8 Unique Coca-Cola Flavors Most People Have Never Heard Of

When you've got something like Coca-Cola on your hands, you don't really need anything else, do you? If Coca-Cola never expanded beyond the formula cooked up by John Stuart Pemberton in his Atlanta drugstore in 1886, it would likely still be the billion-dollar, world-conquering behemoth it is today. (Well, as long as Coca-Cola took out the cocaine, anyway.) But beyond original Coca-Cola and its diet varieties, there are plenty of other flavors designed to entice soda drinkers: Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke, to the many combinations available through the Coke Freestyle machines. 

There is also a whole range of unique Coke flavors around the world that many people haven't heard of, let alone tried for themselves. From America to Japan, and even South Africa, here are eight different Coca-Cola flavors you probably won't find on supermarket shelves near you — and that means you better snap them up if or when you find them. It's time to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.

Coca-Cola Starlight was introduced in 2022 and sold as "space flavored," which could mean just about anything — but ultimately translated to a whole lot of sweetness. Customers couldn't quite agree on what it tasted like — some said it reminded them of fruit punch, while others said it tasted like cotton candy or bubblegum. It's not something you can try for yourself, however. Although the flavor returned briefly in 2025 as part of a Munchie Deal with Jack in the Box, (maybe it goes well with the chain's cheap but gross tacos), it's no longer on the menu.

Sold as part of a TikTok "hype kit" to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day in 2024, Happy Tears was a sugarless Coca-Cola flavor with a strangely evocative name. (We half-expected it to be part of a recipe for a witch's potion or something.) Apparently, happy tears taste like peach-flavored soda – not at all unpleasant if you're into that sort of thing, but due to its limited availability, most people weren't able to find out for themselves. With that said, though, there are plenty of cans available on eBay.

In 2022, Coca-Cola released Coca-Cola Byte, a soda inspired by pixels that tied into the Metaverse (that janky attempt at the Matrix tech bros glommed onto before AI started to pan out). The packaging was eye-catching, with its pixelated graphic design and bright green-and-purple coloring effectively communicating techno-optimism. But the flavor was divisive among the few who tried it: a fruity, candy-sweet concoction described as tasting like the '80s or cough syrup. In any case, it was a limited-edition flavor, so you won't be able to pluck this little byte of the Metaverse off your supermarket shelf.

Unlike the previous flavors, Quebec Maple is a permanent addition to Coca-Cola's roster — at least if you're in Canada. The packaging boasts the national symbols of Canada (the maple leaf) and of Quebec (the fleur-de-lis) — which, considering the frequently contentious relationship Quebec has with the rest of Canada, is a very smart move indeed. It tastes exactly how you'd imagine a maple-flavored Coke, which almost certainly won't be to everyone's satisfaction. Still, there's nothing wrong with a distinct national identity.

In the year three-thousaaaaand... Coca-Cola will still apparently be making weird, limited-edition flavors. Co-created with AI (because you just can't escape the darn thing, even in the soda aisle), Y3000 was an attempt to capture what the future might taste like from the vantage point of 2023. We're not sure if AI was what made the soda taste like fruit punch kombucha, but whoever (or whatever) was responsible, it failed to live up to the pretty packaging. AI may be everywhere (even in online recipes), but Y3000 is nowhere to be seen nowadays.

As a tie-in with the "Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War" anime, Coca-Cola released a limited-time flavor of Zero Sugar Coke called Soul Blast in Japan. With a name like that, you'd think it had a pretty bold flavor, but those who tried the drink released in 2022 were pretty underwhelmed – it tasted like a somewhat watered-down Cherry Coke. Still, it was mostly a collector's item, and it doesn't have to taste good if it's just sitting on your shelf.

Nobody could mistake Coca-Cola for a health product, but in Japan (as well as other countries in East Asia), there's a diet version of Coke that boasts extra health benefits. The dietary fiber in question is dextrin, which is supposed to help impede fat absorption and aid digestion. Whether it actually does that, and whether a soda is the best way to get dextrin in the first place, is up in the air — but there's nothing wrong with a little fiber, is there? Just make sure to drink no more than one a day.

"Wozzaah," in case you're curious, is the isiZulu word for "come here," and the limited-edition Coke flavor sought to embody that welcoming spirit. Sold in South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, and Morocco, the soda and its design drew on African culture for a bright, vibrant vision. As is often the case with these limited sodas, the flavor was fruity and featured a somewhat pruney quality. Although it's not for sale any longer, Wozzaah sure sounds like it'd be worth a try at least once.