Simple, just like this beverage

Hello fellow libation connoisseurs, I bring you the last in our new series of Zevia reviews, just as Danithius promised.  This last round has been fun, and what a better way to end it than with a caffeine-free diet cola!  I’ve always been a fan of colas, and I have recently (last year or so) attempted to gain an appreciation for the diet version, trying to cut the excess sugar out of my life.  When I tried  Zevia’s Natural Cola, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a few things mainstream colas don’t (like no sugar) and has a pleasant taste.  It is only fitting that Zevia compliment it with an uncaffeinated version for those who don’t imbibe this stimulant.  It comes in a bright blue can, and honestly, I like the new design; it’s simple but stands out in the crowded soda aisle.

This has a light cola effervescence, lacking any strong olfactory kick, which works for a diet cola.  The soda is nice and fizzy, without being too much so, like the rest of their line.  A kola flavor is very evident, without taking over the tongue enough to obscure the citrus background flavors and the spicy sweetness given to it by the nutmeg and stevia.  I’m rather fond of this flavor combination, removing the caffeine doesn’t seem to have effected the taste in any noticeable way.

As with all the other Zevia beverages we have reviewed, this is made from all natural ingredients, has no calories or sugar, being sweetened with erythritol and stevia.  I’m seeing them in more and more stores that I frequent, which pleases me.  I would highly recommend this to anyone trying to kick a sugary cola habit, or looking for an alternative to those mainstream diet colas loaded with artificial sweeteners and preservatives.  And on the plus side it tastes great, I may like it even more than its caffeinated comrade.

Score: 5 out of 5. A pleasing and flavorful alternative to sugary, caffeinated colas.

– WiseGuise

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Mountain Zevia: The most EXTREEEEEEME Zevia of them all

Hola Libationeros!  Today I’m bringing you my review of Mountain Zevia, the last on my list of new Zevia flavors to try.  (There is still one more to come from WiseGuise though, so keep your eyes peeled.)  This time I’m looking at Mountain Zevia, the company’s contender for the caffeinated citrus tongue-blast category.  But can Mountain Zevia outdo the citrus power punch of the “real” thing?  Let’s find out!

Aroma: Zevia, you limey bastards.  No wait, that just kind of slipped out.  But it does have that sweet intense lime scent that I remember from Mountain Dew.  Let’s see how it washes out in the flavor.

Taste: The citrus flavor packs a punch that might just be the most potent out of any Zevia I’ve tried so far.  The limey-sweet aftertaste is a dead ringer for Mountain Dew.  Of course, using Stevia and erythritol makes it largely impossible to mimic the sweet up-front mouthfeel that HFCS or sugar-sweetened Mountain Dew offers.  But that’s a sacrifice that I’ll gladly make every time if it means ridding myself of the tremor-inducing 46 grams of sugar per can. 

Health Factor: Huge points for giving me a version of Mountain Dew that I can drink without feeling dirty all over.  Healthy to the EXTREEEEME!

Overall Rating: 5.0 out of 5 – for a perfect Zevia-fied version of Mountain Dew.

-Danithius-

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Today's model, Edel the corgador.

We’ve reviewed a surprising number of grapefruit-themed beverages on this site (search it if you don’t believe me) and I am pleased to see this flavor being tackled by Zevia, one of out favorite soda companies.  The mainstream attention to this complex flavor is sparse, limited to just about Fresca and Squirt; however, the independent companies seem more keen on their attempts to master it, so we’ll see how this one fares.

The scent is thin and citrusy, like being in a room where someone is cutting open citrus fruits. The taste is suddenly tart and vaguely citrus, with a very light hint of something like  grapefruit, but it fades quickly, leaving me with the iconic sweetness of stevia and just a memory of the flavor.  In fairness, the word ‘citrus’ is bigger than the word ‘grapefruit’, but  I was still hoping for more of a grapefruit taste.

The overall impact of this on my taste buds was less than I had hoped, despite its still unique flavor, and left me wanting the dry, tart, sweet taste of a grapefruit.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still tasty and refreshing, with a perfect fizz factor, it’s just not what I was expecting.  For those not fond of lemon-lime sodas but still crave a fizzy citrus beverage, this might be right up your alley.

Score: 3.5 out of 5. Citrusy for sure, but misses the mark on the grapefruit.

