It's amazing how much mangosteen tastes like orange juice in this case. It's also quite amazing how unhealthy orange juice is for you. It's amazing how orange this drink is while not being orange juice and it's amazing how this just tastes like a diet orange juice.

Now even though I used the phrase "amazing" a lot previously, this drink is not amazing. Actually, I received polar opposite opinions during the survey that I ran in my office yesterday. I got "not bad" and I got "tastes like baby powder." Both sides of the spectrum. What do I think? I think it tastes like a pulpless, lifeless orange juice sweetened with Xylitol or Stevia. I didn't hate it and it was actually pretty good when it was cold. When it warmed up a bit, it got a little gritty like a protein drink might.

I do enjoy that strange little mangosteen cat sneaking in the mix more and more. I'm sure I'll regret saying that as soon as "the big guys" start making it and ruin it like they do everything. You know what, big guys; you're making that green. You're doing what you came here to do. Play on, playah.

I think it's safe to say that Faygo is the leader of the mid-level pop game. They have been around for over a hundred years, and have the widest selection of flavors that I have ever come across when it comes to the drinks with the bubbles. Most of those flavors are pretty standard, but they do try some untraditional flavors as well, all of which range from decent to pretty darn good. While I have yet to taste one of their sodas that completely blew my socks off, I've also never tried one that I flat out didn't like and that is what I think they are going for: middle of the road soda that will appeal to the greatest number of people with the lowest price point. I can't fault them for that, as I'm sure that business model has brought them quite a lot of money and made many people happy along the way.

With this flavor the Michigan company has strayed a bit from the norm. Fruit flavors in soda are mostly reserved for grape, orange, cherry and pineapple rears it's head more than you'd expect. Berry sodas are not very common, and when you find them more than likely they are more sugar than fruit. While there may not be any fruit juice in this, and it is fairly sweet, it doesn't taste like generic sweet bubbles. I'm actually not completely disgusted by this and I have already drank more than I had anticipated (I'm trying to cut down a lot of sugar form my diet, and drinks like this make that hard to do). I want to compare this to freeze pops or something like that, but it has no harshness and I think the flavor isn't quite the same. I guess the closest I can think of is it tastes like a Slurpee flavor that I had once, but since I can't remember its name that bit on info is pointless.

This definitely falls under the category of a flavor of soda that kids would love and adults more than likely have little to no use for. It's not that they don't like it, but they want to pretend to be mature and mature people apparently only drink dry sodas and coffee.

Oh kids. You've got so many more selections than when I was a kid. I want you to read that like I was the oldest man alive because that's how I meant it to be read. The written word just doesn't have the same flair as, say, an audio recording. Oh, you know, kids. Records. Remember records? Remember crank windows? You dumb kids and your dumb buttons. Try endlessly turning a knob for a little bit, why don't'cha? Lazy brats. Oh, right. Reviews. Right.

I don't spend a lot of time around raspberries but I've been around an apple a couple times and I've got to say, this is a very accurate portrayal of that dynamic duo. You've got some super sweetness from the apple and some nice berryness (not a real word) from the raspberries. Not too bad, Litl' Squirts. All without adding any extra sugar in there, too. You, sirs and madams, have made a good juice.

Speaking of little squirts, you! Hey, you! Do something constructive with your life. Yeah, I'm sure leveling up in World Of Warcraft took a long time but it's not making you a better person. Go get dirty. Get hurt. Get a job. Stop talking on the phone. Drink some healthy juices. Get strong. Be nice to old people. Get me something to drink. Hold the door for people. Be polite. Golden rule. You kids are the worst, nowadays. The worst.

Let's cover something here: peaches in their natural state are amazing. They are one of the best fruits to ever grace this planet, from whatever galaxy they originated. Oh you didn't know that peaches are sentient beings from another world that we enslave and then consume? Now don't you feel like a savage? It's okay, if humans tasted as good as peaches, we would probably eat them too, so long moral decency.

