Cane Sugar - 601 Reviews

For the longest time I stayed away from Tazo teas because when I first saw them I tried two different flavors and they both tasted heavily of mint. I don't remember what flavors they were exactly, but I remember thinking that there was absolutely no need for mint to be in the mix. When Mike and I were in the grocery store the other day staring at the same drinks that have been there for what now seems like forever I decided we needed to up the number of Tazo reviews. Good or bad it was our duty to write something up.

When I opened this bottle at work today I was expecting the minty worst. I took a cautionary sniff, and it was all tea and berry. Things were looking up. A tiny sip and I was relieved to find this was mint free. I did check the ingredients for mint beforehand (it wasn't there), but I swear I did that in the past and was fooled. This bottle just contains black tea, and fruit juice. It's just the way I like things. This is actually one of the better raspberry teas I've ever had. It still has a dry bitterness from the tea, but it's still sweet and tastes like actual fruit.

I have cast you aside for years Tazo and for that I apologize. This is the fourth tea of yours we have reviewed and all have gotten four bottles. I will be visiting you again shortly.

As a child I spent a lot of time out at my grandparents house out in the country. They lived in this awesome old house with a barn and a chicken coop (minus the chickens, which had been replaced by old bikes and lawnmowers). Whenever I was out there I always felt like a character from an old coming of age book. I'd spend my time on a tire swing, shooting my bow and arrows and making lead soldiers out in the barn workshop. . It was a nice break from video games and television. It's what I would have always wanted early childhood to be like

In the back room of their house there was a secondary refrigerator that was always stocked with beer and pop. Keep in mid this was the mid-eighties so the soda that was contained in the fridge generally came in those tall glass bottles. There was always Pepsi, 7Up and a wide variety of Faygo purchased from Pixley's market. The Pixley's lived in front of the market and they had a pet monkey for a short time. I never saw it though because when my grandfather went to visit it once it grappled onto his face and bit his ear. I have to admit that in hindsight that is hysterical, but at the time I wanted nothing to do with that monkey.

I've gotten off tangent. Back to the Fridge-O-Soda. My favorite was the Faygo Frosh. I don't even remember what it tasted like, but I loved it at the time. It may have been grapefruit flavored. That would make sense. When I ran out of Frosh I would turn to my old standby, Red Pop. Since this is the cane sugar version of this drink I am assuming that it is the same formula at from my childhood. I mean why would they change it? I used to love this stuff, but now it's just kind of ehhh. It's supposed to be strawberry flavored, but it just tastes like some sort of red candy. There's no distinguishable fruit flavor involved. I was hoping that I would still love this, but you can't win them all. Even though it's not spectacular in flavor it does have an awesome design on the bottle. So classy.

It's a well-known fact that all of us at Thirsty Dudes love aloe drinks. Personally, whenever I get a new aloe drink to review it usually gets bumped to the front of the queue. Is that wrong of me? Honestly, with all the soda and energy drinks I consume, it's nice to get a refreshing drink from time to time. Do you blame me?

As you can guess by the name, Aloe Water, this is a “thinner” aloe drink. It basically tastes like cherry flavored vitamin water with little aloe chunks in it. I usually prefer more chunks in an aloe drink, but it makes sense they might want to keep the chunk count down on this line. It's kind of weird to drink because I want to take big gulps due to the water-like consistency. After the first swallow my body gets scared because of the little aloe chunks rushing down my throat. I know it's next to impossible to choke on an aloe chunk, but my body doesn't know that. So I end up sipping it slower than I'd like to.

This would probably be good for someone who wants to try an aloe drink but doesn't want too many chunks. It's a beginner level aloe drink if you will. Just because I'm in the expert levels now, doesn't mean I can't enjoy this though.

This little guy almost killed me. I opened the bottle, took a swig and I somehow swallowed it wrong and started to choke. It felt like bubbly sugary soda felt like it was dripping down into my lung sacks. For a split second I thought I was going to die. Every breath was filled with gurgling liquid. Luckily I persevered, and I am able to write you a review.

Is there such a thing as bad birch beer? If so I've never come across it. There are three categories of it, micro-brewed, county fair and candy-esque. All of them have their merits, with very little drawbacks. This falls under the candy category. It's doesn't have a gross candy flavor, but it's just way sweeter than other birch beers. It really feels like it should just be a root beer, but then the unmistakable aftertaste sets in and it's birch beer city. It's not spectacular, but it's better than most sodas. I can't complain about that.

