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There would be few people in Western civilisation who haven't heard of the cola juggernaut, Coke. But how many of us have ever heard of Inca Kola?

My husband and I stopped at the markets in Bondi Junction this morning to show off our baby son to some stallholder friends who sell South American food. Displayed amongst the cans of Coke on their counter was a gold can labelled "Inca Kola". I asked what it was and my husband spouted some wise crack that's not worth repeating here. I can't resist trying something curious and new, so I laid out $2.50 for a can of Inca Gold and cracked it open.

I peered in through the hole in the top of the can and what do you know - liquid gold in a can! I took an eager sip and was surprised to find that Inca Gold tastes a lot like creaming soda. It is neither black, nor has that acidic, tooth decaying, gut destroying quality of other colas we all know and drink from time to time.

I looked Inca Gold up on Wikipedia and discovered it was in full swing production in Peru by 1935, and is the most popular soda drink in South America. While the producer is part owned by the Coca Cola company, Inca Gold is the only drink to ever out sell Coke in a given market. Apparently Coke has thrown buckets of marketing dollars at South America to correct this anomally, to no avail.

In Sydney, you can buy Inca Gold from Tony and Elizabeth's Chorizo stand at Bondi Junction Markets, Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, on Thursdays, Friday and Saturday. It's worth a trip there just to taste this very unique drink.