– WiseGuise

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**Danithius Review Rebuttal!**

Hmm, I agree with WiseGuise on this one.  It is vaguely citrus-y, but if you blindfolded me with a gun to my head and asked what this tasted like, the last words out of my lips would be “Diet Sprite?”  I don’t pick up on the grapefruit much at all, but I wish I did – I’m a big fan of a good grapefruity drink.  I think this one could use a trip back to the lab.  I’ll give it the same score as WiseGuise.

Hi there, fellow fizzy liquid-lovers!  It’s time to take a look at Zevia’s brand new grape flavor.  Now as we all know, grape soda is viewed by traditional society as the beverage equivalent of Donny Osmond.  Typically the only people consuming it are sweet-toothed kids and a few adults that are waxing nostalgic.  However, I’m curious to see what Zevia’s twist will be on this classic soda flavor.

Aroma: The second I pop it open, a rich n’ tangy grape scent explodes out of the can and assails my nostrils.  I definitely sense an element of the traditional grape soda aroma in here.  (You know, that classic American invention that is something between grape kool-aid and concord grape juice).  But this is deeper somehow.  It smells very intense, maybe more so than any Zevia flavor that I’ve done to date.  Now I’m REALLY curious how this stuff tastes.

Taste: Unexpected!  Because of the intense fragrance, I was preparing myself for an all-out grape assault on my tongue.  But such is not the case!  This flavor is much more delicate than I imagined.  It’s light, fruity, and fizzy.  Strangely, the grape flavor really comes out in the aftertaste, floating around on your tongue like a sweet reminder of grapey goodness.  I have found this to be the case with many of Zevia’s flavors, due to their love of natural oils and extracts as their main flavoring ingredients.  This works surprisingly well with the grape flavor.  It’s different from the norm, and yet still delivers satisfying grape-y flavor.

Health Factor: If you haven’t yet gathered that we dig Zevia’s all-natural sugar/calorie-free sodas, then you clearly haven’t been paying enough attention.  Zevia’s sodas are a great way to get fizzy satisfaction from the flavors that you love without exploding your calorie intake.

On a related note, grape soda is one product category that could REALLY use a “diet” alternative like this.  As a general rule, fruity sodas pack a serious sugary punch, and grape is no exception.  Grape sodas usually clock in at around 45-50 grams per 12-oz can.  So, kudos to Zevia for targeting this area with a much-needed health bomb.

Overall Rating: 5.0 out of 5 – for a light, refreshing Zevia-stlye twist on traditional grape soda.

-Danithius-

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Why hello there, Libationers!  Today I’m happy to announce that we have just received a new shipment of Zevia flavors.  And it looks like the flavor engineers over there have been working overtime!  In the coming days, look for Zevia Grape, Decaf Cola, Grapefruit Citrus, and more to grace our pages.   Welp, let’s get crackin!

Aroma: This entry is rather light on the aroma side, but if I inhale deeply I can sense a pleasant vanilla-cream note.

Taste:  The second this liquid hits my tongue, I am washed over by a sweet-yet-gentle vanilla-caramel flavor.  It’s surprisingly sweet for a Zevia beverage, in fact.  But that works just fine for this flavor – the smooth-sweet taste brings back memories of old fashioned cream sodas at the pharmacy.  (OK, I’m not that old.  But it’s what I imagine the memory would be like…)

I notice something on the back end of this flavor, though – about 7 seconds after I take a sip, there is a lingering sourish note, like I just ate a grape skin.  I know stevia/erythritol-sweetened drinks have a sense of sweetness that differs somewhat from regular sugar, but this isn’t it.  It’s the first time I’ve encountered this taste with Zevia’s drinks, so I think it has to do with this specific flavor.  It’s not altogether unpleasant, but it just seems a little out of place for a vanilla-cream soda.

Health Factor:  As regular readers will know, we only review drinks that are naturally sweetened (or sometimes not sweetened at all).  That’s why Zevia made such a splash on our blog.  After the FDA’s O.K. on stevia-sweetened products, Zevia made it possible for us to review drinks from the “diet” soda category, which had previously been dominated exclusively by artificial sweeteners.  Stevia-sweetened drinks have a sweet taste that can satisfy your cravings, zero calories, and are 100% natural – as far as we can see, the best of all worlds!

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – for a delicious, naturally calorie-free cream soda that will totally satisfy your sweet tooth.

-Danithius-

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Time to try out another entry from Zevia, the number one soda from our top 10 list of 2009.  Zevia already has a good lineup of soda flavors, including a lemon-lime, a cola, a ginger ale, and a root beer.  Following the soda chain of command, Zevia has developed a flavor called Dr. Zevia.  (Perhaps an ubercaffienated Zevia Dew is next?)  I like Dr. Pepper’s flavor anyway, so I’m curious to see what Zevia does with it.  So without further ado…

Fragrance: I smell a light, sweet cherry scent that reminds me of Zevia’s Black Cherry flavor, except not as deep.

