No Sugar Added - 718 Reviews

I took a little break from reviewing Polar's summer flavors, because let's be honest, as great as they are there really isn't much to say. Sure I could tell a story about a family of polar bears who each have very specifically flavored saliva and how a New England company offered them bundles of cash and fish to have exclusive access to their mouth juice in order to flavor there beverages, but we all know that story like we know about the birth of Christ. Instead I will just say that this is my favorite of the 2018 Summer limited edition. It's got berries and it's got citrus, and both turned out well, without a hint of bear spit. The flavors taste as true as can be in a seltzer and I have downed far too many liters of it over the past month.

It's been so very hot and so very humid in the world. Working in my shop it's probably at least 10-15 degrees hotter than it is outside. There is only so much water a human can drink when it seems to instantly sweat out of one's skin. Sure, I switch it up with unsweetened tea and seltzer, but neither tends to be very hydrating. This though, this was just the treat I needed. At just 11oz it refreshed and hydrated me more than a jug of water three times that size could have and it did it with style. This is more delicious than I ever could have imagined it being. This is a sparkling pina colada done in a way that I would consider right. Everything is in a perfect balance with the fruit juice making it slightly sweet. It tastes like fruit and coconuts (which some consider a fruit) and not just a syrupy overly sweet mess. I can't express enough just how hydrating this was and being sparkling gave it a little pizazz to spice up my day. This is going to be a regular for me this summer I can tell you that already.

Whenever a company sends us water to review I always find myself at a loss. Sure, water from different parts of the county/world have slightly different tastes, but I really have no idea how to describe the differences. My palate surely is not sophisticated enough to be able to distinguish which states use fluoride and to what extent, or what minerals are more prevalent in one town that another. I will say there is a noticeable difference in waters that are pH balanced, they are somehow smoother and more enjoyable for me. Mineral water can have a distinct taste and what we have here is a mineral water, but it doesn't taste like the carbonated versions I have drunk in the past. Maybe the bubbles embellish the flavor. To me this tastes like a nice clean, smooth water. There is nothing more I could say to give it a better review. That is what I want out of water, and that is what it delivers. Sure, the company claims that it can be used as an antioxidant, energy booster, muscle rejuvenation, and that it slows aging, but I certainly can't tell if any of those things are true. I hope they are. I hope this is the healthiest thing you could ever possibly drink, because I find it refreshing and what more could I ask from water. My one complaint is that the cap does not reseal well, but at 300mL why should I have to reseal it?

Lemon lime is a pretty standard flavor that I'm sure most of us can do a memory recall for at any moment. Now flip that memory. No longer does the lemon have the wheel. In this beverage it's the lime that is steering the ship and its terrified sidekick is screaming because lime is taking the corners way too fast on these mountains roads, and is that screaming it hears from the trunk? Yes, there is very obviously an extra passenger on this wild ride and it goes by the name Chromium Picolinate. It gives this “safe” flavor a little something underneath that just doesn't taste quite right. In fact it might be this little stowaway that has gotten lime all amped up and wants it to be something it is not (along with being the factor that handles sugar spikes after meals). It's a familiar taste that I can't exactly pinpoint, but it sure is distracting. It falls somewhere between a diet taste and the flavor of fruit rind. I don't' get it, and I'm not a huge fan. Someone needs to get lime into a meeting so he can kick its habit and go back to be its regular awesome self.

This beverage was developed to help those who have normal blood sugar levels handle the sugar spike after a meal. No disrespect meant to the company but is that really necessary? In my nearly 39 years of existence I don't believe I have ever noticed such a thing happening to me. So, I guess if it does happen, it has zero effect on my life. Perhaps other people have a real problem with this, but if they do I am in the dark about it. The only times I ever hear the words blood, sugar and level in the same sentence is either talking about someone with diabetes, or someone is making an excuse for them acting like a jerk. Perhaps I live a sheltered life in this regard and there are millions of people out there who spike after eating and they have some adverse reaction. If those people are out there this compound of amino-acids and chromium that was developed in Sweden is here to help them out.

Since it's sparkling and unsweetened this tastes like a nice seltzer with a little something extra around the edges. Mostly it just tastes like orange mango sparkling water. I'm enjoying it for the taste if not for the intended effects. Chromium Picolinate is the only ingredient listed that I have never heard of. It apparently has use in diabetes and is also used for weight loss. Here it is just meant to help control ones blood sugar. See I learn things from the beverage world that I would probably never encounter otherwise.