Let me tell you right off the bat. Thirsty Dudes, as a whole, are not crazy about coconut water. It's nothing against manufacturers, it's just that we drank a handful of them and we just never had one that we liked. Recently Zico contacted us out of the blue and stepped up to the plate. They said that they had chocolate coconut water that we might be interested in. I took the challenge today. Here's how it went.

I knew that I didn't want to drink it lukewarm so I threw that cat in the fridge for a couple hours. That was problem number one is that warm coconut water is more creamy than refreshing. I had a nice, crisp, fresh bottle and I cracked it open and took a sip. It was great. Finally, an entire new category of drinks has emerged for the taking. The chocolate taste was good. It has a good chocolate smell almost like chocolate ice cream. It tasted like really smooth chocolate milk. Initially, I could not taste the coconut, which is great because I didn't go into this liking coconut water. As the temperature dropped, I could start to taste it, but it was subtle enough for me to get used to it.

Zico, you've done it. You've converted me. Congrats.

I have spent very little time in the south. I've been to New Orleans for a weekend, but was only there for a big music festival and barely saw the city. I also have never had a peach in the south, so I didn't know what to fully expect with this "southern peach" flavor.

I actually never eat peaches, but have consumed a good amount of peach flavored drinks over the years. Come to think of it, I have probably had 10 peach flavor drinks for every 1 whole peach I have consumed. I really don't eat that much fruit except for avocados.

Anyways, this is pretty good peach lemonade. There is no mistaking that this is a peach drink, as it smells and tastes just like a fresh peach. I wish it were a little more tart though. As far as lemonade goes, this is kind of weak in the sour department. Overall though, it's another pretty good drink by Calypso.

I hate mid-day naps. I'm busy and if I'm not, I like to relax, but sleep is for nighttime and if I have time to sleep in the day, I have time to play video games or, probably a better idea, work. Today was a nice warm day, too warm for jeans, but whatever. I'm a tough...ish guy.

It was lunchtime and we decided to take a walk to a local deli and grab a sandwich. They just started carrying Marley's and I noticed a while back that we never reviewed the green tea with honey flavor, so today was the day, friends. We bought a sandwich, fruit, and this drink, which came to an astonishing $16 and change and sat down. We must have been hungry because we both finished our sandwich before we even opened the drink. When we finally got around to opening it, it was well worth the wait. It was a very light green tea taste with a nice honey flavor right up front. The bitterness, which was small, was then soothed over by sweet honey and it really made you want to go back for more. We split that bottle right down the middle in no time flat.

Fast-forward an hour.

On our way home, we got about three blocks away and sleep hit us like a ton of bricks. We couldn't get home fast enough. We got home and all three of us passed out. I think my girlfriend put her head on the pillow and was instantly sleeping. I was fighting it because, as previously mentioned, I hate mid-day naps. I couldn't fight it anymore and we all slept for like three hours. Later we realized it wasn't due to lack of sleep, but due to Marley's Mood.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but man, if we wanted to be productive, I would have been pissed that I slept instead of re-paved the front walkway.

Guys, I'm terrified. Some day soon I will awake to find that my hair has turned bone white, my bran intake will have skyrocketed and a cane will have become my best friend. It is the only future I can currently imagine. I'm obviously turning into an old man. The proof is in my ever-increasing love of unsweetened teas and dry sodas.

Who needs all of that sugar and a lingering syrupy sweetness? I certainly don't, especially after the obscene amount of it I've consumed over the last week and a half. None of it is contained in this bottle. It's not the driest I've ever had, but it's on its way there, to the extent that an aftertaste is nonexistent. The blood orange flavor has a great presence. I think it got it's name because it slayed all other oranges in a Thunderdome type scenario.

It's a great sipping soda that you don't have to feel terrible about yourself for drinking. I will happily drink it and wait for the day my senior discounts kick in. It will only go downhill when I break a hip and need to start wearing diapers. Will you take care of me then?

I think Albert Einstein may be responsible for the "Arnold Palmer" because obviously a genius is behind it. I refuse to believe that a golfer had the intellect to produce such a great drink. Wow that sounded harsh. I have nothing against golf. It's boring to watch, but I bet I would really enjoy playing. So maybe Mr. Palmer did don an Einstein wig, go to his lab (aka his kitchen) and mix up a batch of wonderful.