Taste: Cherry is the prominent player in this flavor, backed up by hints of cola and spices.  It is similar to Dr. Pepper, but with more of a fruity twist.  In fact, it’s exactly what I imagine Dr. Pepper Cherry tastes like.  It’s pleasantly fizzy and just sweet enough.  A lot of flavor comes out in the aftertaste, too, possibly because of Zevia’s use of flavor oils.  As with the other Zevia flavors (or any stevia/erythritol-sweetened drinks), you can tell that there is something different from sugar-sweetened drinks.  But I find the stevia flavor to be much more palate-pleasing than any artificial sweetener.

Health: We’re all about natural at BL, and Zevia is good at that.  (They were the first all-natural diet soda, actually).  The stevia/erythritol sweetening combo delivers the illusive package of flavor and health properties.  It’s hard to argue with zero carbs, zero calories, and zero glycemic index.  I dare say that if we as a country were able to cut even half of our liquid sugar intake, we’d be in a whole lot better shape.  And Zevia is one great way to do it without sacrificing your penchant for sweet bubbly liquid.

Overall: This is another solid entry for Zevia.  Think of Dr. Pepper with a fruitier, cherry twist.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

-Danithius-

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***Review Rebuttal!***

I agree with Danithius, which renders this less a rebuttal than a yes-man follow-up.  The taste is slightly reminiscent of a Dr. or Mr. soda, with that obvious cherry kick at the end. I like the oils and flavors Esteban added, giving this soda an original taste that is sorely needed among the copycat formulation heavily prevalent in the industry.  Another win by Zevia!

For our final Zevia review, I bring you Natural Orange, Zevia’s calorie-free, all-natural answer to every other generic orange soda out there.  Even the pleasant orange color is all natural, pulled from the annatto plant (where achiote comes from, for you foodies).

The scent reminds me of Sunkist, although, I’ve always been partial to Hi-C.  The taste is a tad more subtle than other, uber-sweet orange drinks.  The carbonation bite hits you first, and the orange is ushered in after, a tangy-sweet that is light on your tongue but lasting.  I have noticed this about the Zevia drinks, the sweetness always lingers for a while, with no bitterness accompanying it.  The lack of chemicals and preservatives is my top suspect in this case.

This comes off as a little weak in flavor in comparison to more well-known orange refreshers, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  The fake citrus taste in many of these is often too strong and sugary to enjoy, and this is where the simplicity of Zevia lifts itself above the crowd of generic, knock-off sodas as well as the top-sellers.  The stevia/erythritol combination gives it a distinct taste, which rises over the carbonation and then tapers off to the lasting sweetness.

One thing that bugs me about Zevia, despite the great re-design, is that it’s damn hard to see the ingredients list on the side of the can.  It blends in too well with the background.  Other then that, I have had a generally positive experience with Zevia, despite my bias against diet-sodas.  Kudos to Zevia for putting an all-natural, calorie-free soda out in a market saturated with chemically-sweetened drinks.  Now that those who like soda but not the sugar have a better option, I hope they do well.

Score: 4.5 out of 5. Not a flavor explosion, but subtle, sweet and better for you.

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**Danithius Review Rebuttal!**

Well, it’s not so much a rebuttal, because I am in complete agreement with Wise Guise on this one.  It’s true, the real orange flavor of this contender is in the aftertaste, which blends nicely with the sweeteners as they build up to a nice climax a few seconds after it hits your tongue.  It’s pleasantly different from other orange sodas, and like the other Zevia flavors I don’t really get a “diet soda” vibe from it.  You can tell it’s different from sugar-sweetened sodas, of course, but it’s a subtle, natural sweet that I’ve taken a liking to.  I’ll drink this stuff any time.

Danithius’ score: 4.5 out of 5

Yes, those are bright red cabinets.

Danithius thought that he could steal this review from me, but I’m going to one-up him and steal it back.  That’s right, take that, my soda-loving friend. I promised the people my words, and they will have them! I completely agree with the following.

I split my remaining sodas with my roommate, who enjoyed this drink as much as I did.  After opening the can, your nostrils are lovingly caressed by a rich, earthy root beer scent.  It has all the right ingredients – anise oil, wintergreen oil, cassia and citrus oils, and ginger root extract.  So how is the flavor for this one?

