Kool-Aid Burstin' Waters Tropical Rain

Not to be confused with Capri Sun's Roarin' Waters (also made by Kraft Foods Group) this is Kool-Aid's take at flavored waters for children.

They're most similar to Kool-Aid Bursts, which have the same packaging, but are 100 calories per bottle versus 35 for the Burstin' Waters. It just means that Bursts have more sugar and no sucralose because, otherwise, the ingredient list is about identical.

We can get into a history of Kool-Aid when we start mixing the powders at some point in the future. For now, let's just get to the tasting.

Presentation/Appearance - 3/10 Tropical Rain has no color. The drink comes in 100ml plastic bottles with the twist off tops. The bottle is made of low density polyethylene (LDPE, code 4) which makes the bottle soft enough to squeeze. Unfortunately, the bottle is not readily recyclable in most communities. This seems to be wasteful. But I don't know the cost differences for other types of plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PETE, code 1) which is far more common but might not lend itself to an easy twist off cap.

Nose/Aroma - 4/10 Okay, I am getting hints (power of suggestion) of rain in the nose. But it could also be the scent of Barbie perfume or another inexpensive eau de toilette.

Taste/Flavor - 5/10 Maybe this speaks well for sucralose, but it does takes like sugar water, though with no distinct flavor. Tropical Rain smacks of a flavor caused by a mistake in the natural and artificial flavor recipes, or a botched shipment from the flavor company, or some other failure of food design. "Hey, what does this taste like to you?" "Ah, nothing, really." "What was it supposed to be?" "Tropical punch, but there's no pineapple." "There's nothing. Wait. Maybe there's...ah...papaya?" "Yeah, let's sell papaya flavored water to kids."

Finish/Satisfaction - 4/10 It serves its purpose as a purveyor of sweet flavor, but it doesn't do much else. 100ml of any fluid would never satisfy me when I was a kid. We drank our soda pop from 16 oz glass bottles that were scratched and chipped from being returned and reused. We drank our water, unfiltered, straight from the garden hose. These types of drinks would have been met with indifference by me and my friends, not even deserving of our scorn.

Overall - 4.45/10 Shortly after I mention that all the drinks seem to be above average, we get to sample the unfortunately named "Burstin' Waters" mediocrity. This is not even as good as the score. Calling it average sullies the good name of the commonplace. Why do this to your kids? Why put it in packaging that isn't readily recycled? This bottle cost about $0.17. Seventeen cents. A six pack for $1.00. You can bet that the target market for this are kids that have even less of a need to consume a drink such as this. There is no redeeming nutritional value.

I'm unhappy with this drink, despite the Mr. Kool-Aid guy having a blast on the label.

How do we stop this stuff from being sold? The customer service number on the package is 800-367-9225. I'll be posting the call and the feedback over on this blog's sister site: Solicited Feedback.

Radenska Classic

I am not an expert on any of the beverage styles that I review here. I know a bit about beer, I guess, and maybe regular colas, but that's about it.

Waters, though, of all the categories, have me most concerned. How, with my so-so palate, do I discern differences in waters? What is a good tasting water? There are experts out there, but I wanted to rely on my own impressions for this blog.

So, for $3, I picked up a 1.5 liter bottle of naturally sparkling mineral water. From Slovenia. Called Radenska Classic. Apparently, the three hearts logo is well known throughout Europe.

And, Radenci, a town in northeast Slovenia, is very famous for its natural spas. Having tried the water from Hot Springs, Arkansas, and finding it to be quite tasty, I figured this water would be different enough from regular bottled water to be a reasonable place to start.

Presentation/Appearance - 7/10 It looks like...water. But it comes in this distinctive tall recyclable plastic bottle. I can easily fit this in a refrigerator. Its height might be an issue for some spaces, but it is no taller than a wine or beer bottle. Compared to fat bottomed juice bottles, this is a welcome style.

Nose/Aroma - 6/10 Clean, with no chemical smells. However, I'm not smelling anything earthy or minerally. No limestone or stone of any kind in the nose.

Taste/Flavor - 7/10 Mild effervescence. Now the stony cleanness comes through in the taste, very strong. No added carbonation to ruin it, either. This is a refreshing water. It isn't one you would guzzle after extended physical activity. Drink it at your leisure.

Finish/Satisfaction - 8/10 The finish is long for this water, with a calcium powder finish. A dry water? Yeah, I think so.

