Coca-Cola Zero Sugar (2017)

Coca-Cola Life

Those of you who read this site like a blog instead of a review site (thank you, btw) know that I don’t really dabble in the mainstream unless asked.  The three of you who fit the former descriptor also know I’m not really fond of stevia as a sweetener.  So why then did I purchase a bottle of Coca-Cola Life which is sweetened with stevia?  Sorry, let me rephrase that to get more clicks…

YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHY AARON DRANK COKE WITH STEVIA!  REASON NUMBER 4 WILL SHATTER ALL OF REALITY!!!

So I bought it because when I’m on the soda aisle I’ve seen numerous folks stop and stare at it.  Then they have a conversation with their significant other about it, then they walk off without trying it.  I’ve tried to help people understand what it was, but I honestly couldn’t tell them if it was good or not which is what you’re looking for in that situation.

People love Coke and even though this version of Coke is sweetened with stevia it’s also sweetened with cane sugar.  Previous reviews of mine have shown that a Cane Sugar/Stevia mix is usually a pretty good way to reduce calories and keep a nice flavor.  My 8oz bottle has 60 calories and 16 grams of sugar… less than the yogurt I just ate, but that’s not saying much.

View fullsize

"Life" Why Life?

Smell wise it’s a little weaker than regular Coca-Cola, but the scent is still unmistakable.  If this does indeed taste like regular Coke I’ll fully get behind this product.  Other than the fact that it’s called Coca-Cola “Life”.  That’s a bit pretentious to me.  Your soda is called “Life”, take it down a few notches.

So it tastes like a reduced calorie cola.  Granted, it tastes like a Coke brand reduced calorie cola, so they nailed that aspect of it.  Initially you get the quick bite of Coca-Cola Classic, but mouthfeel is really where the two sodas are most similar.   

There is limited flavor on the front end and the sweetness also kind of drops off on the back side, which makes the included stevia a bit more noticeable.  The “after sip” mouthfeel is a little sticky and hugs my teeth and tongue in an unpleasant, but tolerable way.  It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s just kind something I’m drinking.  

Personally I’d choose Coca-Cola Zero over this every time as I think it gets closer to the Coke taste than “Life” does.  That kind of makes me feel that this may be a wasted product.  Does Coca-Cola Life fill the “wants to drink healthier soda without aspartame” crowd?  If anyone has the money to create something in that market it’s certainly Coca-Cola.

~A

This was purchased at my neighborhood Wal-Mart.​

Paulaner Spezi

Video Review from Apr. 3, 2020. Written review (below) from Sep. 10, 2015.

I have a German soda in front of me called Paulaner Spezi.  The flavor, according to the can, is Coffeinhaltige Orangenlimonade mit Cola.  I took and failed German so my best guess is caffeinated orange soda with cola.  It is sweetened with Zucker or sugar if you like and includes Orangensaft which I think is orange juice concentrate.  The label also says that citrus is involved in some way.  So it’s not a complete mystery to me, but this should be a hoot none the less.

It smells like orange juice and cola, so I think I’m on the right track.  The scent is faint, but I bet the flavor won’t be.

View fullsize

Orangensaftkonzentrat is a fantastic word

The color is a light orangey brown and the taste, and according to Buttons, “starts off dull, gets bright, and then just dulls out big time at the end.”  

The dull he speaking of is a somewhat bitter orange/cola mix that swishes past your tongue.  This quickly transitions into a burst of citrus cola that refreshes and then disappears just as suddenly.  Sadly what you end up with is the taste equivalent of an empty room with a chair in it. It’s sad, it’s a little bitter, and you don’t want to stay in there very long.

It’s a roller coaster with one good drop, fun but ultimately disappointing.  The mild bitterness of the final taste dampens your excitement for another swig.  

All in all an interesting beverage that I might give a try if I were in your shoes.  If you aren’t bitter about bitter than perhaps you’d enjoy it a bitter more.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Boots Beverages The Ultimate Caramel Cola

I’ve done my fair share of Boots reviews and today’s may be the best named.  The Ultimate Caramel Cola is what they’ve called it and that’s quite the title to give any soda.  They’ve basically proclaimed that this is the ultimate caramel cola and I’m here to judge the accuracy of their claim.

