Soda Pop! Jones Soda Crema De Pina

What:  Pineapple Cream Soda

Where:  Jones is based in Canada but I think these are the Mexican/Latin American varieties.

Why Should I Care:  I freaking love Jones Soda.  Not only do they have some really unique flavors, but they also use real cane sugar.  I mean, Pineapple isn't that exciting (it is, but I've seen other sodas with that same flavor), but I think Jones is the company that made apple soda popular in Pittsburgh.  Plus they have flavors like Berry Lemonade, Bubblegum and Fufu Berry (which is a mix of strawberry and raspberry).  However, I don't really know what to expect with this one.  It's not that I dislike cream soda or pineapple, but is it going to have that same bite that pineapple does?  Is it going to be too sweet?  Is their coconut in it?

Packaging:  It's in an awesome glass bottle with someone's photo on the front.  The caps have a saying on them too.

Non-Taste Senses:  It's bright yellow and it smells like pineapple candy

Taste:  So, this tastes like a really smooth pineapple soda.  It has the perfect amount of fizz (fizzy but not bitey), it's not too sweet and the pineapple flavor focuses on the sweet as opposed to the sour.  There is a bit of a cream soda base to it, but that mostly helps with the smoothness and if you dislike cream soda, you probably wouldn't even notice it.

Overall:  So, I'm honestly a little surprised at how good this is.  I love Jones Soda but the whole creamy pineapple seemed a bit iffy.  But Jones passed with flying colors.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.  They also have all kinds of other stuff like submitting your photos for them to put on their bottles and random special editions.

TasTEA Time! Snapple Refreshing Green Tea

What:  Canned Green Tea

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  Oh canned tea.  You're big, you're cheap and you're usually not very good.  There's very few teas in this catagory that use real tea and don't use HFCS (Peace Tea being one of the exceptions).  Now, despite my dislike in the previous Snapple products, the regular green tea was a staple of my lunch when I used to work at Shop and Save.  Plus this is slightly smaller and cheaper than the average.

Packaging:  It's a can on green tea.  It's can, it has a suggested price for it (79 cents, I paid 50).

Non-Taste Senses:  It smells like green tea and it's that yellowish color

Taste:  You can still taste the preservatives, but it's not as bad as Arizona or Brisk.  For the most part, its a fairly generic but moderately sweetened green tea.  Unfortunately, Snapple uses High Fructose Corn Syrup in this which is strange since Snapple uses real cane sugar in everything else.

Overall:  It's a little better than Arizona in that they use real tea but honestly, there's nothing to recommend here.  I'm actually a little surprised that I've given most of the Snapple stuff a pass because I buy Snapple stuff more often than most of the other tea brands.  Eh, better luck next time.

My Rating:  Pass.  

Soda Pop! Cascal Fine Dark

What:  Fermented Soda with hints of Malt and Honey

Where:  California

Why Should I Care:  So, I got a four-pack of this (and the apple one) when it was almost expired.  That was about four months ago.  Granted, I had this back then and I hope the only thing that has changed is that there's less carbonation.  Cascal is a soda that tastes very simular to a wine except it's non-alcoholic and doesn't have the sweetness of sparkling juices.  I actually do enjoy these in between teas for those reasons although the new ones drop the ball by adding Stevia to it (which leaves an aftertaste as opposed to leaving a nice clean palate).  So, what do I think about the Fine Dark with its hints of Malt and Honey (more of a beer rip-off than wine but I actually prefer a good beer to cheap wine).

Packaging: It's in a glass bottle, adding to the sophistication.  It also has a twist-off cap.

Non-Taste Senses:  It's kind of this dark amber/light brown color with a slight murkiness to the liquid.  You can smell the honey pretty strongly

Taste:  I'd like to say it's aged to perfection, but it really could use a bit more carbonation.  I'm actually a huge fan of the mixture of honey and malt, which gives it a slightly heartier taste while still having a lightness with the carbonation.  Also, this tastes so much better without the Stevia.  It's still sweet but it's not overly sweet.  If you're going to serve it (especially if it's four months past expiration), you need to serve it cold.

Overall:  Why'd you have to get rid of this flavor, Cascal?  It's good and I highly recommend people try it if you can find it somehow.  Or write them and tell them to bring it back.  I can't recommend this for everyone, but it's pretty fantastic.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site!