For years one of the things I have wanted most out of the beverage world was a Polar cucumber seltzer. Sure some other companies made them to varying degrees of wonderfulness, but I really wanted it from Polar, so it would be readily available in large quantities and be inexpensive. This summer my dreams were finally answered, and I thought I was getting an added bonus with the melon tacked on. A nice cucumber honeydew (or cantaloupe) combination is hard to beat in my world. The thing is that Polar went with a different melon, one that never tastes right in any form other than eating the melon itself. This is an approximation of cucumber and watermelon. While the cucumber taste in here is spot on and wonderful, the watermelon has that inevitable Jolly Rancher flavor to it. I don't know why it is impossible to capture the true flavor of watermelon but it plagues humanity. This is still good, due to the lack of sugar the fake watermelon flavor is passable. Next year, let's step up the game Polar, how about going with one of the other melons I mentioned, or even just straight cucumber. I bet it would be a best seller (if not from sales to me alone). While you're at it, how about putting the vanilla in cans as well? Or maybe a vanilla-pineapple mix-up. What this isn't a pitch meeting? My bad,

After trying the strawberry I had high hopes for the other Bubbly flavors. That one strength to its flavor that you don't find in every seltzer. This grapefruit one is a dime a dozen (or 99 cents a bottle). It tastes like every other grapefruit seltzer I have had in my time walking this planet. That's not a bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit more pizazz. I wanted to feel like I was eating breakfast at a cabin in the woods and for some reason I thought citrus was the proper food. I don't know why my brain associates those things. It is a weird place to live. This tastes like grapefruit, but not so much that it makes your face scrunch up that so badly want it to do.

Summertime in Seltzerville in 2018 is very similar to that of last year. Most of the limited edition Polar flavors are slight twists on last year's flavors, while others such as this Raspberry Rose have just been brought back in the same form for summer consumption. I have no idea how we did not review this one last year. I guess it was when Mike and I were in a slump and were just burned out with doing Thirsty Dudes. Whatever the reason we missed it, and we apologize.

I am a bit surprised that this is the only returning flavor, as it was probably my least favorite of the 2017 line (I drank far too much of the mango berry). This is essentially a unsweetened , non-alcoholic wine spritzer. It's not something I would normally drink. It's lighter in flavor than normal Polar flavors. It also has an undertone that I will attribute to the fake wine aspect. I don't really know if that is true, because wine seems like the grossest thing to me. It just smells like rot to me. This isn't really a beverage for me, but friends who tried this, who enjoy wine said that it's pretty fantastic, so don't take my word on anything.

The weather has finally broke and it's been plain warm out. The sun is shining down the trees are sprouting leaves and I'm sitting on my back porch hanging with my new puppy and sipping on this can of seltzer'ade. Oh yeah, The artist formerly known as Editor Dan is also with me, encouraging my pup to be the jerk he kind of already is. He's a bad friend I tell ya. The only reason I mention this poor influence is that he tried this beverage and instantly proclaimed that it tasted like lemon Pez. He's not too far off base. It's not exact, but I see where he's coming from. I have no idea if this tastes like actual starfruit, because I haven't tasted one in over a decade. I can say that it is fruity and refreshing, and that I would be enjoying it a lot more if I didn't have to worry about this dog doing something stupid, like dig a giant hole in my lawn…€¦..too late.

Pea and rice are my favorite protein sources when it comes to powders. To me they taste the best and I don't feel gross drinking something that comes from an animal. For the record milk has grossed me out since I was a kid and I will never get over thinking about what it actually is, and how unbelievably unnatural it seems for one species to drink another species milk.

Anyway, this is made from peas, and just peas. Guess what, it tastes like peas. If you use water as a mixer it can be a little bitter. I tried it with water as well as almond milk, and I enjoyed the later much more. Listen, I know mushy peas are the worst vegetable on the Thanksgiving table, but they are much better in this form. It's the texture that makes them gross. I swear. Just buy something like this instead of whey protein, you'll feel better about your choice.

It's that time of year again and the limited edition summer line by Polar is finally here. I have been checking the grocery store for weeks and it has paid off, as there are some new flavors this time around that definitely got me excited.

Pineapple is one of the greatest fruits we have discovered on this vast planet. Sure if you eat too much it can be painful. I once ate an entire pineapple, by self, in one sitting and it made my tongue bleed. Citrus can be a harsh mistress, but the taste makes it worth it. That side of this twist is fantastic. I'm not exactly sure who got away with pitching adding lemon to it though. Lemon is a budget flavoring and I feel that as humans we can move past it for the most part. I'm sure it was proposed as pineapple lemonade, which would have been incredible. That belongs in their Seltzerade line though, as here the flavor doesn't have the punch it needs to be classified as a lemonade. A pineapple lime would have been nice. I would have loved to have gotten a pineapple-apple seltzer, as the name would make me laugh every time I poured a glass. My number one choice would have been pineapple vanilla though. I've made it on my own and it's delicious.

As it stands this is fairly tasty and I went through the bottle quick. I just feel there are better potential pairings out there that were missed out on.