As with all Boots Beverages this one is sweetened with cane sugar and includes a couple of chemicals to spice things up.  It also has another story about the “Boots” family on the side which I will convey to you now.

View fullsize

So professional looking

“Boots” Kristen

“Boots” continued his father’s pursuit of the american dream in pioneering Texas.  A country boy rich in colorful, childhood memories, “Boots” sold his top quality beverages with a genuine smile and a meaningful hand shake.  He steered the family soda bottling business into what is now Kristen Distributing Company, never while losing sight of who he was, where he’d come from and the seemingly little things in life.  Everyone loved Boots - and his host of beverages!  We honor him by revisiting those days gone by.

So there you have it.  Our ceremonial trip down memory lane.  Now it’s time for our ceremonial review.

There’s less of a caramel scent than I thought there would be.  What my nose can identify seems quite nice though.  Perhaps the bottle is keeping the taste a secret so that I might be surprised when I try it.

Taste wise it works pretty well, but it’s definitely favors the caramel more than it does the cola.  This causes the flavor to be sweeter and mutes any “bite” the soda would have without the added caramel.  

Brownie Caramel Cream is probably my favorite soda in this genre due to its rich taste and mouthfeel.  Boots stacks up reasonably well, but overall is the lesser of the two sodas.  This is due to a slight chemical taste that I’ve been experiencing during the front and back end of each swig.  It’s not something that I would warn anyone about, that is if I wasn’t reviewing it, but it’s a weak point for the soda.  This coupled with the lack of cola taste keep “The Ultimate Caramel Cola” from being something really special.  

I like the Boots company.  They’re a Texas soda making company and that’s a special thing to me.  Sadly a lot of their sodas are just lacking one or two things to really stand out from the crowd.  This most recent entry is no different.

~A

I purchased this at an HEB grocery store

Nature's Pure Organic Cola

Last time I reviewed a Nature’s Pure product I lamented that it cost me around $6.50 for a four pack.  Well a couple week’s later and they’re on sale for $4.50, a much more reasonable price.  For those jerks that only read this site for the ONE soda review you need in a pinch, Nature’s Pure makes organic sodas.  For those of you who read this each time a review is posted you already knew that… also I’d like to shake your hand.

View fullsize

The radiating excellence is all that keeps Twist that far away.

In the same awesome tiny (8oz) glass bottle as before, Nature’s Pure Organic Cola’s label theme is red.  Has Coke done such a good job that we now associate cola with red or did Nature’s Pure just feel that red best represented their cola.  The world may never know, although I’m pretty sure it’s the former.

A healthy cola aroma or colaroma lifts itself out of the mouth of the bottle.  It’s a strong enough scent that I feel ok saying the taste should be “good” at the very least.  Perhaps I should fact check myself now.

That’s a tasty little drink.  Cola is unmistakably the taste that hits my tongue and makes me smirk a bit.  I’m not sure why they don’t have “Have a Nature’s Pure Organic Cola and a Smirk” as their slogan because it would be perfect.  

The carbonation levels are perfect.  It’s just a tingle of sharp carbonation.  If Coke has a “bite” then Nature’s Pure Organic Cola is like a kitten stretching and putting it’s claws into your thigh accidentally.  Now, kitten nails embedded in flesh may now sound tasty… but it is.

Visiting the taste once again I’m pleased with how sweet it is and their use of spices.  This soda actually feels like a treat, but doesn’t leave any syrupy aftertastes or gross mouthfeel its competitors might.  The spices (which you can taste better near the bottom of the bottle) give this a somewhat unique strength.  On top of all that it’s a fairly clean cola in terms of aftertaste, leaving only it’s original flavor behind.

Overall Nature’s Pure Organic Cola is a strong contender in the cola category and it’s organic to boot.  Even if I had bought this at $6.50 a pack I’d have felt like it was worth it.  Find it, try it, enjoy it.

