"I Was So Obsessed with Chocolate Milk That I Came to Korea" — The Man Who Drank 1,875 Chocolate Drinks Across 52 Countries

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[The Financial News] "Yes, I'm obsessed with chocolate milk, but I have no regrets."He calls himself'A Fool's Errand'. But after hearing Perry James' story of traveling through 52 countries over the past 10 years, drinking and reviewing 1,875 kinds of chocolate milk, it is hard to call him foolish. Instead, one can only admire such pure passion. Few people in the world could be this sincere about chocolate milk.
I first learned about James last month, when a post by a Korean user on X, formerly Twitter, drew attention. The user, who introduces interesting websites, wrote a tweet about him, saying, "There is a man who devoted his life to chocolate milk. Let me introduce the homepage of Perry James, a determined man who traveled to 52 countries to explore 1,875 kinds of chocolate milk."
Interest in him exploded after the post noted that he had even tried 52 kinds of chocolate milk in Korea. The tweet has been viewed more than 4.75 million times and received around 10,000 likes. Curious about James' story, this reporter sent him an email. Here is the unusual and remarkable tale of a man who travels the world in search of chocolate milk, told by James himself.
\r\r"In 2016, my wife and I decided to take a break in the middle of our careers. We saved aggressively for about 18 months and set off on a trip. We had saved for one year, but because it was not a 'luxury' trip, the money lasted two years. Wherever we went, I drank chocolate milk, and sometimes I even replaced meals with a few packs of it. Then, in June that year in Croatia, I decided to start recording it properly."James had long been a devoted chocolate milk lover. After quitting his job and setting off on his travels in 2016, he found himself seeking out chocolate milk in every country he visited. Then, in the Croatian port city of Split, he decided to begin reviewing chocolate milk. From that point on, he carefully organized not only photos and taste scores, but also ingredient lists translated into English.
In the process, chocolate milk reviews shifted from a hobby to a passion, and then to an obsession. His travels were reorganized around chocolate milk. That is how his website, A Fool's Errand, was born. James laughed and said, "When the number of reviews reached 500, I declared myself the world's greatest chocolate milk expert. I was sure no one else was doing something like this."
\r\r"Through my travels in search of chocolate milk, I realized that I have an obsessive perfectionist streak, similar to a player in a role-playing game trying to collect every item. Sometimes I will drive four hours one way just for a new chocolate milk."As mentioned earlier, the number of chocolate milks he has reviewed now exceeds 1,875 across 52 countries. His carefully organized database, sorted by country, rating, ingredients and brand, is essentially an encyclopedia of chocolate milk from around the world. For the record, what James values most in chocolate milk is not simply sweetness. He generally prefers chocolate milk made with creamline milk from local dairies, and says products made with just four ingredients tend to taste better.
\r\r"If I had to name my 'destination,' it would be reviewing every chocolate milk in the world, but that is unrealistic. So I think the journey itself is more interesting and more transformative than the goal. Chocolate milk varies greatly by country and region. In parts of China and Southeast Asia, chocolate milk is not very popular because of high rates of lactose intolerance, but Korea was a wonderful surprise. There were far more varieties than I expected. In terms of chocolate milk, it was one of the biggest surprises of my entire trip."On the site's country-by-country review list, South Korea has 52 entries. James stayed in Korea for just six days, but during that time he sampled 52 kinds of chocolate milk and visited more than 100 convenience stores in Seoul. It was not unusual for him to walk 19 to 24 kilometers while searching for chocolate milk. "I would go around as many stores as possible and return each time with my backpack full," he said. "My wife sometimes helped carry the bags or handled the filming."
The product James gave his highest score in Korea was Seoul Milk Disney Choco, with 9 points. He explained, "Many products are low-fat, at 1%, or partially skimmed, at 2%, but this one was closer to whole milk, at 3.25%. Higher fat content tends to taste better. It had a strong but balanced flavor, with a slightly dark cocoa note and a texture I liked. The balance between creaminess and not being unnaturally heavy was good." The lowest-ranked product was Paldo Choco Drink, which received 0.5 points.
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James said he was struck by the sense of 'intention' and 'novelty' in Korea's chocolate milk market. He noted, "There were children's products featuring characters such as Angry Birds, Doraemon, The Walt Disney Company and Snoopy, as well as adult-oriented drinking chocolate products that felt like premium desserts.""I found it very interesting that Korea has such an intentional chocolate milk lineup spanning children, adults and everyone in between,"he said.
For reference, among the 1,875 chocolate milks from 52 countries listed on his website, only 68 have received a perfect score of 10. The most recent product James gave a perfect score to was chocolate milk from Peila's Creamery in Massachusetts, United States.
\r\r"I joke about my pancreas and diabetes. I do my best to stay in shape, but sometimes I think I should have chosen a healthier hobby. Still, writing reviews about kale or carrot sticks would not be nearly as fun!"Drinking dozens of chocolate milks a day is hardly healthy. That is why James joked in a video celebrating his 1,800th review that the record was made possible by "eight years of dedication and disregard for health." Even so, James stressed that he has no regrets. "The experiences I have had over the years are priceless. It has truly been an incredible journey of self-improvement and discovery," he said.
James has now stopped traveling and returned to everyday life, and he has no overseas travel plans for the time being. But his spirit is still ready to follow the scent of chocolate milk. Asked about future travel plans, he said he still has Alaska, Hawaii and Arkansas left to complete all 50 U.S. states, and added that he especially wants to visit a small goat dairy on Kodiak Island in Alaska. He said he would like to film a documentary about a journey made solely for that one chocolate milk.
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The determination of a man who has packed the world into a single carton of chocolate milk shows no sign of stopping. James said his passion for finding new chocolate milk remains unchanged and that he has no intention of quitting. His next goal is to reach 2,000 reviews, and he even said he thinks that could happen within two years. When asked whether he could imagine himself still holding a chocolate milk in one hand 20 years from now, he sent the following answer:"In 20 years, I will be close to 70, and I am sure I will still be searching for new chocolate milk. After I retire, I want to buy a van and continue my chocolate milk journey by visiting farms across the United States and Canada. My wife and I sometimes talk about spending six months in North America and six months abroad after retirement. Both travel and the pursuit of chocolate milk are like horizons that keep moving farther away the more boxes you check off. You keep chasing them, but you can never quite reach them. Somy goal is to keep collecting wonderful stories until the very end of my lifeAnd since I already have far more good stories than regrets, even death, the ultimate destination in life, does not seem all that frightening."bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter