Today we have another SoBe Lifewater contender up on the chopping block: Strawberry Dragonfruit.
This is another 0-calorie “Lean Machine” Lifewater sweetened exclusively with Stevia and Erythritol. The other lean machines have surprised me with a depth of flavor and lack of obnoxious aftertaste that I have yet to find in other “diet” products. As regular BL readers know, we stay away from any artificial sweeteners. But because Lifewater uses Stevia (a sweet herb) and Erythritol (a natural sugar-alcohol), they make the cut.
Fragrance: Smells like a sweet-tart tropical fruit with a hint of bubblegum.
Taste: Like all the other Lifewaters, this is pleasant and chuggable. The sweetness level is just right, and it delivers some moderate tropical/floral notes. But it lacks the distinct flavor profile that I’ve come to enjoy from its fruity brethren. All in all, it just isn’t enough to make me stand up and take notice. I expect more from the flavor-formulators over at SoBe!
Summary: Sure, dragonfruit sounds cool. I mean come on, it’s dragonfruit. The only way to get a cooler-sounding piece of produce would be to invent ninjafruitor something. (I’m trademarking that, by the way!) But the thing is, dragonfruit is one of those items that sounds cool in principle, but then fails to deliver in practice. I’ve had it fresh; it was like biting into a cardboard-and-poppyseed muffin. It’s bland. They could have compensated for its lack of flavor in this Lifewater with a more pronounced strawberry taste, but unfortunately it was nowhere to be found.
Rating: 3.0/5 It has the pleasant sweetness of its brethren, but falls short in the flavor department.
-Danithius-
User Ratings: (9 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5) Loading ...
Greetings Libationers! A couple of days ago I was wandering the aisles of my local food purveyor co-op, and what should I see there but a brand-new Lifewater flavor! The title “Cherimoya Punch” on the frosted plastic bottle grabbed my attention, and I knew I had to have it. And of course, since it was a new flavor debut, it was on sale. Double-score for me!
Cherimoya and I have a brief but torrid history together. My chef at culinary school was the first to introduce me to this mysterious fruit. He came into the kitchen one day with a big plastic bag full of exotic fruits for the class to try.
“Is there a fruit that I haven’t tried yet?” I muttered incredulously. “Ppph, I don’t think that’s even possible.”
But my eyes widened as he pulled a lumpy, greenish-brown thing from the bag and immediately cut it in half. It had white flesh on the inside with big, brown seeds.
“This,” chef said, “is the Cherimoya.”
I squeezed through the crowd of classmates for a better look. What was this? I had to try some!
The chef picked up a spoon - a spoon! – and scooped out a bit of the soft, white flesh. He popped it merrily into his mouth and spat out the seed. He told everyone to do the same. Seeing some dubious faces, he egged us on: “come on, it tastes like bubblegum!”
I grabbed a spoon and scooped out a chunk of fruit. Feeling the excitement of new experience, I raised it to my mouth and popped it in.
The flavor was amazing. It was like bubblegum, except 50 times better. It was like a big slap in the face to bubblegum flavor scientists everywhere. By Mother Nature. I didn’t even notice the giant seed in the middle until all of the delicious white flesh had melted away. I had to have more! Who had been keeping this fruit secret from me?! They would pay dearly for their treachery…
But I digress. In brief, I like the Cherimoya. And I’m staring at this Lifewater bottle in my hands, hoping that Sobe doesn’t disappoint me.
I twist off the cap and take a whiff. The smell reminds me of some kind of tropical bubblegum with a hint of sour. It’s a good start, and I hope the taste can deliver that slice of heaven that I’m expecting.
I take a sip. It’s… puzzling. I can sense that bit of cherimoya-bubblegummy goodness coming out to greet me, but there are definitely other players here. A tinge of sour. A soft note of… banana? Well, I suppose it is called “Cherimoya Punch“, so it makes sense. And the flavors do come together in a nice harmony. And, true to Lifewater’s tradition, the sweetness level is perfect. OK, I’m liking this.
Yes, I’m nearing the end of the bottle now, and I think Lifewater has pulled it off again with this one. Cherimoya Punch’s flavor is deep and complex, while still being entirely chuggable and very refreshing. I dig.
This beverage does contain an ingredient list that requires an encyclopedia to decipher, which can be worrisome. I have ventured out on the internets to look them up, however, and they are mostly vitamins, weight-loss/fat burning ingredients, and flavors. I haven’t found anything (yet) to be concerned about in this drink, but if there are any chemists or nutritionists out there who want to enlighten me, be my guest!
A quick note on the sweeteners – Lifewater is still one of the only “diet” products that I drink regularly (the other being Zevia soda), and it’s because they consistently get the sweetness level just right, and there is little to no strange “diet” aftertaste. There is also the fact that they use Stevia and Erythritol, which are both natural ingredients. (What do I think about artificially created sweeteners, you ask? Well, you could make tire rubber taste exactly like sugar, but that doesn’t mean that I’d want to eat it.)
Finally, allow me to make one humble request:
Sobe flavor-creation people, could you please make me a batch of pure Cherimoya-flavored Lifewater? Pretty please? You don’t know what I would give for such a thing. The least of which is my eternal love and devotion, and the most of which is something priceless. Rhymes with shmeldest son. No wait, eldest fun. Call me!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Another well-balanced, flavorful, “non-diety” diet drink. Cheers!
-Danithius-
User ratings: (9 votes, average: 4.78 out of 5) Loading ...
Well, it’s official, Sobe has jumped on the acai bandwagon! Acai Fruit Punch is the newest in Lifewater’s lineup of flavors that are sweetened exclusively with stevia and erythritol. (Despite the name, though, there is less actual acai fruit extract than there is xanthan gum or calcium phosphate).
Hiding within this twisty plastic Lifewater bottle lurks a potent berry scent. For some reason it reminds me of a kool-aid flavor from years ago. (Mixed with some apple juice).
That apple-berry scent turns out to be a harbinger of things to come – I take a sip and am met with a smooth, fruity, and delicately sweet flavor that is quite refreshing. Again, I am impressed by Sobe’s ability to create such smooth, no-aftertaste flavors with their no-calorie sweeteners. I just hope this doesn’t turn into that Seinfeld episode about the “fat-free” frozen yogurt place. (If anyone discovers that these Lifewaters actually do contain sugar, I don’t want to know about it, dammit!)
I can’t say that this stuff contains any acai berry flavor, but it is right on the money as a pleasant, light, and chuggable fruit punch.
Rating: 4.5/5 – No sugar, all-natural ingredients, and a pleasantly fruity flavor.
-Danithius-
User Reviews: (4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5) Loading ...
In keeping with our current deluge of calorie-free drinks, I bring you the erythritol sweetened, ‘lean machine’ SoBe Life Water Fuji Apple Pear flavor. There is also stevia in this drink, the PureVia brand Reb-A. This means it’s still sweet, just without the calories of regular Life Water, which are low to begin with. Life Water is getting quite popular, they even have their own Facebook page. Way to stay natual and hip, guys.
I would be surprised if it didn’t smell like apple-pear, Life Water is great at getting its flavors spot on. The pear takes over a little in the scent, but shares tongue-space fairly with fuji apple. There’s only a minute hint of stevia under the flavors, everything blends quite well, leaving no aftertaste, just a lingering sweetness on your tongue. I noticed this with Zevia as well. For the pear lover, this would be an ideal refresher for those hot, pear-less afternoons.
It looks like Life Water is going to remain a big contender to the behemoth sport-drink companies, who cannot seem to break themselves of their HFCS and CF addictions. I see a lot of Gatorade (or are they just going by ‘G’ now?) on sale, and always pass it up. Honestly, I never liked it to begin with. I’ll be sticking with SoBe for now, since they have taste and nature on their side.
Score: 5 out of 5. Another tasty hit from the people at SoBe Life Water.
– WiseGuise
**Danithius Review Rebuttal** I agree 100%. This is delicious, with fresh apple flavor and a delicate sweetness that absolutely blew me away – I thought it would never be possible to get this kind of taste from a completely sugar-free beverage! 5 Stars.
User Ratings: (10 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5) Loading ...
Return of the Best of 2008 2nd Place winner, SoBe LifeWater!
It was only a matter of time before another SoBe made it back through the fridge rotation and onto our site, since this is only the 7th out of the 11 current flavors. Although I am still a fan of this line, I am perturbed to find tat they are becoming a little too mainstream, running ads during the Superbowl, and such. I guess you still have to take the inherent commercialism when you’re part of an international super-conglomerate. Sigh.
This flavor is subtitled b-strong, and it contains d-ribose, which may or may not aid in endurance. I love inconclusive studies. Other then that, there is some guarana and several vitamins, but no other tangible supplements. Sugars come in at 25g for the 20oz bottle, but carbo’s add up to 42g.
The passion-fruit scent is strong with this one, with a sweet, citrus undertone. The taste is almost identical, with a sweet tang that tapers off to the back of your tongue. This is yet another Life Water that I enjoy slamming after a righteous workout just as much as sipping it on the back porch staring out contentedly over my azaleas.
Score: 5 out of 5. It’s Life Water, what can I say?
– WiseGuise
User Ratings: (2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) Loading ...
Just as good in the great iron bowels of a cruise ship
OK, I know all of you have been just foaming at the mouth waiting for our next drink review. But we had a good excuse for being absent! Mr. Wiseguise, myself, and a couple trusty female comrades were on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera all last week. Don’t worry, we still love you, dear reader. You were always in our thoughts. We just needed some me-time. And tropical Mexican beaches just don’t have good wi-fi access. :p
We drove to California, and on the way I found this new (and very fitting for our trip) flavor of Lifewater – Agave Lemonade. I snapped that up, and later downed it in the safety of my room inside the ship. It has an upfront agave-lemon tang with a lightly sweet finish similar to the other LifeWater’s. It sticks to the back of your throat a little, but hey, it is lemonade. This is a great addition to the LifeWater lineup.
And by the way, here’s a link to Pepsi’s pledge to lower their environmental impact. (Pepsi owns Sobe… and approximately five billion other brand names, give or take). Pepsi, while I am glad to see that sort of language, I’d have to be pretty naive to think the green leaves and eco-friendly light bulbs on your site were based in any kind of altruism. If they were, you would have been doing these things from the start. Instead it seems you’re just jumping on board with the “green” movement and hoping for some PR. I just hope your new commitment is more than just a fashion of the hour, to be discarded like last year’s fad when “green” fades away as a PR buzzword.
Rating – 4.5/5 Simple, refreshing, and the agave flavor keeps it interesting.
-Danithius-
***Review Rebuttal!***
I snatched the other Sobe away from Danithius at the last moment, stashing it behind a bottle of rum in the in-room mini-fridge. I knew he’d never look there! Anyway, I must agree with Sir Danithius on this review, though I didn’t find it very lemonade-y, it was still pleasant, and I love agave. Another hit from Sobe.
– WiseGuise
User reviews – (4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
SoBe scores another tasty entry into the Life Water brand. Yuzu Black Currant, like any good berry drink, has a good mix of sweet and tart. It has a pleasant berry flavor, and like real sweet-tart berries, it leaves a dry feeling in the back of your throat.
And get this: it has juniperus communis berry extract in it!
What, why are you staring at me? Oh, you don’t know what that is??
It’s the extract of juniper berries, which are used to make gin. Oh sure, now you’re all excited. Stop touching me.
Anyway, aside from that it has Acai extract and black carrot juice. All sorts of interesting stuff in here! I liked it – the flavor fits nicely with the image of its title. That said, I like the other flavors more. (Orange Tangerine and Goji Melon are my two favorite SoBe love interests).
Not that we really need to do another review on Life Water, but it bears repeating, this is good stuff. And please make sure you never confuse this with Vitamin Water, which contains Crystalline Fructose, and such drinks are banned from site. *Submission guidelines here.*
Again I must mention that I enjoy these even more now that SoBe has changed their formula, this one having a sweet, berry-grape flavor and matching smell. I should probably sip and enjoy it, but I usually just chug the stuff, it sure goes down easy.
Sugar comes in at only 24 grams a 20 oz bottle, and they threw in some L-Theanine and yerba mate for their ‘herbal content.’ No surprises in here, it’s all the good stuff you expect from Life Water, just behind a pretty purple label.
I figured it was about time I review a drink I have been enjoying for some six or seven months this year, normally during or after one of my lengthy and exuberant workouts. Life Water has been on my radar since I noticed it does not contain any HFCS, CF, or artificial sweeteners. This does, however, contain erythritol, but I will get to that in a minute.
The first thing I noticed was the new label design, with softer colors and (wtf?) a color-blind test lizard. Next, I realized they had radically changed their formula from the previous incarnation of Pomegranate Cherry. I was then very happy to notice that this was a good thing, it tastes much better than it previously did, where the flavor didn’t last and the drink seemed too watered down. Now it lasts and there is no watery cherry aftertaste. This drink goes down amazingly smooth, quite the quencher.
My cohort Danithius raised an alert on a previous post about erythritol, a sweetener used in this and other (and I’m going to assume, all) Life Water flavors. It is actually a natural sweetener, a sugar alcohol, obtained from glucose. This sweetener has been approved as tooth-friendly by the FDA, has very little calorie value, and is not even processed by your body, unlike fructose. I hope this sweetener is as good as it sounds, and I would like to know why in the bloody hell it isn’t used more often in beverages. I am accusing erythritol of the enhanced sweetness in the drink, which I found to be perfect. There are 41g of suger in each 20oz bottle.
Ingredients: Filtered water, sugar, erythritol, natural flavor, monopotassium phosphate, citric acid, ascorbic acid (you should know by now that’s vitamin C), calcium lactate, potassium citrate, mofidied food starch, , cochineal extract (color), taurine, vitamin E acetate, calcium phosphate, gum arabic, panax ginseng root extract, calcium pantothenate, niacinamide, elderberry juice concentrate (color), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12). Note: This drink is NOT vegan friendly, it contains cochineal extract, which is a pretty red insect they grind up and use for coloring. Yummy.
This drink has the energy enhancers taurine and ginseng, though not in the frighteningly prodigious amounts like energy drinks have. SoBe Life Water has a nice but nearly useless website. And in case you forgot, SoBe is owned by PepsiCo.
I was so impressed with this improved version it gets 5 out of 5.
– WiseGuise
User rating: (4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
Yep, I think the pic says it all. If you can’t tell, there’s about .75 ounces left in the bottom of that bottle. You see, when I get new drinks for review, I try to stow them away in the fridge until I’m ready sit down at the computer and commit my loquacious opinions to digital paper. Sometimes, however, the temptation to crack one open and sneak a taste before I’m ready to write is just unbearable. I rationalize this by saying it will give me longer to meditate upon the drink’s flavor and unique character as a beverage so that my review will be enlightened with the wisdom that only comes with the passage of time. In reality, I’m just thirsty.
Such was the case when I bought this unsuspecting bottle of Sobe Life Water Goji Melon. It was the end of a long, hot day and I had stopped by the grocery store on my way home to grab a thing or two. That’s when I spotted this new flavor, beckoning sweetly to me from the cool, cool shelves of the refrigerated drink rack. Melon flavored! And I was…so thirsty. Sweet refreshment awaited, and I could not shun her embrace!
I tried to pace myself, but gradually the portion I left to my future review-writing self shrank to less than a measly ounce. No matter! That’s all I need.
This drink smells great, like a berry-enhanced melon flavor should. True to Life Water’s standards, Goji Melon has only 24g of sugar per 20 oz. bottle. (Again, let’s use Coke’s sticky-sweet measuring stick – a 12 oz Coke has 39 grams of high-fructose corn syrup goodness!) Goji Melon tastes like mildly sweet Melon-berry and is very refreshing. It has a nice watermelon-y aftertaste as well. Yes, SoBe’s parent corporation is the Fizzy Juggernaut, PepsiCo. However, the low-sugar, no carbonation, herb-infused Life Water is a big step in the right direction, so I’m happy to throw a dollar or two their way. My only concern: has anyone done an evaluation of the sugar substitute called Erythritol? I just discovered this as ingredient #3 on the ingredients list, but haven’t found any major studies on it. My ears are wide open!
Rating: 4.5/5 stars (Barring evidence that this Erythritol sweetener causes Leprosy or Thoracic Geysers or something)
(9 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)
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(10 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5)