~A

This soda was purchased at an HEB grocery store

A “Twist’s Choice” Recipient

Nature’s Pure Organic French Vanilla Cola

They got me.  They got me with their stupid fancy labeling and their tiny glass bottles and their high price.  $6.55 got me four 8oz bottles of Nature’s Pure Organic French Vanilla Cola.  If that’s not the most I’ve paid per ounce it’s really dang close.  Sitting in it’s tiny ornate glass bottle with a purple label slapped on it.  A friendly, yet shy, looking lady wearing a white gown with a purple sash stands off to the side.  I can’t believe the packaging worked on me!  

View fullsize

Twist is in love with the lady on the bottle's flowers

That said this is a 100% All Natural Sparkling Soda and organic as well, per the bottle.  Looking at the ingredient they are correct.  It even has my favorite natural ingredient “Natural Flavors”.  Just say what they are.  If you have nothing to hide don’t hide it.  Sigh.  I should probably open this tiny bottle now.

This smells faintly of vanilla cookies and cola.  I’m not really sure where I’m getting essence of cookie, but if the flavor is strong enough this could be worth the money I paid.  

That’s unusual and pretty dang good to boot.  They seemed to have nailed the French Vanilla aspects of this cola.  It doesn’t have an overly creamy in texture or taste.  Cola is definitely the headliner of this soda.  If you saw this play you’d go home and tell your friends “Yeah, cola was good… just like we thought he would be, but French Vanilla.  French Vanilla is GOING places.  I need to look him up on IMDB and see what else he’s done.”

After I looked up French Vanilla on IMDB and quickly reminded myself that French Stewart was a part of my life at some point, I took another sip.

The play I just watched, those two actors aren’t friends.  They’re battling for the audience’s attention the entire time.  Cola comes out first and you’re happy to see him because he’s familiar.  French Vanilla immediately appears after and from that point on you don’t know where to divert your attention.  The two flavors don’t really play nicely together, but the show is entertaining none the less.  

As an aside, I believe the French Vanilla taste is reminding me a bit of coffee in each drink I take.  It’s causing just the slightest bit of bitterness to it.  Overall an odd sensation although part of me is just fine with it.

All in all I’m happy I took the chance on Nature’s Pure.  It’s a unique take on vanilla cola’s the bottle really is quite pleasant.  The only critique I have is that I wish the taste was a bit more powerful.  I want either the cola or the vanilla to resonate more instead of constantly battling vying for my opinion.

~A

Maine Root Mexicane Cola

Ever have a sinus infection?  I have.  Maybe once a year or so… except this year.  This year is special and I’ve had three thus far.  It’s super neat.  I didn’t want to write a review today because I’m exhausted, but I figured it’d make me feel better if I just powered through it and got to writing.

View fullsize

Twist is taking it back wearing the cap.

The soda I’m going to take my antibiotics with today is Maine Root Mexicane Cola.  As you probably realized from the play on words this is Maine Root’s version of “Mexican Coke”, also known as Coke sweetened with cane sugar.  As with all Maine Root products it’s a fair trade product, so you can rest easy as night that you’ve done the right thing.  Time to open the bottle.

That’s huge.  Sorry, not the aroma or anything, but the pill I’m supposed to take.  It looks like a cartoon pill it’s so big.  It’s a horse pill as my family and many other families out there probably call them.  Well hopefully this Mexicane Cola will be the perfect pair to it.

Even with one good nostril I can tell the cola scent is quite strong.  This would have me believe I’m going to enjoy this beverage.  Aroma’s have lied to me in the past though.  I’m sure the good folks at Maine Root wouldn’t do that to me.  They make Fair Trade Certified beverages.  You can’t lie and do that at the same time.

First swig was pill free and while it does have a nice cola taste it wasn’t as powerful as I expected.  It’s a shame because if this flavor was increased it’d be pretty amazing.   That said, it’s still a very good cola and I won’t take anything away from it by complaining about the strength of the taste again.

Along with this very honest cola flavor a second sweetness appears and sits atop it’s brethren.  The cola is a good foundation to this new sugary taste and the sugary taste seems to be a good foundation to the spices within the beverage.  I do wish I could pick out the spices a bit better  They’re somewhat noticeable and it still tastes good so I’ll keep my complaints to a minimum and just save them for the rating.

