Zevia on Maple, cir. 2008I typically avoid diet sodas of any kind, but one sweetener has come to my attention more than once, and I've been looking around for a chance to try it. I heard about it first from an anecdote in The Four-Hour Workweek. It's called Stevia. It's South-American herb with the nickname of "sweetleaf" - extracts of Stevia can be 300 times the sweetness of sugar.
Stevia has been outlawed by the FDA as a sweetener, reportedly after only one anonymous complaint... probably by a corn industry executive...
The FDA's official stance is that "no one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is safe".
Psh. You've passed a lot more fishy stuff than this, FDA. Any negative studies you can find on Stevia are nowhere near as freaky as some of the fake sweeteners on your approved list! (You'll notice on their site that they are still defending Saccharin.)
Stevia has been used for 30 years in Japan and for centuries in South America with no reported ill effects. Google it, there's a whole mess of controversy out there.
OK, down to business. The makers of this soda get around the FDA by labeling it as a "carbonated stevia supplement". Smooth. It has Erythritol, a sugar-alcohol also contained in Sobe Lifewater. It can be purchased online at https://store.zevia.com/, and at the time of writing, they were having a FREE 6 pack sampler special. You only pay for the S&H. Hook it up, I don't know how long that will be good for.
This soda has a kind of mellow after-sweetness with a light orange flavor. (Think Sobe Lifewater's orange flavor, only carbonated and with a little less flavor punch). This is heavily carbonated - too much for my taste, but nothing to a hardcore soda chugger. The flavor and sweetness seem to grow on you as you drink it, but it never quite delivers the flavorful body I'm looking for. I have a feeling it will take more oomph to wean hardcore soda lovers (or diet soda lovers) off the bottle. Some intense herbs and spice will do amazing things for flavor, Zevia, just look at some of the totally non-sweetened drinks that we've reviewed!
This is an interesting entry, but not amazing. Yes, it is probably a lot better for you than teeth-rotting regular soda or the chemical sweeteners in the diet stuff, but that's not enough to make my buddy list. I'm prepared to make some small flavor sacrifices for big returns on health, sure. But to get the big points, you need to give me the Holy Grail, that perfect combination of both flavor and health. I must have it all!
Rating: 3.0/5
Danithius
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