So yes, peaches are nearly perfect. Artificial peach flavor? Not so much. I suppose it's fine in a pinch, but really there is no need for it when we have the entire species at our disposal. It always tastes too sweet and like candy. A big problem is that a lot of companies use this fake peach flavoring in their drinks and trick people into thinking that what they are drinking is how the wonderful fruit actually taste. It's nothing but lies.

Beverages, especially the sparkling ones that use real peach juice are few and far between. Val de France not only uses actual juice in their sparkling drinks, but they also do not add extraneous sugar. They do mix up their peach juice with some apple juice, but you can't blame them for that. They have to keep the price point down somehow.

This ends up tasting like a fancy soda pop, which is what it is. It's soda for the high class, or for those of us who want to pretend that we're classy for a short period of time. You can most definitely taste both the peach and apple juices in here. They exist in a harmony that is not to be disturbed with other ingredients.

My only complaint is that I poured myself a decent sized glass of this, and while it is delicious and only has 19g of sugar per each 8oz, it became too much once I got to the last quarter of the glass. So keep that in mind; this juice is made to be enjoyed in small quantities. If you do that you will certainly be pleased with your choice in beverage.

Shane. Get in here. What are you thinking with this? We can't put this out to the public. It's...it's...bland. It also tastes like it might have gone bad. Why is it with every sip I feel like I'm drinking the black plague? It's just a lightly fruity tea. Sure, it says it's "green tea" but I don't really get any bite. As for the plum, yeah, it's there but between the two of them, they're just kind of mellowing out in a sea of mediocrity.

I don't know what's gotten into you lately. You said you were working on something great and this is it? I don't know. We might have to think about getting a new research and development guy in here because this is beyond lackluster. It feels dangerous to drink, actually. Oh. Oh. You say this isn't what you've been working on and it's just something that you mixed together with some stuff you found in the communal kitchen? Oh. Well sorry, Shane. What have you been working on? A diaper that can hold more poop? You're wearing it? You've been wearing it for how long?! Six days? Shane?! That's disgusting. Disgusting and brilliant. You've kept your job buddy. Keep up the good and non-stinky work.

When I think of bliss the first thing that crosses my mind is shoegaze. If you're not familiar it's a style of music that sounds very dreamy (sometimes droney) with a lot of effects on the guitars. As soon as I hear the word bliss either a Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine song pops into my head and I like to take a moment and just bask in it's strange pop bliss.

Is this beverage the liquid version of those songs? Not even close. While the added ingredients may have reduced my stress in the long run, I got no relaxation from the flavor. The sole reason for that is that even though crystalline fructose is the main sweetener, there is also sucralose in the mix, and as we all know if it's there at all it is overpowering. Without the sucralose this could have been a very pleasant, lightly carbonated raspberry drink. I keep trying to block out the fake sugar taste and I know there is a truly enjoyable beverage in there somewhere. I can just tell it's something that I would really, really like. Unfortunately the sucralose buries nearly all of that taste under its grossness. If you are one of the people who walks this planet that are unaffected by sucralose, like those who like cilantro, you will probably be all over this.

Cheribundi has cherry juice in excess. They must for the amount of varieties of their drinks that are on the market, and all of them with straight up cherry juice in them. In fact they juice 20 cherries for every 16.9oz bottle of juice they produce. They are also purists and don't deal with concentrate when it comes to this tart little red fruit. The result is they have an entire line of products that taste like the wonderful fruit that is the origin of their company name. Seriously, every beverage of theirs I have tried really tastes like I'm eating a bowl full of cherries. As a professional I can tell you that is most definitely not the norm with cherry flavored, well anything.

