A few years ago I had a gut-friendly soda that I actually liked, but completely forgot what flavor or brand it was. I've been casually searching for it ever since. Buying random cans here and there, but not putting that much energy into it.
My half-hearted search ends today! I finally found it!
Roughly 95% of my grocery shopping is done at Aldi or Lidl, so I knew it must've come from one of those stores, but that didn't exactly narrow down my search. Both shops carry in-house items, specialty items that may or may not ever return, and name brand items. I remembered the drink being canned, fruity and marketed as gut friendly, but nothing else, so I've been trying a little bit of everything in the hopes of finding it again. I've tried Olipop, poppi, and Aldi's popz. No dice. On a whim, I grabbed this from the refrigerated section at Aldi when I was buying more cheese that I definitely didn't need...and I'm so glad I did.
This is it. Well, sort of "it." It might not have been this exact flavor, but I feel confident that Aldi's VitaLife is the "soda" I've been searching for.
Opened, it smells sweet, fruity, and just a little bit funky. Similar to how kombucha smells a bit gnarly until you get used to it. It's 'off', but in the right way. Not the botulism way.
Pouring it into a glass, it created a bubbly head but the carbonation level was quite light. This is less bubbly than Aldi-branded canned seltzer, but more bubbly than either of the olipop flavors.
The taste is fruity, creamy and tangy. Very kombucha-like but with the lightness of seltzer. It wouldn't get me to pick strawberry out of a line-up, but I could definitely detect the vanilla. It has a creamy tanginess, kind of like vanilla flavored yogurt. Thanks to ingredients like cane sugar and fruit puree, this is easily the best "healthy soda" I've had. I finished this whole can! The best part? No negative side effects! No headaches, stomach pain, or nausea!
It's not 100% perfect, there is stevia in it and I'm a stevia-hater. (I think I must have the artificial sweetener gene, it's like the cilantro-tastes-like-soap-gene, but artificial sweeteners all taste like chemicals.) Thankfully it's one of the last ingredients. I tolerate it easily, but I'd be even happier if it were removed and we just stuck to cane sugar and fruit purees. It's also pretty expensive.
Given it's stevia status and price tag, this will be a sometimes treat, but I finally found the fancy alternative soda for me! 4/5
Keep Up with My Adventures on Social Media!
No comments:
Post a Comment