All in all Maine Root Mexicane Cola is a very good cola.  It doesn’t have the punch of Coke, but it has an enjoyable taste all its own.  That said, this soda falls into the category of so close to being amazing.  It’s good, but a few tweaks here and there and this could be stellar.

~A

This soda was purchased at HEB

Lucky Club Cola

Stuff tastes better if there’s a horseshoe on it.  I don’t know why, but it just does.  Perhaps it only tastes better in Texas or the Southwest region of America.  The science on it is unclear yet always wields a positive answer.  That said this bottle of Lucky Club Cola should be delicious according to science.  Emblazoned on the bottle is of course a horseshoe.  Within the bottle is a mixture of ingredients which involve pure cane sugar, some tasty caramel color, and mom’s favorite… gum arabic.  

The mouth of the bottle releases a robust cola scent that urges my mouth to water, but it’s not quite powerful enough to do so.  That said, it seems the aroma will partner with an above average soda at the very least.

Eh, it’s alright.  Perhaps I should stare at the horseshoe a little harder.  No it’s still fairly average even with gunfights and school marms crossing the unknown territory of my imagination.

View fullsize

I wouldn't know your soda from a Jersey Iguana

The first thing I notice is how carbonated this soda is.  Lucky Club Cola is quick to fizz up in your mouth and bites with equal fervor.  It’s a bite that I would associate with a stronger flavor, yet I’m greeted by the first cowboy in the western that succumbs to the villains bullet.  He thought he’d be sneaky and pop up from behind that barrel guns blazing, but then the movie would only be 30 minutes long.  Instead he’s shot in an instant, falling to the ground without so much as a whore to see him die.

Honestly it tastes more like a diet cola than anything.  If it were indeed a diet cola I’d say it was pretty good, but no such luck for Lucky Club Cola.   See what I did there?  So very disappointing.  My disappointment won’t show in the rating because it’s not disgusting.  It’s an average tasting beverage.  Sigh.

So just as quickly as it drifted into our lives Lucky Club Cola is going to drift out of it and be forgotten.  Before I go, let me offer this advice to soda makers.  A soda is a tool, Jerks; no better or no worse than any other tool:  an axe, a shovel or anything.  A soda is as good or bad as the folks making it.  Remember that.

~A

This was purchased at a Shell Gas Station

Cockta

I took November off, so sue me.  Please don’t sue me.  So how should I start December you ask?  You didn’t ask… you probably stopped visiting the site once a review didn’t appear after four weeks.  “Soda Jerks?”  You said, “More like Soda… Jerks!”  Then you high fived the nearest human.  To answer my own question, I think I’m gonna try that old Slovenia favorite, Cockta!  

Cockta originates in Slovenia as stated earlier and was born in the 1950’s.  They wanted to make a familiar drink using local herbs, but original when compared to foreign beverages.  Since I can’t read any of the writing on this bottle I’m just ignorantly assuming this is Slovenian Coke.  

Well dang it.  I didn’t get any Cockta rewards points under my cap.  Nor am I getting any sort of Coke aroma coming out of the bottle.  In fact it smells a bit more syrupy root beer with an odd flowery scent.  Color my tongue interested.

That’s unique alright, but my mind is trying to decide if it likes it or loves it.  Cola flavored Dimetapp.  That’s what Cockta tastes like.  It has an initial cola taste but once I swish it around  in my mouth and consume it an oddly familiar grape mouth feel rises to the top.  

View fullsize

Twist has rosehips as well, but he won't let me photograph them.

Even though I used “grape” to describe the mouth feel it’s not an primary flavor of Cockta.  Yes, there are hints of a grape soda in each sip, but I’d be wrong to lead you to believe the taste was grape.  I’m going to have to see what’s in this… give me a moment to research.

Rosehip!  That’s what’s causing my pallet to struggle.  It also uses lemon and orange in the makings.  According to the website they use the same 11 types of herbs that originally created the first bottles of Cockta.  They also don’t use HFCS and it’s caffeine free.

All of this creates a really unique soda.  It’s a fruit flavored cola with rosehips.  Now that I know some of the ingredients it makes a little more sense to me.  It still doesn’t completely explain why it tastes like Dimetapp Cola, but who cares.  