When you live in a country where more and more people are finally starting to become health conscious eventually seltzer water is going to come into the mainstream. I'm not saying that it used to be a underground phenomenon. It's not like it's the mid 80's and Dischord is at the forefront of the DC punk scene. It just wasn't something that was everywhere with tons of people drinking it. I've been seeing a lot of ads for Bubbly around lately. Something about the design work made me think of generic store brand and I didn't hold much hope for greatness. I finally grabbed this today when I was thirsty, on the run, and not looking for sugar. While it's not mind-blowing and bursting with flavor in a way that makes you question if there is secretly sugar involved in some way, but it is very good. The strawberry is subtle, yet present. I'm aware of the contradiction there. It's just that it's not really there while you mull over the flavor in your mouth, but the second you swallow it's strawberry town. Maybe strawberry-ville? Well, it's certainly more than the hamlet of strawberry. Whatever, it's tasty and tastes as much like strawberries as you possibly could without it being sweet. With a price point a bit higher than my standby Polar, I don't know if I could buy a case to grab on the go, but I would certainly grab these again from gas stations while I'm out and about. Sometimes the increased quality just does not justify the increase in price, well at least for me, but I'm cheap.

I will finally acknowledge that I am an adult. I am responsible. I take care of my bills on time. I no longer have the time for drama and nonsense in my life. Most importantly I don't need to ingest mass amounts of sugar. For a couple of years now I have been riding the seltzer train. At first it was a little hard going, but I soon completely latched on. Sure, there are times where I do have a sugar craving, or a certain type of beverage won't leave my brain. Sometimes I give in and give myself a treat. Others I fill the gap with something somewhat similar but healthier. Now I am a fool for blood orange anything. It's the superior citrus fruit in my world, and I can't get enough of it. When I saw that Polar expanded their Seltzer'ade line and it included a Blood Orange Lemonade, I couldn't get a case into my cart fast enough. Sometimes things just can't match the expectations that form in your head though. While this is quite tasty, it is by no means a replacement for a good blood orange Italian soda. It is a flavor that needs a little sugar to be enhanced. As I said this is very good, but it may be the lightest flavored of this line that I have tried. If this was as strong as the mango one I would have a new beverage of the summer. As it stands I don't know how often I would get it as it leaves me wanting.

As someone who drinks dairy extremely rarely, I have to say this really grossed me out. I can't tell you when the last time I took a sip of cow's milk was. If I had to guess I would say at least 15 years. Sure I've eaten my fair share of ice cream since then, but there is something very different about drinking dairy. Oh did I also mention that I only like mozzarella cheese and all other types also gross me out? I say that because this tastes like it was half frothy milk and half some weird liquefied cheese that I would never eat in its solid form. This is grass fed whey protein that is derived from goat's milk. I've never had goats milk before and I'm guessing I would not enjoy it. I could have told you that before I tried this. Having that made into a powdered protein is even less appealing. I'm sure there are people out there who would be really into it, but I am most definitely not one of them. I will stick with pea and rice proteins.

Vegan protein powders are surprisingly on the rise. I've been seeing a bunch of them that are mostly made from pea protein. They are also normally flavored (chocolate or vanilla) and sweetened with stevia. I could definitely do without the last part. I would rather no sweetener in the protein shake than have that flavor lingering around. Naked decided to go in a different direction and made this out of brown rice protein. Keeping true to their name there is also no other added ingredients in here. It's simply 25g of rice protein. It also just tastes like watered down brown rice. That sounds bad, but it's fairly pleasant. This is a natural, vegan protein supplement that I can get behind. Death to zero calorie sweeteners.

I called this house meeting because I believe someone has been snooping around my room when I'm not home. My reasoning for this is that someone has obviously been reading my dream journal and then selling the information to the various companies that it would benefit. I mean how else would anyone know that perhaps the product I want most in life to exist is a hibiscus yerba mate seltzer? Yet here I sit with a bottle of Sound in front of me. Yes, I know they mean for it to be more of a sparkling tea, but in my world if it's carbonated with no sugar, it's a seltzer. I also see that they have somehow improved on my dreams and added lime and lemon to the mix. If I weren't so furious that one of you has been going through my things I could weep with happiness. This is one of the most wonderful tasting things I have ever experienced. It's a mixture of yerba mate, white tea and guayusa that has some hibiscus flowers brewed with it. The whole thing tastes like a slightly floral yerba mate with just a twist of citrus. It's obvious that if any company had made it this far into such a wonderful product they would knock it down a few pegs by adding some sugar, or…€¦ick…€¦stevia. Here it sits though, completely unsweetened, just like I always dreamed. You two have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do, especially since you are both cats and I don't know how you even read my journal.