I was aware that Calypso knew what they were doing with lemonades, but I didn't know they had such a firm grasp on tea until I tried the Teamonade line. This is one of the finest half and halfs I've ever tasted. Both flavors blend together great and while it is sweet, I don't feel like I'm instantly getting a cavity with every sip.

Perhaps this will make me give golf a fair shake. If I do I'll have to be sure I have a bottle of this out on the greens with me.

I bought this because I had no idea what "korker" is.

Is it named after a person?
Professor Korker worked tirelessly into the night and the day before his hundredth birthday, he came up with the perfect pop. Everyone said he was crazy but he did it anyway.

Is it a fruit?
Ecologists from all over the world went to all reaches of the earth to try and find a fruit that was only known to the Mayans. It was brought from the heavens to cure all disease and ailment and when their society crumbled due to the non-stop fighting about who was going to win the second American Idol, they took their secret, legend fruit with them.

Is it slang?
Hey, don't be such a shmuck and grab me that korker.

Is it a mediocre blend of what I think are lemon and lime?
Yep.

Unfortunately, this drink did not deliver any of the hopes and dreams I had for it. I wanted all of the above except for the last to be true, but from beginning to 2/3'rds of this bottle, I was let down. It didn't taste like your typical lemon and lime combo. It wasn't as sweet and it just wasn't as flavorful. It was a very fast and tame flavor. This is for people who just want a little bit of pop. It wasn't dry, it just was...safe. Sometimes safe isn't where you want to be.

It's a rough place to be, out on the hard streets of Aloeville. People were getting hooked on the heavy stuff left and right. Personally I've seen more than a handful of friends fall victim of its sweet siren song. It seemed that everyone was out to get the sweetest stuff they could find, and the bigger the chunks the better. More and more dealers were popping up everywhere. It was getting to a point where you couldn't be on a street corner without someone trying to push it on you.

That's when Aloe Water came onto the scene. They came up with this crazy idea that this city needed to be shaken awake. They thought the aloe world had become too complacent, and it was time for a change. They started producing a light aloe drink that wouldn't kill you so fast, to help clean up the dirty streets of this run down town. They went for the smallest chunks they could find. We're talking orange juice pulp small here. They also wanted more of a hint of flavor, rather than the way companies of old would bash it over your head. Sometimes they put a nice light pineapple. It wasn't harsh at all, just like they soaked chunks of pineapple in their aloe juice and then strained it out.

Before long things started to look brighter. Diabetes counts went down. People seemed happier. A new era began.

Are you aware that there is never an inappropriate time to yell "It's Science!" Be it in the lab, at the dinner table, the zoo, an ICP concert it is always appropriate if said in order to confirm a statement you've made. If you're out for pizza and a friend thinks it tastes gross, but you really like it, you can say something like "It's really good because they didn't go overboard with the sauce. It's Science!" You have just won the argument. There is nothing they can say to come back from that.

Science is truly at work in this soda. It's to such an extent that it doesn't even need to be said. I knew going in that it was going to taste like grape. I opened the cap and the strong sent of grape hit my nostrils. My mind still expected orange, right until the point that my taste buds registered it as grape. It messes with ones brain. It's like listening to Beatles records backwards only to find out that Paul is the walrus. Even at the end of the bottle my brain still processed it as a mixture of grape and orange even though there is no orange flavor in it. If I went into this blind folded it would taste of pure grape soda, yet my eyes continue to mess me up. You win this round Real Soda.

Recently I've been on a winning streak with blueberry drinks. If I were Clark W Griswold I would grab the $27 that I had in my wallet, go to the nearest casino and place a $26 bet on the "Pick a Fruit" game that they will undeniably have (I'd need to save the extra dollar for bus fare home). Everything would come up Griswold. Rusty would finally look up to me. I would be the man I always wanted to be. Then for some inexplicable reason I would change my bet and put it all on crappy durian. Who would ever pick durian? It smells like vomit! The wheel would spin, slow down, land on durian and then at the last second flip one more space and land on blueberry again. I would be broke with only my bus fare home. Oh wait I used that to tip that pretty waitress that looked like a model from the 80's. It's a sad time in the life of a man who just loves to vacation.

I (Clark) would be crushed, but blueberry would reign supreme, just like it does in this drink. When you open the bottle it's like shoving your nose in a bushel of fresh picked berries. The tea and lemonade are at perfect levels, with the blueberry just a touch higher in the mix. It's tart, sweet and fruity all in one. I don't know if the world of "Arnold Palmers" gets better than this.

