Fanta Haunted Apple

Tying in with the recent release of the long awaited Beetlejuice sequel is this "Haunted Apple" soda from Fanta. The light shining through this bright green drink certainly gives an eerie, slime-like ick factor. Down in the bottom corner of the label it states it is a spiced apple soda.

Interestingly, upon cracking off the cap I was greeted not with a sugary apple scent but a strong cinnamon aroma, and dare I say even a hint of nutmeg? It's not like that from the potpourri in a Christmas shop, but instead has a bit of a smokiness to it. It's pungent on the tongue as well. The taste of the spices hit me right up front and then the apple comes through in the finish. The apple flavor is actually quite good, but I think they went too heavy handed on the spices. I think had they backed off on that it would have been more enjoyable. Overall, not too bad but could have been much better had the focus been on the apple and less on the "haunt". 

Mountain Dew Voo Dew Mystery Flavor 2024

Voo Dew from Mountain Dew is back with another mystery flavor for this year's Halloween. This bottle carries a scent that is striking me a bit like cream soda with a tinge of something fruity like pomegranate. The flavor of it isn't very fruit-like. I find the taste to be a lot like a cream soda, but not as strong as many major brand cream sodas. Another interesting exercise of the taste buds and a marketing gimmick, but not the kind of thing I'd reach for everyday. 

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. 

Sprite Ginger

Sprite Ginger has been discontinued, but I feel it's death was premature. I think it was a bit a of an early foray leading up to Sprite's more recent limited edition flavors. One can contains 34g of sugars and 130 calories. 

The drink has the same level of carbonation you'd expect from regular Sprite, which is to say an ample amount. The reason I think its death was premature was that I think it's a good soda. It makes a good compromise between the sweeter lemon-lime and a ginger ale. As a fan of ginger ale I might be a bit biased in that regard. All in all I hope they'll re-release this flavor in the future. 

Fentimans Pink Ginger

It's been too long since I've partaken of Fentimans. If you haven't read my previous posts, they can be found here. I like their products and the old fashioned style they adhere to.

The aroma of this bottle is ginger heavy when opening. I thought this might be a little more like pink lemonade, but the scent is giving me ginger beer vibes. It has nice carbonation, but it has no real pink lemonade flavor and only a tiny hint of citrus. The ginger wins over everything else in this drink and if you've not had ginger beer before, the ginger is heavier than in ginger ales. I enjoy a lot of ginger ale, but don't like ginger beers. At best I have found one or two that were tolerable. This one isn't so harsh that the ginger burns the palate but I think makes a better mixer than a drinkable soda.