It’s a little syrupy and hangs onto my teeth a bit longer than I’d like, though this could be due to the fact that it was delivered to me via plane and is about 6 months old.  With that said I’ll keep the mouth feel critiques away from the score.

Cockta is a lot for my brain to wrap around.  Why did I pick this for my return to soda reviewing?  Perhaps it’s just showing me how new I still am to the soda game.  Perhaps it’s revving up my tastebuds to be on their best game.  Either way I’m glad I had it and I’m glad to be back.  

~A

This bottle was supplied to me by my friend Jibbity D

Spiffy Cola

Cartoons from the 20’s and 30’s were kind of weird in a great way.  Have you ever seen a Mickey Mouse cartoon from the 20’s?  He’s kind of a jerk at times, playing the teeth of a goat like a xylophone or using a cat tail as a violin string.  He just got through the depression so some slack could be given, but there’s a darker undertone to cartoons of that time.  

View fullsize

Twist is showing fear.

The mascot on this bottle of Spiffy Cola has that same happy yet somewhat deranged expression on his face.  Slick hair, rosy cheeks, and a playful expression should be seen as fun, yet his eyes are cold and calculating as if you hint that something negative might befall you if you don’t enjoy his cane sugar sweetened Spiffy Cola.  According to the label Spiffy is “A Swell Cola Drink” and has been around since 1934.  There’s also a sentence on the side that reads:

“Striving to be world famous and quite swell, Spiffy delights the senses with the refreshing and invigorating taste of cola.  Enjoy and ice cold one today.”

You know what I like about that?  That Spiffy Cola doesn’t claim to be made just like it was “in the good old days”.  They’ve updated their recipe, but probably tried to keep their taste as close as possible.  Good for them for not having that nonsense on their bottle.  That’s just swell.

I don’t like that it’s a twist cap though.  Picky I know, but I don’t.  A robust cola scent travels quite easily from the bottle’s mouth.  Things are looking good for Spiffy Cola and I’m not just saying that to keep this disembodied head from haunting my dreams.

Good for Spiffy.  That’s a wonderful cola and soda in general.  A rich flavorful cola taste envelops my mouth with each swig.  It seeks out all possible oral crevices and fills it with one of the best colas I’ve had to date.  The carbonation fizzes right along side creating a fun mouth feel while simultaneously keeping this rich cola light and enjoyable.  Not since Pig Iron Cola have I had a cola that creates a taste this powerful.  There is a bit of a syrupy feel after each sip, but the flavor is too enjoyable for me to care all that much.  This syrupy feel causes minimal accidental teeth grit, if you know what I’m talking about.  

You know how around Thanksgiving and Christmas a lot of foods are richer versions of the original?  It tastes like Spiffy Cola is what you should be drinking at that time.  Who has time for Polar Bears and Coke when Spiffy Cola with its brash attitude, powerful taste, and creepy 1930’s cartoon head are around?

~A

I purchase this soda at World Market

Wild Cherry Pepsi with Sugar

View fullsize

Twist will also give you some sugar.

I like Pepsi.  They’re not my favorite cola, but I can appreciate a Pepsi.  I especially liked the throw-back series and their use of real sugar.  Granted it’s not cane sugar; I believe I read once that it’s beet sugar.  All that same though it still makes for a better Pepsi.  Mike handed me a can of Wild Cherry Pepsi that’s made with real sugar.  To be honest with you I don’t think I’ve ever had a cherry Pepsi before.  Kind of odd that I’ve tried all these different sodas, but one of the more common flavors has eluded me.  So let’s give it a go.

Cola is still the primary aroma that comes off the top of this can.  My nose has to search harder than I expected to to get ahold of the cherry scent.  It’s unmistakable once I hone in on it, but it did take a little bit of searching.

That’s alright.  Thankfully the cherry flavor is present with the initial gulp.  As soon as the soda hits my tongue it immediately confirms the flavor listed on the side of the can.  It’s not as rich and vibrant as I’d like it to be, but I wasn’t expecting a craft soda experience.

