Talking Rain Sparkling Water (four flavors)

The Rant: So I see a case of this stuff at CostCo, and I'm like, "Hey, cheap water", so I decide to try it out. (I had a party coming up and I needed beverages). It doesn't have sugar, so I was anticipating some kind of carbonated MetroMint. If only I could be so lucky.

Where to start? This stuff has an intense carbonation, like some kind of bubbly fruit-flavored acid. Oh, and the fruit flavors. The flavors in the case I got were Tangerine, Berry, Lemon-Lime, and Natural...usually I'd do a review of each one, but this case is a special exception.

All of these flavors tasted like they were formulated by someone who got fired from the Kool-aid corporation. Seriously, flavor scientists at the Blo-pop lab would be insulted by this. Even the "Natural" flavor tastes like it was artificially flavored to taste like water.

So, long story short, it was a big hit with all of my friends, who only managed a couple sips of their bottles before throwing it away. I dunno, if you're one of those Tonic Water people, you might like this, but we had a real hard time choking it down. So, we had to find other ways to get rid of it...


Ingredients: Carbonated water, death.

Rating: 1/5 (1 point for not killing me)

Honest Kids Berry Berry Good Lemonade

First things first: I apologize for our truancy. WiseGuise and I had a month-long blog writer's retreat and healthy drinks advocacy conference to attend.
You'll also notice that this review format has changed format a bit from our previous entries. Comments and suggestions will be met with loving apathy.

The Rant: I never realized pouch drinks had come so far. They even have their own brigade. Almost every single ingredient is certified organic, so if you want to turn your kids into tree-huggers this is a good place to start. No, seriously, on the back of the box it talks about Honest Kids' partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and has a little blurb on why trees are important for us. (My view is, kill them before they kill us. You know they would if they got the chance).

But when it comes down to it, which would you rather have on your packaging: a couple eco-friendly blurbs of text, or the veritable orgy of commercialism that is the norm nowadays? I'm still trying to shake off the subliminal effects of the '89 Cap'n Crunch ad campaign.

So is it healthy? Well, let's compare with other products out there. Honest Kids has 10 grams of (organic cane) sugar for about a 7-oz pouch. Capri Sun, for example, has about double that in its original pouch drinks. They used to have even more, but cut back by 25% recently, maybe in response to drinks like this?

OK, so how does it taste? It's got a nice but very mild flavor. It may seem like water at first for those who are used to the sugar-blasted drinks out there, but it does grow on you. I think if they could pump up the flavor on this it would be a home-run. Take a lesson from SoBe LifeWater - they have even less sugar than this (10g per 8 ounces) and yet I get the sense that it tastes sweeter and has a fuller flavor than Honest Kids does.

Ingredients: Purified water, organic cane sugar, organic lemon juice concentrate, organic lemon extract, organic cranberry juice concentrate, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), organic berry flavor, purple carrot juice (color).

Price: about $4 for 8 packs at local health food store. Available Online.

Rating: 3.5/5

-Danithius

Crystal Geyser Cranberry Black Cherry

Aroma: The first scent to jump out and greet you is the grape juice, followed by hints of black cherry, and maybe some cranberry. It has a bit of a sour lemony twinge to it. A very deep scent.

Taste: Sweet and fruity with a lightly tart finish. I expected the cranberry, black cherry, and lemon to have a little more bite, but I found that it had been defanged more than I'd like. It is an upstanding flavor, just not what I'd expect from a drink that has cranberry as the first word of its title.

Price: $0.69 at local health food store, nationally distributed.

Ingredients: pure juice from grape, cranberry, black cherry and lemon juice concentrates, sparkling water, natural flavors, citric acid, and the following B-complex vitamins: niacinamide and vitamin B12.

Other Comments: This drink is sweetened only with fruit juice, and can be a great alternative to soda. It does have a good amount of sugar, with this particular flavor clocking in at about 33 g for one 12 oz bottle. Still, one that's about 6 g less than your average can of Coke. As far as I can see, the company is still independent.

Overall: The price is right, the taste is good, and they use real juice. It is carbonated and you do have to watch the sugar, but overall I am pleased with this drink. This is superior to regular soda in all the ways that count, and you'll be much better off turning to a beverage like this when you want a sweet treat. It can also be used to wean HFCS-hungry kids off of the Coke-bottle.

Rating: 4.0/5 stars.

-Danithius