Fitz's Root Beer: I went to a conference in St. Louis earlier in the year, and since people are always talking about St. Louis barbecue, I checked out a recommended spot called Pappy's Smokehouse. Alongside my meal, I chose among around 8 different flavored sodas from a local brand called Fitz's, including an atomic purple Grape Soda and intriguing cream soda. I ended up going for root beer, a classic and usually my top choice if there isn't a ginger beer option. The soda is made with cane sugar rather tha... (read more) 2.5/5.0

Happy Lemon Kiwi Matcha Slushie: I didn't expect to enjoy the mango matcha slush I had a few months ago at the Happy Lemon in Berkeley, so I decided to try the kiwi version in New York (I'm pretty sure this wasn't an option in California). Alas, despite the similar green color, this is not a match that's meant to be. If it were just a kiwi slushie, it would be pretty good because it had kiwi seeds for texture and was remarkably tart. But the addition of matcha threw it off balance. At Happy Lemon, I would stick to just ... (read more) 3.0/5.0

Calpico White peach drink: As a kid, I used to drink Calpico when visiting family in Taiwan. A Japanese “soft drink,” Calpico has a milky-white color but is much thinner in consistency. I remember it being very sweet but probably haven’t had it in over a decade until I came across this white peach flavor. My memory ended up being pretty accurate, though, as the drink was far too sweet and tasted like liquid peach gummies. It’s hard to imagine a situation when it would be desirable to drink this. 2.0/5.0

Coca Cola Ginger lime diet coke: I drink diet soda every day, which I’m not particularly proud of. If I had a choice, it would be Diet Dr Pepper, but my office stocks Diet Coke. I only found out there is flavored Diet Coke at my new job since it was stocked in our fridge. This ginger lime flavor tastes like a tepid combination of aspartame-flavored cola, ginger ale, and Sprite. It actually is a nice change of pace if you find yourself getting bored of classic Diet Coke, by I wouldn’t rush out to buy it myself. 3.0/5.0

Sound Sparkling peach and ginger white tea: I bought this bottle of white tea from Perelandra Natural Food Center in Brooklyn. As a fan of both peach and ginger, as well as sparkling versions of normally-not-sparkling beverages, I was excited to try it. Unfortunately, the flavor is weak and diluted, and the carbonation doesn’t hold up for long after the bottle is opened (on the order of 5 minutes). Would not purchase again. 2.0/5.0

Trader Joe's Matcha Almond Beverage: I was really excited to see this Matcha-flavored almond milk at Trader Joe's because I've recently become accustomed to making chia-seed pudding at home, which requires the use of non-dariy milk. As a beverage on its own, it's just ok - the matcha doesn't have the distinct bitterness of a quality matcha drink, but it does taste familiar. They're like the Trader Joe's Matcha Joe Joes - they're perfectly enjoyable as a snack but the matcha flavor is not very good if you really judge it solel... (read more) 3.0/5.0