As mentioned before sugar is the sweetener in this beverage...sorry, REAL sugar.  It makes it so the Wild Cherry Pepsi doesn’t hold on to my teeth and tongue with a syrupy slime.  It would have made it a fairly clean beverage it if weren’t for the cherry flavoring itself.  Cherry is a hard flavor to replicate honestly.  It either tastes too sweet, too strong, too weak, or medicinal.  In the case of Wild Cherry Pepsi we’re going down the medicinal road.  It’s not so obvious of a pharmaceutical taste that I cringe, but it’s definitely a flavor I’m visited by during cold season.

The “not quite right” of the cherry really breaks apart what could be an above average soda.  Since this is Pepsi we’re talking about here there was little chance it would be awful.  There has been too much market research to release something like that.  Instead what we get is a very average cherry cola which is sweetened by sugar, but marred by a fake cherry sensation.

~A

Begley's and Bill's Cola

Twist is also all natural

A zero calorie, partially stevia sweetened cola sits in front of me.  It’s Begley’s and Bills Cola and if I hadn’t had their similarly sweetened cream soda the other day I’d be nervous.  I’d be nervous about the taste.  You know the one thing I shouldn’t be nervous about?  Instead though I’m feeling confident that this will be at worst an average soda.  It’s not a terrible thing to be average at worst, it means you don’t fail.  Trust me when I say many sodas fail.  So lets open up this bottle and see what SweetenFX (their proprietary blend of stevia and erythritol) can do.

The cola aroma required is present.  It reminds me of RC Cola, which is my favorite of the three mainstream colas.  It’s a rather faint smell, but the cream soda’s was too and that turned out alright.

Score number two for Begley’s and Bill’s.  Just to get it out of the way, there is no chance I would have thought this was sweetened with stevia.  Where the cream soda had a bit of a tell, their cola tastes quite pure.  The mouthfeel is on the smoother side, but there’s still a bit of a bite at the finish of each sip.  Sometimes this would be attributed to the carbonation, but in the case of Begley’s and Bill’s Cola the bite comes from the flavor.  Speaking of the carbonation, it’s not particularly strong.  The bubbles are small and just fierce enough to keep it from tasting flat.  All in all they do their job well.

Again, the cola’s flavor isn’t reaching an above and beyond status, but it’s better than Coke.  Add to the fact that this is sugar free and only 8 calories and you see why I’m impressed.  It would be nice to have some added spice in this to differentiate it a bit more from your standard fare.  It’s good though and once again what I’d recommend hands down to anyone who needs a sugar free alternative or just like colas.

~A

This soda supplied to us by Begley's and Bill's

Swamp Pop Noble Cane Cola

As a Texan there are two states we primarily make fun of, Oklahoma and Louisiana.  Now don’t get your feathers in a ruffle if you’re from one of those states as I’m sure you make fun plenty of Texas, heck the entire country does at some time or another.  Today’s soda is Louisiana based and in different circumstances I’d probably poke fun, but in the case of Swamp Pop Noble Cane Cola I think I’ll play nice.  My primary reason for playing nice is that the makers of Swamp Pop are showing state pride in the naming of their beverage.  The swamps of Louisiana are a well-known property of the state and I just can’t fault anyone for loving their state so much they worked it into the name of their product.  Since they’re practically putting their state on the label I can only hope they take the same pride and put it into their soda.

Swamp Pop Noble Cane Cola has a very retro label.  When I say “retro” in this case I mean it looks like something you’d see in a general store of years past.  At least one of the ingredients is from years past as well.  Obviously as a “cane cola” Swamp Pop is sweetened with Louisiana cane sugar.  A few other ingredients that make up this soda include sodium benzoate, Quillaja extract, and “natural flavors”.  So you see Swamp Pop isn’t an all-natural soda, but they’re certainly not run of the mill either.  Hopefully that will translate into the taste.

View fullsize

Twist on his porch enjoying a cool bottle of Swamp Pop

Well they’ve already found favor with me in using the pop-top method rather than twist off.  Cola sno-cone is the aroma I’m getting when I place my nostril to the mouth of the bottle.  It’s an interesting scent with a hint of spearmint.  My excitement is rising to try this potentially unique cola.

