Jan. 16th, 2006 09:08 am
recommendations
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toastykittenI've been trying out these new "natural" and "organic" sodas/teas in order to curb my soda intake (because I want to keep my teeth). A lot of these are made with either cane sugar or just natural sugar, rather than corn syrup, which purportedly has a lot of bad qualities, and contributes to a lot of health problems. Corn syrup is everywhere you look, but I figure I can try cutting down on soda at least, since that's the one thing I drink a lot of.
These are the ones I tried; most of these are not going to be as sweet as soda, but they will satisfy the craving for flavor if you're like me and don't really like to drink water. You're out of luck if you don't like tea, though:
Honestea: I saw this recommended on some blog some time ago. I don't remember which one. It's actually the first place where I read about how much better drinking non-corn-syrup beverages are. When I first tried this, I didn't really like it. That was true of most of the beverages I tried. I didn't like the bitterness, but then again, it's tea. Do not have this one lukewarm, or the bitterness will overwhelm the actual sweetness of the tea. Over time, it grew on me, although the first sip always makes me wish I hadn't bought it. The second sip is much better.
Other points in its favor: According to their website, "We hope that by introducing new teas and exciting new tastes under the Honest Tea name, we can help to create greater economic opportunity in communities that are seeking to become more self-sufficient. We try also to present our teas in a culturally authentic context, using our labels to illustrate the tea's origin or story—a Crow Native American Chief, a Chinese rubbing from the Tang Dynasty, an oil painting from Guatemala or a hand-drawn sketch from Haarlem South Africa." They also have a bunch of partnerships with nonprofits, and there's a page about social responsibility. (Unfortunately their site still uses frames, so I can't link to any of those directly.) And one of their bottles features Opus the Penguin, because Berkeley Breathed liked it so much. That was the real reason I picked it up in the first place, because Bloom County is still one of my favorite comic strips.
Snapple makes a drink that's made with "natural sugar". I bought a few of these on the way home from work. They cost the same as a regular Snapple. It's sweeter than Honestea, but a lot less sweet than a regular Snapple. It's decent, but not one of my favorites.
Jones Soda recently released a line of organic teas, sweetened with natural cane sugar. It is my favorite of the bunch. I love the original sodas as well (but you couldn't pay me enough to try their Holiday Pack), but the only thing against them is that they're fairly expensive to be buying everyday. By the way, the White Tea Cherry was so bitter I almost spit it out. The rest seemed to be a lot sweeter, but as with the other brands, it takes a while to get acclimated to to the taste. Canadian sodas are awesome.
I just tried Steap Green Tea Soda yesterday. It's pretty good, and tastes the most like actual soda, because it's been lightly carbonated.
I'm hoping Costco will start carrying these sodas soon (maybe they already do), because buying them one by one is getting pretty expensive.
I need to start cleaning up. I'm cooking up a storm today.
These are the ones I tried; most of these are not going to be as sweet as soda, but they will satisfy the craving for flavor if you're like me and don't really like to drink water. You're out of luck if you don't like tea, though:
Honestea: I saw this recommended on some blog some time ago. I don't remember which one. It's actually the first place where I read about how much better drinking non-corn-syrup beverages are. When I first tried this, I didn't really like it. That was true of most of the beverages I tried. I didn't like the bitterness, but then again, it's tea. Do not have this one lukewarm, or the bitterness will overwhelm the actual sweetness of the tea. Over time, it grew on me, although the first sip always makes me wish I hadn't bought it. The second sip is much better.
Other points in its favor: According to their website, "We hope that by introducing new teas and exciting new tastes under the Honest Tea name, we can help to create greater economic opportunity in communities that are seeking to become more self-sufficient. We try also to present our teas in a culturally authentic context, using our labels to illustrate the tea's origin or story—a Crow Native American Chief, a Chinese rubbing from the Tang Dynasty, an oil painting from Guatemala or a hand-drawn sketch from Haarlem South Africa." They also have a bunch of partnerships with nonprofits, and there's a page about social responsibility. (Unfortunately their site still uses frames, so I can't link to any of those directly.) And one of their bottles features Opus the Penguin, because Berkeley Breathed liked it so much. That was the real reason I picked it up in the first place, because Bloom County is still one of my favorite comic strips.
Snapple makes a drink that's made with "natural sugar". I bought a few of these on the way home from work. They cost the same as a regular Snapple. It's sweeter than Honestea, but a lot less sweet than a regular Snapple. It's decent, but not one of my favorites.
Jones Soda recently released a line of organic teas, sweetened with natural cane sugar. It is my favorite of the bunch. I love the original sodas as well (but you couldn't pay me enough to try their Holiday Pack), but the only thing against them is that they're fairly expensive to be buying everyday. By the way, the White Tea Cherry was so bitter I almost spit it out. The rest seemed to be a lot sweeter, but as with the other brands, it takes a while to get acclimated to to the taste. Canadian sodas are awesome.
I just tried Steap Green Tea Soda yesterday. It's pretty good, and tastes the most like actual soda, because it's been lightly carbonated.
I'm hoping Costco will start carrying these sodas soon (maybe they already do), because buying them one by one is getting pretty expensive.
I need to start cleaning up. I'm cooking up a storm today.