The downfall of this drink (extremely slight as it may be) is that with all of their diligence on their money maker, the blueberries in here did not receive as much attention as they should have. They in fact came from a concentrate, but hey at least it's real juice and not some artificial flavoring made to taste like blueberries. I don't know if it is due to the concentrate, or just the amount used, but the blueberry is losing the war against the cherries. There is not a harmony shared between them, and the strong flavor of the cherries overpowers the tiny blueberries. The blue fruit is most apparent in the aftertaste and even then the lingering tartness of the red is still highly present. That being said, this is by no means a bad drink. In fact it's on the greater side of the scale. I'm simply dreaming of ways to push it to the “Gotta have it now or I may explode category.”

Oh man, what have I done to myself? Working on this website has led me to taste some of the most wonderful flavors that have ever crossed my palate. For them I am thankful and the potential of running across others like them keep this site running. Then we come across products such as Sosyo and I want to flush it all away. Wipe my hands twice in the air and just walk away from the Thirsty Dudes empire.

I just knew this was not going to be anything resembling good in my world. Between the packaging that required a knife to cut away and ingredients that give no hint at a flavor (carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, sodium benzoate and caramel) there wasn't much telling me that this would be something I would enjoy.

Let me go on a little tangent and tell you that I have recently been working my way through critics lists of the greatest horror movies of all times. I've already watched most that are on the lists, but I figured I should fill in the gaps and maybe find some gems. While there have been a handful of great movies, most of them that I had not already seen are just terrible to the point of nearly unwatchable, and I love terrible movies. With that being said there is more horror in this bottle than all of those movies combined.

It says it's a mixed fruit flavor, but online I read something comparing it to cola. I thought it might end up being a fruity cola, which I could be into. Instead I received a mouthful of what tasted like how I imagine prison toilet wine would taste. I checked the Wikipedia page on Sosyo to make sure this hadn't gone bad and it says that it's a mixture of grape and apple cider that tastes alcoholic. It was apparently originally called Whisky No because of this. Ugh. No thanks. This is highly offensive to my tastes and I couldn't get more than two sips into the bottle.

If you are a recovering alcoholic, who for some reason misses the taste of the worlds crappiest fruit alcohol, or are a child pretending to be an adult this may be the drink for you. If you're tastes are anything close to mine, I warn you to stay away. It's sad because I had a nice saag meal for lunch that I was hoping would pair nicely with this Indian soda.

Now, in the comfort of my own home I can enjoy the sweet, spicy taste of chocolate chai. No more lines. No more waiting for people to get their backpacks, feet, and iPods off the table so I can be a patron to the establishment I went to spend money at. No more frustrating ordering of dumbly named drinks. No more, I say, for now all of that has been crammed into a delightful carton of love and spices.

This drink rules. There. I said it. There are really no if, ands, or buts about it. All that you love about chai and all that you love about chocolate has been sucked from the bowels of the earth where chai is made to give it that earthen taste and injected into hermetically sealed cartons. That plastic flip-top really seals in all that spicy earth. Seriously though, it's a nice, dark chocolate taste with a strong cinnamon river running throughout.

I really thought I was never going to get what I wanted when it came to chocolate chai but thanks to Jay and his knowledge of the world around him, he let me in on this secret and now I am blowing the lid of the joint and letting you, the public know about it. Oh, this spicy, creamy, chocolate goodness. I shall see you again soon, my friend.

Bunny, when you're done flirting with that ski instructor please meet me in the lodge for some hot chocolate. You weren't flirting? Then I'm guessing that piece of paper you gave him didn't have your phone number on it and had something like directions to the nearest Dairy Queen. Right. I'm sure, Bunny.

I got you and iced tea. Sit. Let's talk. How was that Green Circle you did? Well you're learning. You can't jump up just yet. It might seem boring but it's all about fundamentals, my dear. Aren't you going to ask daddy how his black diamond was? It was fine. Nothing like the one I did in Aspen last autumn but it's adequate. I saw you fall a couple times but you're learning. What did they teach you at that ski camp we went to? Pizza and french fries, right. Well, no, we don't eat pizza or french fries. Those foods are for a lower echelon than us. I got us some dark hot chocolate. I'm sure it's not as good as the stuff we drank when we were vacationing in the French Alps but it's better than nothing.

