Slice Grapefruit Spritz

Slice was originally launched back in 1984 by PepsiCo as a lemon-lime soda. This was meant to replace the aging Teem label discontinued the same year as well as to try to gain market share against competitor's lemon-lime offerings. In time Slice offered a range of fruit flavored sodas, including orange and strawberry. Slice had a narrow share of the soda market in the U.S. and by the 1990's the boast of containing 10% fruit juice was moot since they removed most of the fruit juice from the recipe. The brand would undergo continued evolution in package design, various flavors and even a diet version, but Pepsi would discontinue Slice in the 2000's, most likely in an effort to consolidate some of their labels since Sierra Mist, another Pepsi-owned lemon-lime soda has been released in 1999 and was widely sold by the mid-2000's. New Slice Ventures LLC apparently bought the rights to the Slice brand sometime around 2018 for a relaunch in the U.S. and Canada with fruit-juice sweetened, lower calorie versions of grapefruit, raspberry, cranberry, blackberry, mango, and pineapple. They would launch more traditional Slice flavors in 2022 in orange, cherry, and lemon-lime. Suja Life then enters the picture and buys the rights to Slice and overhauls the recipes to jump on the "gut healthy" soda trend. Unlike the other "gut healthy" sodas I've encountered, these are listed as including "pre-, pro-, and post-biotic" ingredients. 

This can has a citrusy scent, not unlike a mainstream grapefruit soda or Fresca. It also has a very light pink color. I find the flavor a bit funny. While still somewhat citrus, it also has a sort of dull staleness about it. I'm sure the stevia, salt, and fibrous bacteria play into this. Fortunately, its still far from being the worst tasting healthy soda flavors I've tried. I could finish this can but I think the flavor would make it slow going, just taking a nip every 5-10 minutes. Not exactly my kind of taste.

Levo Cosmic Punch

Levo is yet another prebiotic soda brand joining the mission of many soda producers to launch healthier replacements for traditional sodas. While Levo's sodas don't offer caffeine they claim 5g of fiber per serving/can. This can also contains 5g of cane sugar and just 30 calories. Launched in 2024, Levo is operated by Clear Cut Brands out of Louisville, KY.

A fruity aroma is immediately sensed when opening. The smell is very much like that of Hawaiian Punch. This is another surprising one. It's quite sugary tasting even if it contains less sugar and overall calories than most sodas. The punch flavors come on strong at the front, and while decent tasting don't linger long on the taste buds. The finish could leave something to be desired though. The immediate sense after a swig is a little more like tasting a mix of jello and kool-aid powder mix. Thank fully that doesn't last long either and I'm left with the aftertaste of pretty much any other fruit punch. Some of these gut-healthy sodas are starting to get the taste right, unfortunately they are the harder to find brands with little to no major market advertising. This is another brand, much like yesterday's post, I'll be looking out for so I can taste some of their other flavors. 

Popwell Cream Soda

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. 

Poppi Cherry Limeade

Next up from Poppi is this can of Cherry Limeade. This particular can also lists agave inulin among the ingredients which makes me wonder a bit why this is included in some flavors but not others. Once again, they've nailed the scent... but what about the taste? Strangely, this flavor is better than the others I've tried so far from Poppi. It's not great mind you, but it's at least approaching the flavor it's labeled and drinkable. The cherry flavoring isn't very strong though. I find cherry up front but it dissipates quickly leaving a limeade-like aftertaste. As mentioned, it's an improvement from the previous flavors tasted, but I'm questioning the taste buds of the celebrities endorsing this product. The best thing this can has going for it is the colors and finish. That deep red with eggshell finish paired with a bright yellow-green makes an attractive combination.

Poppi Grape

Noticeably, this can contains agave inulin in addition to several of the previously listed ingredients found in Poppi. I can say that the delicious grape soda smell emanating from this can after the scent that came from my previous taste of Poppi tells me that they can nail an attractive scent. By scent alone you might mistake this for any regular grape soda on the supermarket shelf. But once again, the flavor is not nice. It's very astringent and tastes nothing like grape soda in my opinion. 

Poppi Strawberry Lemon

Poppi began in 2018 under the name 'Mother', founded by Stephen and Allison Ellsworth. After securing venture capital investment Mother underwent a rebrand to Poppi. Aside from a stint on Shark Tank they've secured endorsements from several celebrities whilst gaining shelf space in practically every grocery store I visit. I've recently picked up a few flavors from Poppi to give a try. Poppi contains apple cider vinegar, which contains acetic acid prebiotics and supports probiotic growth and is sweetened with stevia and cane sugar. 

