Described by the producer as “pure liquid cacao,” Cholaca’s Original variety is a blend of three ingredients: water, fair trade cacao and organic fair trade coconut sugar. Designed with the intention of being used as either a shot or in another drink (e.g. milk or coffee), the flavor of the product is intense but enjoyable, even when consumed straight.
Marketed as "the first kombucha producer in the nation's capital," Capital Kombucha is a brand that we first encountered at the 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show. Based in Washington, D.C., the brand comes in nine varieties, each packaged in 12 oz. glass bottles. For us, simplicity in formulation and design struck a chord... and quenched our thirst.
Kobikaya is a vitamin-enhanced coffee drink that is mocha-flavored and sweetened with sugar. The liquid inside the can is a pretty typical tasting mocha latte, with the milk, sugar, and mocha flavor providing the majority of what hits your palate.
Dirty Lemon Raw Detox is, as the name suggests, a cleanse-focused product. Sold direct-to-consumer, the beverage, which is high pressure processed, is made with water, cold-pressed lemon juice, dandelion root extract, ginger root extract and activated charcoal.
It’s a mainstream flavor, which is a good thing considering it is being launched at Kroger, and very drinkable, with a sweet taste profile that feels as though it was designed with the iced tea drinker rather than the coconut water drinker in mind.
Using the same bottle and one-color label style seen in dozens of cold brew products, it’s hard to look at CAFF -- which is definitely a great tasting beverage -- and not have the feeling that you are looking at something that’s a commodity product.
With both a unique value proposition and package type, HFACTOR is an innovative approach to the packaged water category. The product is formulated with molecular hydrogen gas dissolved into water and packaged into an 8 oz. pouch commonly used for dry packaged snacks.
Happy Tree Maple Water’s Lemon variety is a two-ingredient blend of organic maple water and organic lemon juice. Rather than tasting like lemon-flavored maple water, the product tastes like a pretty well-executed lemonade.
Bottled soups have emerged as a noteworthy trend in recent months, and among a handful seen at the recently held 2015 Summer Fancy Food Show was Splendid Spoon. Based in Brooklyn, the company produces a range of plant-based soups -- including a vegan bone broth -- that are cooked, packaged in 16 oz. bottles and promoted as a "drinkable soup cleanse."
Venice Cold Brew is a product is made with direct trade coffee beans, which are steeped in natural spring water for 12 hours. The company triple-filters the liquid and bottles it. The end result is strong, but smooth, and compared with the rest of the cold brew category, the flavor is definitely up there with the best of them.
Pressed Juicery recently added a couple of 2 oz. shot products to its portfolio of cold-pressed juices. The Vitality Shot and Wellness Shot are both flavorful, and we like that the company uses a square-shaped 2 oz. bottle, which creates visual continuity with the rest of the brand.
Teonic is a brand of 100 percent organic, unsweetened herbal teas. Packaged in 8 oz. apothecary-style glass bottles, Teaonic comes in a number of function-focused varieties, such as "I Love My Liver" and "I Love My Skin." For us, the overly functional and preachy vibe of the labels is slightly off putting, especially because what's inside the bottle is flavorful and tasty.
Produced in Vermont, Purify Juice is a cold-pressed, high processed juice brand. In our review of three of its varieties, we appreciate the minimalist quality of the labels, but feel that a bit more information about the ingredients and a nutrition facts panel is needed.
Temple Turmeric recently added a new mainstream-oriented line of turmeric-infused beverages that are feature a lower calorie and sugar count than its primary offerings. Described as “fully-functional thirst-quenchers,” Temple Turmeric's Super Lights beverages come in three approachable flavor varieties: Hibiscus Berry-Ade, Lemon Ginger-Ade and Strawberry Lemon-Ade.