I have never been to Brooklyn. It's true. I have been to New York City a handful of times and have only really done Manhattan. I know that I would like the taste of Brooklyn to wash that clichè from my mouth because something about a city made to be an advertisement just doesn't suit me. So, since I've never been there, here is my "dream Brooklyn". Let me know if I'm close.

I'm walking down the street. I've got a bitchin' pair of Wayfarers on. Probably tortoise shell if I know myself well enough. Everywhere is the sound of the Beastie Boys, only up to Ill Communication, of course. Everyone is riding fixed gear bikes, has an ironic beard or mustache, and is eating pizza. Yes, some of it's vegan. Everything is brick. No aluminum or vinyl siding in the entire borough. Paired with the pizza is Old Brooklyn soda. It's only fair. It's not a dictatorship over there. Sure, Power Pop Pop Pop has a bit of weight even though he's all the way in Newbridge, NJ, but Brooklyn is not his home.

Am I far from the truth? Possibly. Possibly not. Were the Ghostbusters from Brooklyn? That's just more of a question for myself.

As for this pop, it was good. It wasn't syrupy at all and that's all thanks to the cane sugar. The sweetness isn't too much and the actual flavor is the aftertaste, which is nice for a change. Oh, you like black cherry pop? You'll love this. Oh, you've never had black cherry pop? You could love this. You don't like black cherry pop, Jay? That's why I'm reviewing this.

I often wonder what one would want to "detoxify" themselves of. Obviously if you smoked a pound, or kilogram to our metric brethren, of week, you might want to get that out of your system. It's the same with any sort of drug. Aside from that, you can't really "detoxify" yourself of a giant hamburger that you shouldn't have eaten but the menu said that it had chipotle in it and that is your weakness. Water, I feel, would probably be the best detox drink because it doesn't leave anything behind. No sugar. No carbs. I think I've heard that cranberry juice is a good cleanser, but once again, what are you doing that you need to be cleansed?

I kind of expected this to be lighter than a typical aloe drink, you know, because it's called "Aloe Water". I thought that it might be in the beginning, but after you take a couple sips, you're right there with the rest of them. One thing that I did notice is that the "chunk count" is less in this than in many of the other aloe drinks I've had. That's never good. If I'm buying a drink, knowingly with chunks in it, I never want to chance that I will take a sip and not have anything to chew on. Taste? It tastes good. It's fruity but you still get a pretty good aloe taste to it. Think of a very light fruit punch mixed with an "original" flavored aloe. There is honey in the ingredients but I can't really pinpoint it in the drink itself.

If I ran this company, which also makes Coco Water, I would drop the tagline of "Natural Detox Drink" because it makes me feel dirty every time I read it. I would say something like "100% All Natural" or "All Natural Aloe" or "Naturally Sweetened". Why make something out of nothing. I have drunk my share of aloe drinks and I've never heard it be considered detoxifying.

Also, don't smoke a pound of weed. Go outside and play.

This has a real sharp smell and it beckons your call, like a siren to the black abyss. I steer my mouth/ship towards the bottle/sharp rocks. Here's where I can no longer make similes between enchanted sea women and pop because this took a turn. If I may make one last Greek mythology reference, if I was a boat, I would have avoided the sirens call, not waiting for it like Bernard Sumner and friends wanted me to do, because this was one of the smoothest drinks I've ever had. It's a birch beer that goes down smooth like a cream soda. It's really strange.

It is not bad. Let it be known, but I wanted a gnarly bite, like I normally get with my birch beers. It's like those fireworks that you like but don't last long enough for you to be fully satisfied with. There is a quick giant explosion and then a quick disintegration. Sure, I could make a Cure reference, but that's too many English new wave bands in one review for even me.

That last statement isn't true. There are never enough obscure references in our reviews. If anything, there isn't enough "review" in our reviews. Guess what, it's not going to change.

So that last stress reducer drink didn't quite do the job. I realized the only thing that was going to make me feel better was sitting down with a little Twin Peaks and cracking open an ice cold root beer. A lot of people have been recommending Tower to us, so this seemed like as good a time and any to give it a go.

