Reviews

As reported last week by BevNET, Starbucks has launched a new four-SKU line of blended coffee and milk drinks. While we applaud the company for finally coming out with an…

As the hangover recovery category continues to expand, more companies are touting unique ingredients and packaging to attract new consumers to the space. Life Support is one of those companies.…

And the cold brew coffee train keeps a rollin' with the launch of Secret Squirrel. The company produces a cold brew coffee concentrate made with organic and Fair Trade coffee beans that are roasted and brewed in Los Angeles. From our perspective, the execution both inside and outside the bottle is top notch.

Rock Melon is a new all-natural cantaloupe juice beverage made with water, cantaloupe puree, sugar, and natural flavor. While the product is enjoyable from a taste perspective, but we have to wonder about the marketability of a cantaloupe drink, not to mention one with a rather high calorie and sugar count per serving.

Based in Northern California, Urban Remedy is a company that produces a line of organic, handcrafted juice cleanses and meal replacement products. Billed as "nutrient-rich drinks and snacks to amplify health and mind," we sampled six varieties of Urban Remedy and had mixed reviews on the products, which ranged from excellent to not-so-great.

Teas' Tea Plus is a line of "Half & Half" style teas that are made with a base of green tea. The drinks - sweetened with a blend of sugar and stevia - clock in 50 calories per serving (100 per bottle), and are quite enjoyable from a taste standpoint. However, in terms of branding and packaging, we feel like the brand should be further developed to make the product seem more exciting.

Carbonated coffee is a concept that has been tried and - for a number of reasons - gained little traction in the marketplace. So we have to wonder about the viability of Perk!, a new zero-calorie sparkling iced coffee. While the taste of the product is fine, its branding and packaging need work, likely making the product an even tougher sell for consumers.

While most carbonated soft drinks face a decline in demand, a range of new and innovative of boutique and gourmet sodas has elicited renewed appeal in the category. One such brand is Brooklyn Soda Works, and in our review of two of its offerings, Root Beer and Apple and Ginger Carbonated Fresh Juice, we feel that the company has done an excellent job in formulation and packaging.

When the original Coco Cafe variety came out, we knew that we were witnessing something that could take the RTD coffee category by storm. The product was simple in flavor, but super timely and innovative in its use of coconut water. However, there was a big question mark: how would they add additional flavors to the line? The answer is finally here as the brand recently introduced Mocha and Vanilla varieties, one of which garnered a rare five-star rating...

In a world where beverages are pretty much all about providing some sort of value add (in addition to flavor and refreshment), it’s always interesting to see a product that’s going in the other direction. And that’s how we’d sum up this product, Diet Double Cola, which, being a diet cola, is a product that’s about as pedestrian as it gets.

Slingshot Cold Brew is one of the few cold brewed coffee companies that market both ready to drink and concentrate products. Slingshot is also one of the only coffee brands that changes up its formulation from batch to batch with its use seasonally available coffee beans, making it difficult to offer a consistent review of what's inside the bottle. That being said, it is a high quality product with excellent branding.

For many of the raw cold-pressed juice brands that are coming to market, nut milks are becoming a standard part of the lineup. While several brands have taken these formulations and turned them into smoothies, Life Juice has kept it simple with its offering, Spiced Almond Milk.

COGO, a new line of coconut milk smoothies, was the runner-up in New Beverage Showdown 4 at BevNET Live Winter 12. In our review of the two of COGO’s four…

Honest Tea recently launched Honest Fizz, a line of zero-calorie sodas. The four-SKU line, which uses stevia and erythritol as sweeteners, impressed the panel with formulations that showcase full flavors…