What do you think of this, Bunny. The view, the quality of the snow, the hot chocolate? You like it? Concise. I like it. This hot chocolate is good but leaves a bit to be desired. I suppose it's the same as the regular hot chocolate with the smallest possible amount of dark chocolate added to be able to call it a "dark chocolate" hot chocolate. It's good but would be nice if it had a bit more of that dark chocolate flavor. Remember when Hans made it for us and he melted down Swiss dark chocolate on the stove and mixed it with heated milk? That is what I wish this was but you can't expect that luxury everywhere, I suppose.

Well darling. Shall we get back out there? In an hour or so your mother will be back from shopping with an armful of bags and a new fur coat. Honestly, I've already had to have a separate closet built just for her fur hats, coats, and scarves.

Filbert's is a Chicago institution. That fact alone leads me to believe that the denizens of the Windy City are either incredibly dumb, or sadly lack taste buds. I don't mean to be harsh, but we've given the company an honest try and they have let us down at every turn. This is the third flavor we've reviewed and I would rather drink the syrupy swill of store brand soda than this cane sugared sweetened bubbly mess.

There is hardly any flavor to these sodas except carbonated sugar water. There is the vaguest of fruit flavors in here, but I would never in a million years guess that it was peach in a blind taste test. I didn't expect it to taste like you were biting into a peach (I would murder ten men to have that soda), but I did expect at least the fake peach candy flavor. Not only did this leave me let down as my dreams were not fulfilled, it couldn't' even manage to live up to my realistic expectations.

I'm sorry Chicago, but I really think you deserve better than this representing your city.

Looking to expand your horizons? Sure. Why wouldn't you be? No one likes to be stagnant. No one likes to eat the same thing over and over again. No one likes to do the same thing time and time again. People need variance. People need change. I bet you don't drink juice with chunks of fermented coconut in it. If you do, I think the next step is something sassy like latex fun. If you haven't gotten there yet, chunky drinks that taste like flowers are the previous step. It's a good step, too. Sometimes the flowers can be too perfumy but sometimes they can be alright. In this drink's case, they are pretty good. There is a nice, firm texture on the coconut chunks and the flavor is a nicely sweetened, nicely floral little number.

You should know as soon as you drink this, though. You should know that the next step is, as I mentioned before, latex fun. Tight stuff. Stuff with zippers. Like it or not, that's next. Brace yourself. It gets hot in there.

“I can't tell you what juice I'm drinking but there are two berries involved.” How many times can one website paraphrase stand up comics (Mitch Herberg)? The answer to this and other unimportant questions will be hidden in our reviews over the upcoming weeks.

This may be the single chalkiest protein drink I have ever tasted. I'm halfway through the bottle and my teeth feel like they have a very thin layer of sand on them. It's a weird experience that is for sure. I don't even know if I dislike the sensation, it's just odd.

Once you get past the chalkiness and delve into the six strawberries, five blueberries, three apples and one banana that are in this bottle things are a little bit of okay. It definitely has more of a berry flavor than anything, so the name is fitting. The apples and banana aren't very noticeable, even though they make up a majority of the substance.

Okay, I've come to the conclusion that while I don't have the chalkiness, it's not something I really enjoy, thus this is a functional beverage in my book any nothing I would drink solely for the flavor. I would consume it again when I'm trying to juice my pecs (pun definitely intended).

I had to do a little Internet search to find the origins of the Mojito, because I honestly thought it was a modern invention, as I had never heard of it until about five years ago. I was way off, there are debates on the timeline, but one thing for certain is that this concoction existed on this mortal plane by 1650. Apparently it just became more popular in recent years, or else I'm just completely out of touch. Actually, that is very likely.