Review! Snapple Kiwi Strawberry

What:  Kiwi Strawberry drink

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  Strawberry Kiwi is one of the most typical, generic flavor combinations out there.  It's safe, you're probably going to get the same flavor profile as you expect to get and it's ubiquitous.  Again, this is something that has been sitting in my refrigerator for several weeks and I know that if I don't get rid of it somehow, it's going to stay there forever.  So yeah, here we are.

Packaging:  Pretty much just a generic glass bottle

Non-taste Senses:  It's pink and it smells like strawberry.

Taste:  It's pretty much what you expect from a strawberry kiwi drink.  For those of you who've never had a strawberry kiwi drink, it's about 40% strawberry, 20% kiwi and 40% sugar (these values are estimates and may change from product to product, although that's unlikely).  It's way too sweet and despite claims of juice, I've seen sodas that I consider healthier.  It does have a hint of juice though, which is more than I can say about brands like Minute Maid, and I don't hate the flavor combination.

Overall:  I understand why people like Strawberry Kiwi stuff.  It's relatively familiar, sweet and has a hint of the exotic.  Do I care for it (in drink form)?  No.  Do I recommend this to people who don't care for SK?  Not really.

My Rating:  Pass.  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Peace tea Imported Ceylon Tea

What:  Cheap tea

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  Because it's 99 cents and has real sugar and tea.  Really that's it.  I forgot to make a pot of tea in the morning and made some coffee instead but being the addict that I am, I needed to get some tea from the 7/11 by school.  Peace Tea is particularly nice if only because it is the same price as Arizona but actually has sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Packaging:  It's the same type and size can as Arizona but has more hippies on the front (and sides)

Non-Taste Senses:  Looks like tea and smells like tea

Taste:  I actually like it more than Snapple (which is more expensive).  It's not great, the tea is a bit weak and the clarity of Ceylon doesn't come through that well but it tastes like real tea and it tastes like real sugar (the fake stuff tends to taste a bit more syrup-y and has this weird aftertaste).  It's a touch too sweet but I like my things less sweet than more and it doesn't need watered down like Snapple does.

Overall:  Comparing it to Arizona, this is why Peace Tea is better:
-Real Tea
-Real Sugar
-Funky Can
-Just as big and cheap
So there you go

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Grand Ma Ma's Sweet Southern Tea

What:  Sweet Tea that tastes just like your gran-mama made!

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  Despite it being 15 degrees outside, I feel the need to purge my fridge of drinks.  This particular brand is brought to us from 2 time NBA Allstar Larry Johnson, which means absolutely nothing to me.  I have heard good things about Jerome Bettis' restaurant and....some other athlete's hot sauce (sports is not my forte), so maybe this'll be awesome!

Packaging:  Grandma?!  Is that really you!  Actually, my grandma (both of them) never made sweet southern tea so I can't really say anything about that.  Oh wait, this is packaging.  It's a plastic bottle with a nice picture of Larry Johnson's feisty looking grandmama.  I actually really like this design on it.

Non-taste Senses:  It looks like strong tea and it smells really strong.

Taste:  First off, sweet tea isn't my thing.  It's supposed to be really strong tea with a buttload of sugar and honestly, I don't like neither of those things.  That being said, I can tell that if you do like sweet tea then you would like this.  It's insanely sweet but the tea is a decent quality and very strongly brewed without a bitter taste.   It also uses real sugar!

Overall:  I'm not planning on buying it again but I didn't think it was bad.  Too sweet, yes but if you want your sweet tea in a jiffy, this happens to be a good option.

My Rating:  Try it!  You would think that this drink would have a website but no.  So yeah.

Starbucks Frappuccino Mint Mocha

What:  Mint coffee

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  This was something else that I just found in my fridge that has been there since September or something.  Now, the difference between this and the Snapple is that this has milk in it and although the expiration date says February 20, 2012, I'd rather drink it sooner than later.  Starbucks drinks tend to be below average taste for an above-average price and mint X coffee seems a bit...iffy.

Packaging:  Again, I like the mini-milk bottle.

Non-Taste Senses:  It looks like coffee and it smells minty.

Taste:  If you're not a fan of coffee but you love Thin Mints, check out this drink.  It's minty with a hint of chocolate and that whole coffee thing is more of an aftertaste (I don't even taste it at all but it does make your breath smell bad).  I actually really enjoy it especially for breakfast or whenever you want a coffee treat.

Overall:  I like it.  I wish they made this a regular edition as opposed to just some random thing they get once in a while.  For on the go or just even as a treat, check it out.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Don't know if this has the iced drinks, but here's the Starbucks shop.  They look like they have some nice cups too (that are probably at a ridiculous price).