Dear Tiesta Tea, I love you. We have a problem though. This is the same problem that I'm sure exists in many a bottled coffee drinkers relationships. You are truly delicious, but your price point is fairly high for something that I can approximate at home for a much lower cost. Sure it takes time and preparation, but at any given time I have a container of brewed tea just waiting for me in my fridge, and yes I have upgraded and I make it with loose leaf tea that has bits of fruit in it. Like you, Tiesta, it is delicious and I love to sip it on nearly any occasion for pennies on the dollar. I understand that not everyone takes the time to prepare like I do, and that you have your place. I mean even as I write this I am completely aware that I will buy more bottles of you in the future. Hell, if you were available in gas stations and mini marts that I frequent, I'm sure I would get lazy and get you on the regular, as you are a wonderful thing.

Let me say it's me and not you. Taste-wise I don't know what else you could do to improve. You are a high quality black tea that is brewed with pieces of apple, papaya, mango, orange, pomegranate, marigold pedals, and guava. You went as far as to add guava and that takes a special type of dedication. You truly are thinking of me and are trying to win my heart all for your own. Your unsweetened tropical fruity goodness tickles my taste buds in a way that I don't think the majority of Americans would honestly appreciate as much as they should. You taste like tea was meant to be made, in that you taste like tea and not sweetener. Perhaps I should just shut up with my complaints and love you for what you are; a near perfect tea. Perfection comes with a price and I should be happy to pay it. I'm a fool Tiesta, please take me back.

I was dreading this for the following reasons. Nitro coffee murders my nerves. Other people's cold brew murders my nerves. Unsweetened coffee is unpalatable to me. Three good reasons, right? Well this is either really good coffee or I'm used to it. I'm slanting a little towards the former than the latter.

This was good. You could taste the roast of the beans and it wasn't terribly strong. I'm feeling it in my fingers as I mash these keys faster than my mind can function but I don't have so much extra energy that my body is contorting into shapes that are foreign to the limbs performing the actions.

As a coffee, it's fairly straightforward. No extra spices or flavors, just black coffee. I would say, "no frills" but to make coffee this decent takes skill in itself. Known coffee disliker me had no problem drinking a third of the can which, for no reason other I don't want to visit the moon today, is all I will be drinking. Whatever happens to the dude that drinks the other 2/3 of it, well, I'm not his dad. He can do what he wants. Maybe he'll get a million energies and go build a gazebo or something. Just be safe, man. It's slurring my keys like someone replaced the coffee with coffee-flavored alcohol. Drunk gazeboing cannot be a good idea. Speed squares and measurements will earn a better result than "the quickness."

Oh, a mango and chia probiotic smoothie. That sounds pleasant enough. Wait, the base of this is cashew milk? That sounds a bit odd, but I'm willing to give it a try, I mean I really like almond milk.
*one spit take later*
Okay, I was wrong that is not what I want to taste. I still think I would like cashew milk on its own. Hell, I think I would probably even like it if it were just that and mango juice. It might be a little weird, but I have a ghost vision of it on my taste buds and it's not bad. The problem lies with one, some or all of the other ingredients. I'm looking at you orange juice, dates, lemon juice, and bacillus coagulans GB1-30 6086 whatever you are (it's a probiotic strain). In your ranks is the think that makes this taste very vegetable juice like and not like something I want to drink at all. It tastes like it's the gross beverage that I would have to force myself to drink on a juice cleanse. Lucky for me I'm not cleansing and I don't have to force anything. Wait, why did I just chug the whole thing then?

Have the tides changed for taste buds? Have I just been told what to like and accepted it? I never used to like seltzer until a couple of years ago, then I tried the Polar vanilla and my life changed. It seemed around that time, or shortly after, that new brands started popping up and it started showing up more places. Was that all coincidence, or were darker forces at work? I mean I'm all for dark forces if they are working to make people consume healthier things. I would just like to know if my thoughts are my own. Let's be honest here, seltzer is the new iteration of the pomegranate phase. It's everywhere and no one really remembers asking for it, but we enjoy it. Whatever, It's zero sugar and it has bubbles to scratch my throat. I'm on board.

I had never heard of the Cabo company until I came across a four-pack of these cans on sale for one dollar. That's not a deal you pass up. The grapefruit flavoring is on the lighter side of a bunch of other companies I have tried similar products of, but there is a vague almost floral taste that lays underneath it. It's makes it a more unique flavor, but keeps it refreshing. Everything about this carbonated bottle is fairly laid back, just like I imagine a vacation would be in the tourist haven of Mexico. Man, that sounds horrible. I simply do not do well with laid back and relaxing. I need to always be on the move. How about you go to Cabo and I'll head to Mexico City and we can exchange stories afterwards. I'll be the one covered in sticky mango juice from eating three times my body weights' worth.