In my daydreams the following situation occurred: some friends were getting ready for a beach party and they decided last minute that they should make some mojitos for their day of leisure. They ran to the store and each was supposed to get an ingredient; one was to grab lime, one sugar, one sparkling water and the other apple mint (they apparently we're going nonalcoholic or they had the rum waiting in the car, that part did not matter to me). When they met back up after their purchases Mr. Apple Mint complained that he had to pay more because he had to buy two things. Everyone looked at him quizzically and he produced a bag of fresh mint and a jug of apple juice. Everyone laughed because he was obviously a dum-dum head who didn't realize that “apple mint” is just a type of mint and they didn't mean to get both apples and mint. They all laughed even more and added the apple juice to the mix for kicks, and the wonders it did provide. Guys, in that daydream, I was Mr. Apple Mint! I honestly thought that this was going to be apple, mint and lime. Oh the difference a comma can make (and an “M” as I almost spelled that coma).

Yogo Vera did not make the same mistake as me, but they did change up the classic recipe a bit. This is sugar, lime, and apple mint (which does have a slightly fruity flavor). Instead of the classic sparkling water and rum this Korean company used aloe vera drink, complete with chunks. The aloe gives it even more of a nondescript fruity flavor, and buries the mint a bit. It's not quite the wonderful drink that was created in my daydream, but it's perfectly acceptable. I would have preferred it to have a stronger mint flavor, but that would probably make it taste like you were drinking lime aloe after brushing your teeth. What a temperamental herb mint is.

Sometimes, when you are in “fancier” settings, there will be a pitcher of water with an array of fruits and botanicals floating in it for your drinking pleasure. The idea is that the water absorbs trace flavors from the content floating within to give the drinker a nice little treat. I am personally a large fan of such refreshments. During my time in Hawaii our hotel had such a dispenser full of oranges and pineapple. There is also a nice little juice bar here in Buffalo that has been known to have basil leaves floating in their water picture; it's quite the treat. Such a little thing can go such a long way in making your day just a tad bit brighter.

By adding a packet of True Grapefruit to a glass of water, you are essentially skipping the actual fruit step in this process. The glass before me most certainly tastes like it was dispensed from a great glass urn full of the most plentiful liquid on Earth that has had giant chunks of grapefruit floating in it all day. It is impossible to mistake the flavor of this citrus fruit, yet the flavor is faint with no trace of bitterness. It has become flavored water, in the truest sense. There are no sweeteners or anything of the sort added. It is simply cold pressed and crystallized grapefruit that has been absorbed by the water. This is by far my favorite in the True line.

Oooohhh how I wanted this to be great. You know, and if you don't you should, Jay and I love hibiscus. Green tea and hibiscus? Set me up because that jam is my jam. This...falls...so...short. It's hardly floral and there is no green tea bite and it's just too tame to be good. Oh the disappointment. Oh the sorrow. Oh the tears. Oh the children. The poor crying children. They're crying over the promised millions that this dream team of a tea was supposed to earn in order for them to eat food. Welp, looks like there are going to be some hungry kids tonight. Thanks, tea representatives.

There is only so much you can say about juice, and I think I've said most of it before. As a result I started reading other people's review on this internet for Berry Blast, and my findings confused me.

Okay let's start from scratch; this bottle contains five blackberries, four raspberries, 4 strawberries, three and a half apples and half of a banana. With those type of ratios it's no wonder that this tastes like berry flavored apple juice (to be fair it tastes like a heavily berry flavored apple juice, but the base of the larger fruit is still very noticeable. Thirteen berries could fit in the palm of my hand; it's not much at all. I still enjoy the taste of this, and I understand that a lot of juices are cut with apple juice to sweeten them and keep costs down while retaining a 100% juice claim, but from Naked I expected a stronger berry flavor. With the somewhat hefty price per bottle, I expect a little more.

