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Nothing says 'refreshing' like a can of Cup Noodle ramen-flavored soda

Cup Noodle is turning 50, and Nissin Foods is celebrating with four soup-flavored carbonated beverages, including one that tastes like seafood. No, really.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper

Want to quench your thirst? How about a nice big sip of ramen-flavored soda? Japan-based Nissin Foods is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Cup Noodle instant noodle soup this month by selling four flavors of ramen-flavored carbonated soda. According to Sora News 24, as well as a tweet from the company, there's a basic Cup Noodle soda, a seafood-accented cream soda, a curry-accented cola and a chili-tomato soda. 

Sure, some people heartily slurp up the broth in a bowl of ramen, but somehow it just seems wrong to crack open a bottle of ramen-flavored carbonated soda. It's tough to imagine grabbing for a beverage that's made to taste like seafood or curry. 

Still, if that's your drink dream, it'll help to have a pal in Japan. The sodas can be preordered on Nissin's website or on some other Japanese retailers, including Amazon Japan. Looks like you have to buy the entire 50th anniversary set, which includes all four sodas, eight Cup Noodle snacks and eight Cup Noodle soups, for 2,998 yen (around US$28, £20, AU$37).

A representative for Nissin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the product can be shipped to countries other than Japan, or if there's a sale site in English.

Japan's not alone, though, in occasionally offering sodas flavored like a main course. American company Jones Soda, based in Seattle, has offered plenty of wacky holiday drinks, including a Thanksgiving offering of turkey and gravy soda.