Weight-loss Coca-Cola from Japan has arrived in Beijing

Side note: if you're not careful, it might make you poo yourself

It's confusing, it's sinister and you can pick up a bottle in Beijing convinience stores for 29RMB: fat-fighting cola is here, and it's taking no prisoners.

The dubious drink is claimed to block fat absorption and regulate triglyceride levels when drunk alongside food, because of its high-fibre content (a whopping 5g per bottle). It's also got zero calories and no sugar, although it's still packed with the popular sweetener aspartame, which has been argued about in terms of safety for years. Weight-loss colas have been knocking around in the Land of the Rising Sun for a while now, although this particular one is the only drink on the market with guidelines to follow and a maximum consumption level of one 470ml bottle a day.

'Mum, I think it's watching me...'

To be honest, the literal diet Coke tastes enough like normal Diet Coke for it to be fairly slapped with the company's famous red branding, but the texture of the drink leaves a lot to be desired. If the equation of 'texture' with 'fizzy drink' is making you wince while reading this, you're not alone; while regular sodas bring carbonation to the party and little else, this variation on the theme feels sticky and viscous, slipping down with a slimy lurch to the back of the throat and a vaguely oily aftertaste.

Artist's impression of us, after downing a bottle.

We're planning to give this beverage a miss for three main reasons: the aforementioned taste, the fact that it's too bloody expensive, and it made us poo (a lot, and without warning).

It's ideal if you're in the market for a soda that doubles as a laxative, or just a good gimmick, but Beijingers would probably do better to stick with the Arctic Ocean next time they fancy cracking open a cold one with their mates.

Want to read about more times we forced ourselves to sample weird s**t? Hit '阅读原文'!

More from Time Out Beijing