my friend Michael found this for me right before our NYC root beer quest and presented it to me when we met up at his apartment. i was super excited as i did not even know this existed. i suspect that may be true of many of the extracts or flavor mixes out there.
the bottle and website tout just how organic and natural this is. i admire that, but it usually results in crappy sodas. sure, i would love to have a natural, semi-healthful soda option that taste good, but it just does not happen much. maybe this will be the exception to that rule.
i find it interesting that they use three (3) different sweeteners, agave nectar, evaporated cane syrup (otherwise known as cane sugar) and stevia. now, i have yet to have something good with stevia. agave has a little better track record, but not much. plus it is worse for you than high fructose corn syrup, so i try to avoid it.
with these extract reviews, i feel that i always have to put more than the recommended amount of extract in. here they say to use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of extract for a liter of carbonated water. i used 3/4 cup so far and it seems a bit weak.
this is not the holy grail of natural sodas, i will get that info out of the way first. it is ok, but very natural tasting. which to me, is somewhat herby, somewhat bitter, somewhat sharp. it is not overwhelming in any of these facets, they are in control and keep it from being bad. if you are craving a root beer, this probably won’t fill that desire, but it might fill the desire for a decent drink that is not awful for you. it is pretty light and could be refreshing i think if it lost a little of the sharpness. maybe a bit less extract would solve that, but then the flavor in general would suffer. i can’t say i can taste the ginger but there is a bit of a lemon taste in there. i might mix up some again, but it wouldn’t get it regularly or over other extracts i have had.
Anthony’s Rating: 43
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| Type: | Root Beer | Comes In: | syrup |
| Available: | MA, NY | Obtained in: | from Mike in Brooklyn |
| Head: | Sweetener: | evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, stevia | |
| Calories: | 35 | Sodium: | 0mg |
| Carbs: | 9g | Sugar: | 9g |
| Caffeine: | No | ||
| Website: | http://www.flavrzdrinkmix.com | ||
Ingredients: water, organic agave nectar, organic evaporated cane juice, organic caramel color, organic flavors, organic ginger juice, organic lemon juice concentrate, citric acid and organic stevia rebiana
IMHO, stevia is straight from Hell and it won’t surprise me in the least if (or more likely, when), in the not-to-distant future, it’s learned that it poses health hazards. The extent to which it has been jumped on as being a “healthful” alternative to sugar is nothing short of alarming, especially given its foul taste. AND it gives me a headache.
At least agave is a real sugar (fructose); it’s too fruity for a lot of recipes (including root beer) but it at least tastes real and non-metallic.