Lemongina - Does it taste like dirt? - Taste & Review

Although it has the French national flag printed on the label, Lemongina is available only in Japan. It was sold on March 31st, 2015 by Japanese brewer and beverages company, Suntory, which also owns the Orangina brand of beverages. Suntory claims that its researchers, in association with Orangina Snapple, spent over two years in France developing a lemon peel extract suited to the tastes of the Japanese consumer.

Taste
Upon release, many consumers claimed that the taste of Lemongina resembled that of "dirt". However, I did not taste "dirt" in the drink; instead, I felt a strong lemon peel flavor, and a genuine lemon taste, much like that of homemade lemonade. My theory is that since lemons are not so widely used in Japan, many people may have associated the flavor of the lemon peel with their experiences of smelling "dirt".

Lemongina contains actual lemon juice, along with grapefruit juice and orange juice, and is not so sweet. Although many carbonated drinks taste artificial, Lemongina tastes very natural and does not have much fizz to it.

In conclusion, I would describe Lemongina as "carbonated homemade lemonade".

References
http://www.suntory.co.jp/softdrink/news/pr/d/sbf0228.html