Overall - 7.15/10 More than a serviceable replacement for soft drinks, tonics, and club sodas. The Radenska website recommends using this as a mixer, not just with cocktails, but also to cut the strength of juices. That sounds like a sound recommendation.

A fine start to the line of waters. They won't all be this good. I've noticed that all of the drinks have been above average so far. That makes sense. I have to start with what I've purchased, and, with the exception of a sentimental Yoo-hoo selection, I've tried to purposely sample things that I expect to be fairly decent.

In other words, I promise to review some bad stuff soon.

Any recommendations?

Joint Juice Kiwi-Strawberry Fitness Water

Joint Juice Fitness Water was developed by The Stone Clinic in San Francisco to promote joint health. The 500ml bottle contains 1500mg of glucosamine. The folks at Joint Juice really want you to have a bottle...every day for 30 days. They have coupons on the site.

I chose the Kiwi Strawberry flavor, paid 99 cents at Target for a bottle.

Presentation/Appearance - 5/10 Simple blue plastic bottle. This beverage is intended to be drunk straight from the bottle, but I wanted to pour into a clear glass to get a good look. Incredibly, it looked like water.

Nose/Aroma- 5/10 Smells like water with a minor, oh so minor, touch of fruit. Without the label, I would not be able to identify the fruit. This would have scored higher if it was supposed to be flavorless.

Taste/Flavor - 6/10 Well, if it tasted just like water, that would have been great. But this is flavored. And, while not atrocious, the flavor isn't particularly strawberry or kiwi. There is some saltiness on the tongue. The drink is sweetened by sucrolose (only 10 calories in the whole bottle) and it shows. I'm not an artificial sweetener lover. Joint Juice is easy enough to drink.

Finish/Satisfaction - 6/10 Watery candy finish that doesn't last long. Thirst quenching, even if that isn't its primary function.

Overall - 5.8/10 Tastes much like any other flavored water. I guess the added glucosamine makes the difference.

Anyone take glucosamine supplements? Does it really make a difference?

Let's start with water

In the United States, access to safe potable drinking water is something that nearly all of us take for granted.  If you're thirsty, turn on the tap and fill a glass.

(Or if you're a kid playing outside in the heat of summer, take a swig from that garden hose, after you run the hot water out of it, of course.  Not that I recommend this.  I'm sure there are terrible consequences to prolonged exposure to drinking water from a plastic compound hose that has been subjected to the elements, but, if there is, it didn't stop me as a child.  We had the good sense not to dehydrate ourselves, even if we were too ignorant to avoid potential contaminants.)

So, it seems only natural that water should be the first entry in The Potable World.  It is the primary ingredient in making all kinds of drinks, from juices to alcoholic beverages.  It is the first beverage I have everyday (we'll discover my relationship with coffee later) and the last one I have in the evening.

Before we go further, let's get rid of the "8 glasses a day" myth.  I know of no better debunking site than Snopes.  Check out their take on this nugget of health wisdom.  We only need to replenish the water that we lose.  For most of us, that is about one liter per day.  If you work in the heat, play sports, sweat a lot, etc, then your requirements will be much higher.

We all know what water tastes like.  And, not surprisingly, it varies greatly in taste by water system, well, bottled water, filtered water, etc.  That means that over time, we'll have specific entries regarding various waters here in The Potable World.  Today's post is a bit more general in nature.

Let's deal with the elephant in the room, too.  The big debate over bottled water is twofold: first, is it safer than tap water? (related to this question is whether it even tastes better than tap water) and second, is it a smart way of transporting and consuming water?

There are many studies and reports on the former question.  This one at WebMD sheds a little light on the controversy.  There are many more like this.  Also, blind taste tests abound showing that tap water is not much different, and many times much better than bottled water.

Bottling water and shipping it around the country or the world is probably one of the dumber things we do if we consider that it isn't any healthier or tastier than the tap alternative.  Bottles have to be made from plastics.  Plastics are made from oil.  Water is heavy.  It flows easily through pipes, but needs to be trained and trucked when we capture it in bottles.  We pay far more for bottled water than we do for gasoline.

For alternate views to the above, check the trade sites for bottled water.

Oh yeah, I do drink bottled water.  All of this extra cost and potential waste was never a consideration for me.  It was all about the convenience.  The grab and go aspect of bottled water.

At home, we filter our water from the tap.  We use bottled water for traveling and commuting, sporting events and camping.

I promise that I will stop buying bottled water for routine water usage.  However, I will buy flavored or enhanced waters for purposes related to The Potable World.

In the meantime, I'll buy a plastic jug and fill it with water from my own tap.