On first sip I knew this was something good. It had a taste that just let you know that it was brewed and not just flavor syrup. I tasted hints of various herbs. This is not a creamy root beer by any means. As I let each sip sit on my tongue I discovered more and more flavors. Then about halfway down something happened. The root beer started to taste smoky. I don't know how or why it happened, but I had my ladyfriend try it and she noticed it as well. It was interesting to say the least. It took me by shock at first. It was like someone put a couple of drops of liquid smoke in my bottle when I wasn't looking. After I got used to it I really enjoyed it. It made me feel like I was at a bonfire sipping on some quality soda. I imagine this is how root beer tasted to cowboys when they sat around their fires at night on the prairie. Eventually too much smoke would get in their eyes and someone would say, "white rabbit" to set the world right. A white rabbit in a black lodge with Cooper.

I have had some stomach thing. I am not a doctor so I cannot tell you what it is, but after every time I eat, I feel like garbage. I can't eat as much and I need to sit and be quiet or else... I don't know, I feel more sick.

Since only the rich can afford health insurance compounded with the fact that I won't take medicine, I had to take matters into my own hands.

Scouring through my stock, I remembered that I had a hot ginger ale. As we all know, the hotter the ginger ale is, the more natural and good for you it is. I threw this cat in the fridge for a bit, took it out, cracked it open, and took a sip. Hello cured stomach ailments, here we come. Then we had a little bit of a problem. You see, when I read, "hot" I expect HOT. This was more of a sting.

Now, "hot" is a relative term. I am quite accustomed to hot flavors, so although this may be on the lower levels of the ginger beer ladder, it could be too much for, say, a wimp.

Flavor-wise, it's not bad. It has a genuine, earthy ginger flavor that doesn't linger on your tongue. All of the flavors of actual ginger are apparent and the sweetness isn't overpowering.

The Thirsty Dudes crew had to go to Canada to get this Australian treat, even though it says on the bottle that it's available in the US. It was good, but I don't think it's worth a special trip anywhere to try and find.

After the debacle with my last drink I decided I needed something with a redeeming ginger quality. Grown-Up Soda it is! I know Mike isn't a big fan of this product line, but I have enjoyed every flavor that I've tried. I enjoy that they are not as sweet as normal sodas and have a dry taste to them.

This is a ginger ale made with real ginger root extract, not all of that artificial garbage that is in a lot of ginger ales these days. The difference in taste is very apparent. It doesn't have much of a burn, but after you swallow there is a lingering tingle in the back of your throat.

This has potential to get young kids to drink a lot less sugar. Kids are dumb and are easily tricked. Every kid is especially dumb because they want to be adults. Adults know that being a kid is much more enjoyable. So here's how things should go down. Have an adult that the kid looks up to drink these in front of said child. Don't give the kid a drink yet though. Without a doubt the kid will ask what it is. The response should be "This is a soda for adults. Kids aren't allowed to have it. It's a shame because it's really good. Why don't you have one of those Pepsi's over there? I mean it's not as good, but you know it's something." The kid will then beg and plead to have some of this soda that is for grown ups only. Eventually the adult should act like they are reluctantly giving in and giving the kid some. If the kid says that don't like it the adult should say something along the lines of "See I told you. You aren't old enough to enjoy it yet." The kid will invariably go back for more. Then they will want it all the time instead of the carbonated sugar garbage they were drinking. These are the ideas you have when you are a scientist like myself.

It's a funny thing, this world that we know as "the land of sweet tea". It's such an easy thing to make but so many companies just lose mama's recipe and make it up as they go along. Mama wouldn't settle for that and if she knew what you were doing, she'd grab you by the ear and make you clean your room and then maybe wash the car. It's cold outside, too, but you have to learn a lesson, because you went and lost that recipe. Even though mama doesn't use recipes anymore since she's been cooking and baking from heart, but it's the principal of it. Mom never loses a single one of your dirty socks, so you should treat her with some respect and not lose her stuff.

Lipton lost mama's recipe for a long time and then found it and have recently been putting out some actual quality product as of late. Between this and the TrueLeaf they are right back on track. This tea is a decent sweet tea. You get a little of cool/sweetness from the Stevia at the very end, but before that, you've got a mass produced, easily findable, sweet tea with a true lemon flavor.

Let's get one thing straight, though. You will not have better sweet tea than you make yourself or get from an old lady in the South, but we have to deal with whatever we're dealt. A couple companies like True Brew have nailed it, but those dudes are from Texas, and they know what they're doing, too.

Want sweet tea? Try it out. You might be impressed. I was but I drink a lot and with the amount of trash that I ingest, I appreciate large companies thinking before they put out a product.