I encountered another prebiotic "gut-healthy" soda on a recent journey. This one comes from Popwell, a brand only launched in February of this year. Popwell is made by Talking Rain Beverage Company. Talking Rain was founded by John Stevens and Pete Hiskin in Bellevue, Washington and just a few short months later was purchased by a group of investors. The company relocated its offices to Preston, WA in 1992, the same year they began producing Sparkling Ice flavored, carbonated water. The Popwell brand offers a range of flavors with each can boasting 1g of sugar, 6g of dietary fiber, and antioxidants. The entire can is listed at just 35 calories. Some options, such as this cream soda, also contain caffeine like many traditional sodas.
Cracking the can open sounds rather flat compared to some. There was no crisp sound of gasses releasing. However, you can hear the carbonation popping from the can, which is still a good sign. I can also pick up a vanilla scent, not unlike a gift candle. The carbonation is very active on the tongue. My mouth is flooded with a strong vanilla flavor right off the bat. The taste mellows a bit after swallowing, but I find an aftertaste of vanilla then rises back to the mouth. I haven't yet tasted other flavors from Popwell but I'm already impressed because I find so many of the other pro- and prebiotic sodas on the market intolerable. But this one it pretty good. The vanilla flavor may be a bit too artificial and a tad heavy handed... but it doesn't put me off it. I could easily drink all of this and probably enjoy it as a regular soda replacement if it were available. I'll look forward to tasting some of their other flavors as I come across them.
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