: shock... and maybe disgust.

I don't know what I was thinking when I purchased a 6-pack of Red Bean soy bean drink. I've been a huge fan of Vitasoy ever since I was little. It's a fine-filtered soy-milk - more filtered that western soy milk so it doesn't have that "grit" texture. It is, indeed, much like drinking normal cow's milk.

So that's the first built-in expectation... a Vitasoy product should taste... well, relatively bland and just a hint of sweetness.

I also know that Red Bean is supposed to be sweet and have a certain pasty texture (because... well, the Chinese name for red-bean dessert translates literally as "red bean sand."). So the sensation of tasting such a taste but in fluid form is a little strange.

But finally, there is an ultimately disturbing shock to the system: The packaging for Red Bean soy Bean Drink is a cheerful red and pink on white motif. And western life has taught me many things: one of which is that anything in red should taste sour-sweet like strawberries. This is doubly true if it is a milk-product - a milk-like product packaged in red should be a strawberry shake!

The end result, I will allow my brother's knee-jerk reaction to speak in concise summary: "Gah! Disgusting!" (he later thought it tasted alright once he got over the initial shock).

All at once, one's expectations of a red-white boxed drink with a milk-like content is suddenly confronted with such an incongruous taste. It's just too weird for words. There is nothing else on the face of this planet that can describe the feeling. It would be like biting in a piece of fried chicken and finding out it tastes like chocolate... and had the consistency of cheese.

But for the taste itself... Red Bean Soy Bean Drink actually does taste like Red Bean. This is probably because there really is authentic red bean powder in the mixture. But the presentation of the product is just so unusual that it's still unnerving even after I've finished off the 6-pack.