Well that’s kind of fun.  The Quillaja extract, something I’ve never run into before, is giving Noble Cane Cola a taste that is uncommon to any cola I’ve had.  While a cola at heart, I’m getting a rather dirty, rooty taste as well.  Don’t take “dirty” as a negative; it’s just a rather raw earthy taste with the smallest hints of a licorice twist at the end.  Thankfully the carbonation is a background player in this performance, keeping the mouth-feel rather smooth for a cola.  This allows me to easily take in the flavors presented before me.

My mouth is left with a bit of a flavored coating, but since it mirrors the original taste I have no qualms with that.  It really is a strange cola, but it gets me excited to try more of their line up as it shows they really want to have a different product on the market.  So many colas are just knock-offs that are trying to get into an already over populated taste type.  Swamp Pop Noble Cane Cola didn’t even try to taste like the other guys and took a risk in doing so.  Personally I think the risk was worth it.  Sure, it’s a little syrupy and the flavor might not agree with all cola enthusiasts, but all in all this is a pretty solid soda.

~A

Edit:  The flavor was FIGS!  I went to their website to double check something and found out that this cola is flavored with figs.  Wow, I'm happy I went into this blind, but I feel like I led you astray.  Ah well, now you know...well those of you who read reviews twice.

This soda was supplied to us by Swamp Pop

Pure Sodaworks Cafe Cola

Today's use of "sapid" brought to you by Thesaurus.com

Pure Sodaworks Strawberry Jalapeno has both strawberries and jalapenos in the ingredients.  Pure Sodaworks Honey Lime has both honey and lime in the ingredients.  This begs the question, what does Pure Sodaworks Café Cola have in it?  We know they’ll be using 100% natural ingredients, but what are they?  Why aren’t I reading the ingredients right now since the bottle simply sits inches away?  Ok, I’ve tortured myself enough.  Here is what makes up a bottle of Pure Sodaworks Café Cola:  Sparkling Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Orange Juice, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Herbs and Spices, Caramel Color (from cane sugar), Espresso, and Citric Acid.  So while that may be a bit more complicated than “Honey + Lime = Soda”, you can’t deny that doesn’t include anything you couldn’t easily find at your local grocer.  Perhaps some of the “herbs and spices” would be difficult, but for the sake of this review let’s pretend they’re there too and move on.

Something that struck me as odd is that this is cola seems overly dark in color, so dark that when I shine a flashlight up from the bottom of the bottle the light doesn’t make it all the way to the top.  You haven’t heard of this time tested test of soda color?  This isn’t something I’m going to start doing “on the reg”, but I figured in this case it’d be kinda fun.  Sorry to have wasted your time, I guess I’ll just open it now.

Wow, the spices used are quite pungent.  It’s like I have a basket of cola potpourri and next to me and why wouldn’t I?  I like the finer things in life too.  Cola potpourri, Dr Pepper Febreeze, root beer candles… you know, the norm.  Time for a drink.

I’m somewhat thankful that the spice isn’t as noticed in the taste as it is the smell.  My tongue is greeted with a strong cola flavor that lacks the bite that so many of us are used too in our Coca-Cola brand Cokes.  What fills this void of harshness is the smooth sensation of cola made sharp only by the carbonation that dances around it.  It’s not so sweet that you couldn’t enjoy it with a meal, but it does seem a touch more sugary than what you might be expecting.

If this were the end of the experience I’d say Pure Sodaworks Café Cola was an above average cola that I was happy to try, then I’d go about my day.  Thankfully this is not the case.  The espresso included sets Café Cola even further ahead of the pack by giving the final moments of each sip as well as the aftertaste a roasted coffee flavor.  I personally hate the taste of coffee, but I absolutely love the way it smells.  Pure Sodaworks Café Cola transmogrifies the scent of coffee into a taste and lets it run slightly behind the lead horse named Cola.  This roasted bean makes all the difference in the world making this beverage quite sapid.  Drink this cola if you like colas.  Drink this cola if you like coffee.  Drink this cola if you like sodas.  Drink this cola.

~A  

This beverage supplied to us by Pure Sodaworks

A “Twist’s Choice” Recipient