I can taste a little bit of the ginger and anise extracts immediately, but the real flavor of this root beer comes through in the aftertaste, as all of the different flavor oils mingle on your tongue.  This is good, because any Stevia/Erythritol flavor seems to come out in the aftertaste as well.  It’s a different sensation that I’m used to with sugar-sweetened root beers, who usually have a very up-front bite that fades away at a steady pace.  This root beer seems to have a bite that builds for another second or so after you swallow, and a flavor that lingers longer than the norm.  I can still taste the sip I drank over 30 seconds ago.  But it’s a good, savory flavor that I don’t mind hanging around.

Score: 4.5 out of 5

-Danithius-
and
–WiseGuise

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Au natural, on concrete.

I’ll be taking up the reins for the rest of the Zevia reviews, since I’ve been slacking off a little due to school and now have more time to burn.  Danithius should be adding his two-cents in rebuttal form later.  Enjoy my sarcasm and superfluous links.

This is my favorite, so far, of the Zevia products I have tried, a simple, citrus-based soda.  It has a pleasant aroma that reminds me of Sprite, and the flavor is close to it as well, but without the carbonation bite I recall from my days of chugging it relentlessly.  This leaves a lingering sweetness on the back of your tongue, not at all like a diet soda that leaves that chemical taste behind. It is overall refreshing and I have a hard time detecting the erythritol/stevia blend, which I like.  The citrus oils blend nicely and make me wish I have more than just this can left.

Something I found out while preparing this post: Zevia packages their drinks in cans made from recycled aluminum, which is earth-friendly and awesome.  I support recycling and recycle aluminum myself, so it’s quite possible I’m drinking out of a can that I may have helped make.  I urge all BL readers to try and recycle whenever and whatever possible, especially aluminum, if you have local recyclers.  And hey, it’s a little free money.

Score: 5 out of 5. Refreshing and familiar, but different.

–WiseGuise

**Danithius Review Rebuttal!**

Yep, Mr. Guise is right, this doesn’t taste diet to me, either.  (Although I seem to have become immune to the Stevia taste.)  It’s light and smooth, with a nice hit of citrus.  It has a more natural flavor than Sprite does, likely because they use lemon and lime oil as the primary flavorings.  I’m down with this stuff.  Personally, I think it could benefit from a bit more pronounced lemon-limey bite.  But, when it comes right down to it, I, like WiseGuise, am sitting here with an empty can, wishing I had more.

Danithius Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Time for the next entry in our Zevia-spree!  Today’s contender is the Natural Cola flavor, which I’ve been told has gotten a #1 sales ranking in the “Natural Cola” category, as per a firm called “SPINS“.  From what I can tell, SPINS seems legit, but I do wish they had more publicly searchable information on their web site so I could get some confirmation.

I crack open the blue-and-red can, and am met with a spot-on Coca-Cola scent.  As I take a drink, I taste an immediate, bold cola nut flavor with some nice citrus-y overtones.  Wow.  I cannot even detect a trace of the stevia or erythritol sweeteners, they blend flawlessly into the cola flavor.  This does not taste like a diet drink.

Some quick background info – I tried the previous version of Zevia’s Cola flavor, and I even wrote the first draft of a review on it, but I never got around to publishing it.  It’s a good thing – this new reformulated flavor is a night and day comparison.  In my draft, I wrote that the last version had “an OK flavor, but it wouldn’t be enough to wean Coke-addicts off the sugar-bottle”.  I was going to give it a 3-star rating.  Not so anymore!  Now Coke is going to have a serious run for its money.  You nailed this one, Zevia.

Rating: 5.0/5  – for a bold, rich cola that you’d never guess is sugar-free.

-Danithius-

**WiseGuise ReviewRebuttal!**
First off, let me mention that I abhor ‘diet’ anything, and as these are marketed as such, it tends to bias my reviews a little.  I have mentioned before that I seem to have a very acute sweet-taste sense, and I can pick out anything that isn’t sugar right away.  That being said, these are a leap in the right direction, away from the use of artificial sweeteners, and those already used to diet sodas could effortlessly make the switch to Zevia.  No calories or lab-created sweeteners are a huge plus.

As for the cola, these were my impressions.  It smells very much like Coke, but tastes more like diet Pepsi.  The citrus hint is a nice addition, and the soda doesn’t have the bite that Coke does, finishing smooth without the acidic after-burn.  I’ll give it a 4.

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