None of the above is what I found confusing. What put a quizzical look on my face was that people were saying that this is not a healthy drink at all and that it's all lies. Some claimed that there was a ton of sugar added to it, others claimed that there were “chemicals” added to it. Wait, what? I know there was a lawsuit against Naked, but not for the reasons mentioned above. If I read everything correctly the lawsuit was because GMOs were used in the vitamin “boots” added to some of the drinks. There is no sugar secretly added to this juice. There are also no weird chemicals in the mix either. This is simply a mix of fruits, as it doesn't have any of the boosts in it. Yes, this is not as healthy as eating straight up fruit, due to pasteurization, but it's not sugar water like some people claim.

The internet is a terrible place where everyone thinks they have a voice and their opinions are right, even though they don't have their facts straight. People read an article a little piece of it sticks out to them, and then their brain extrapolates that with no factual basis and suddenly it's gospel. I am not denying that some sketchy stuff may have gone down with Naked and their labeling, but the internet has become a runaway train of additional claims, that have no basis in real life. These are certainly the end times.

Everyone is sick, right? This has been a brutal winter. It's the worst one in a long time. Not so much for the snow but man have you ever lived through so many consecutive sub-zero days in all your life? Frozen pipes and hundred dollar heat bills will be the death of me.

One thing that I think, psychosomatically, makes me feel better is tea. Hot tea and cold tea. It doesn't matter. Unsweetneed. When I went to the store and saw this, after the way that I felt the last couple days, you'd better believe that I got this. The whole gallon. I bought it, pretty effortlessly. "Green and white tea with a hint of mint. That will clear me up." I thought to myself.

Now I'm three glasses into this gallon and it's a very fine tea. It's unsweetened so there is nothing getting in the mix. You can taste the green, you can taste the white, and, if you think about it, you can taste the mint. "Hint of mint" is about all you get. Am I letting that get the best of me? No. I'm picking my battles and if it's being mad at a tea for not having enough hints, I'm wasting my time. I've wasted a lot of time in my life but being sore at mint has never clocked any time on the board and trust me that board has a lot of gripes on it.

My quest might be over. Jay and I had a bit of a "date day" today. We ran all sorts of assorted errands like buying a microphone, replacing a headlight, duplicating a key, and so much more. One of our stops, midway through the way, was a trip to Starbucks. He read my previous review about my new quest of finding the ideal chocolate chai and how what I'm looking for just might not exist. Well friends, he changed my opinions on that matter by introducing me to Starbucks chocolate chai.

This chai, was in all regards, superior to any other chocolate chai I have ever had. Not only can you taste a strong chocolate flavor but it also has bite, brother. It's downright spicy with its nutmeg or cinnamon or wizardry or whatever else makes up a chai. Sure it was the temperature of the sun when I was handed to me and I left it in the car while Jay and I ran more errands but when I got back, it couldn't have been more "go time" if it tried. This, without a doubt, is my new drink. Goodbye childish hot cocoa. Goodbye adult hot chocolate mocha. Hello Eastern treat chocolate chai. Eastern right? You have a little debate about that. I'm leaving it there.

You mission, whether you choose to accept it or not is to find a cache of Mission Root beverages and acquire them all, especially those of the amla variety. . Be it my legal or nefarious means matters not to me, just as long as you get to taste this sweet nectar. Actually, let me add to that mission, procure the beverages, try them for yourself and them bring the rest of them to me. I want them, and I need them.

This has the taste of a wonderful fresh pressed ginger beverage, but without the burn. It's crazy how much it tastes like a nice agave sweetened ginger, yet the flaming “aftertaste” is nowhere to be found. I've never experienced it before. On top of that amla is added, which is another name for Indian gooseberries, which Wikipedia tells me is “sour, bitter and astringent.” I taste none of those things in this drink. It's sweet, without being overly sweet and there is another flavor in there besides the ginger and the agave, but it doesn't taste like the description. It has a slight fruity flavor. Whatever it tastes like, it's rich in antioxidants and this beverage is on the healthier side of things; all the more reason for you to start planning on scheming how you are going to get this in your life. I expect a full report on what went down in order for you to possess this wonderful drink on my desk by 5pm Friday. So, you know, you better hurry.