Aguas Frescas La Gotita Limonada con Chica: We purchased this drink after waiting two hours in line for goat tacos at the Taco Y Birria food truck in LA's Boyle Heights. I hadn't previously heard of the combination of chia seeds and lemonade, but it turns out it's a traditional Mexican drink called Chia Fresca. The massive 32 oz bottle, similar in size and just a tad lighter than my hand weights, contains 4 servings of lemonade with 44g of sugar each. Surprisingly, even with the high sugar content, it came off as a bit watered down... (read more) 2.5/5.0
lemonade drinks citrus mexican aguasfrescaslagotita limonada con chica 2.5
Alasehir Sarikz strawberry flavored sparking water: Purchased from the Turkish grocery store Sevan in Watertown, this brand of sparkling water comes in an assortment of fruit flavors. The stout green bottle provides just enough beverage to accompany a small meal. Flavorwise, the strawberry drink reminded me of fruit-flavored paste sometimes used in dental cleaning. Largely artificial, and not a drink I would purchase again. 2.0/5.0
drinks soda turkish alasehir sarikz strawberry flavored water 2.0 sparkling
Almdudler Soda: Considered the national beverage of Austria, Almdudler is a caramel colored carbonated drink that comes in a glass bottle with two dancing figures printed on the side. It doesn't taste much like anything, to be honest, with faint traces of fruit, caramel, and herbs, but none prominent enough to carry the soda towards any particular identity. Purchased at the German restaurant Suppenkuche in San Francisco. 2.5/5.0
drinks soda austrian almdudler 2.5
Almond Dream Pumpkin spice almond drink with cinnamon: Purchased from Whole Foods, I was hopeful about this seasonal pumpkin spice almond drink, but it became immediately obvious upon tasting that this is meant as a flavoring for coffee or other beverages, rather than something desirable to drink on its own. I tried adding it to chia seed pudding and even to oatmeal, but the flavoring just made me want to eat those things even less. Too sweet and artificial tasting. 2.0/5.0
drinks whole foods almondmilk pumpkin pumokinspice almonddream spice almond drink cinnamon 2.0
Alta Palla Sparkling blood orange soda: Having never seen this California-based brand, I purchased this can from my local Andronico's. Unfortunately, while it's an organic product, it tastes strikingly similar to Sunkist and is unnecessarily sweet. The one good thing I can say about is that the amount of carbonation was spot on. 2.5/5.0
drinks organic altapalla sparkling blood orange soda 2.5
Anchor Ginger Root Beer: This vintage style root beer unfortunately falls flat, with an overly sweetened syrupy flavor that tastes very little of ginger. It reminds me of Dad's Root Beer, which I had at swimming meets at community pools growing up, not because it was good but because it was available. Purchased at Uwajimaya. 2.5/5.0
drinks soda rootbeer anchor ginger root beer 2.5