I like the scent from this can. It's very much like fresh sliced strawberries. Unfortunately, the taste isn't very pleasant to me. While I'm picking up the lemon, the primary taste I get is more "green", sort of like chewing on the green leafy part of a strawberry top that wasn't removed. After this passes I'm just left with a bitter lemon juice flavor in the mouth. So... not a great first experience.

Olipop Dr. Goodwin

The next Olipop up for tasting is this supposed knock-off of Dr Pepper. Everyone that tries to make a Pepper knock-off seems to stick to the "Dr" theme. In this case, they've used the name of one of the founders, Ben Goodwin. Unlike their cola offering this one at least smells a little like a Dr Pepper, if not a little more floral. And... as a gulp down a swig, it tastes floral too. It's like chewing on potpourri with a little cherry added in, but nothing like Dr Pepper. Also unlike their cola flavor this one at least grows on me a little with each sip starts to take on a taste of medicinal candy bottlecaps. This can has an extra gram of sugar over their cola and steps up to 45 calories per serving, but the taste a decent trade off over their cola. 

Olipop Vintage Cola

Olipop was founded in 2018 by Ben Goodwin and David Lester, who had sold their previous venture with an probiotic soda called Obi. Olipop is a prebiotic, so I guess they chose make a change with their new soda. The prebiotic ingredients used include cassava root fiber, chicory root inulin, Jerusalem artichoke inulin, nopal cactus, marshmallow root, calendula flower, and kudzu root. I'm always a bit skeptical about claims of "miracle health products" and maybe rightly so when I find that Gwyneth Paltrow was an early investor since I've heard of many of the bizarre claims made from her Goop brand. It seems there have been some recent lawsuits against multiple brands of these prebiotic sodas suggesting that the health benefits they promote can't be achieved with the small amount of inulin they include. However, if nothing else, I've taken note that a single serving (12oz. can) is listed at just 35 calories with a grand total of 16g of sugars and is low in sodium... all improvements over your standard, big name sodas. Jonathan Limehouse author of USA Today's recent article, provides a good summation of this...

"Dietitians agree that Poppi, Olipop, Culture Pop and other prebiotic sodas are healthier options compared to traditional soft drinks, but they are weary about how beneficial these brightly colored canned alternatives really are due to their lack of effect on gut health. Coke, Sprite and other common sodas have "tons of added sugar" and are "pretty calorically dense," which is the opposite of most prebiotic sodas on the market, Jessica Alfano, a clinical dietitian at Huntington Hospital in New York, told USA TODAY on Thursday during a phone interview."

But since I'm really more about seeing what sodas taste like, let me crack open a can of this cola flavored option from Olipop. Cracking open the can gives a light cola scent, but also a scent similar to some of the sodas I've has using tea as an ingredient and I wonder if a little of the chicory isn't in that smell as well. After taking a first swig, I'm super unimpressed. It has a taste that reminds me of making pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread... a mix of canned pumpkin, flour, and granulated sugar. I would not classify this flavor as cola. Even with the low sodium listed as I drink it there's a bit of a salty tasting finish. All in all, I'm not enjoying it and still have at least one other flavor waiting for me in the fridge. Regardless of the gut health claims, it's a healthier option than regular soda so if you can handle the taste, or maybe let it grow on you, then it seems a decent alternative.

Gut Health Sodas - What are they?

There's been a lot of marketing, and growth of store shelf space, the last few years by a variety of drinks, including sodas, labeled "prebiotic" and "probiotic" With the growth of the kombucha trend also came probiotic yogurts, and pre- and probiotic sodas and teas. It's probably time I review at least a few of these but before that I thought I'd discuss... What's the difference between prebiotic and probiotic drinks?

Both prebiotics and probiotics are aimed at improving your gut biome, which supposedly provides the benefit of enhancing your digestion and immune system. 

Probiotics contain live bacteria to aid in food digestion and provide vitamins. The human digestive system contains so-called "good" bacteria like these that replicate and grow to continue helping you but the health of this bacterial biome can be damaged. Ingesting probiotics is designed to help bolter the health of this biome by replenishing their numbers.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, contain fiber with carbohydrates that feed the "good" bacteria in your digestive system. The fatty acids that result from the bacteria breaking down these carbohydrates purportedly help with bowel movements, controlling blood sugar, and absorbing minerals and vitamins. So the general idea is that prebiotics feed your bacteria and help to keep them healthy, while probiotics replenish their ranks.