Here are reviews of two different drinks I bumped into recently.
Diet Coke Plus
Actually, I found this at the supermarket several weeks ago, drank it, took pictures, but could muster the energy to post about it.
Who can resist Diet Coke with a theoretical benefit? Definitely not me.
I wanted to just buy a can or a six pack, but only the twelve pack was available, so Cruft Labs jumped in with both feet.
The color scheme is pleasing to me for some reason. The light blue swoosh with the rainbow style lettering. The taste was, well, the taste was like Diet Coke. I really didn't notice anything strange or bitter.
When I actually looked at the vitamin content I was a bit disheartened. The vitamins are Niacin (B3), B6, and B12 all energy metabolism types. The minerals are magnesium and zinc. I guess those are helpful, but what about the more useful ones like vitamins C & D or iron or something else that I've actually heard someone need. Magnesium and zinc? They are necessary, but not the first things that pop to mind when choosing vitamins.
I wouldn't go out of my way to buy more Diet Coke Plus, but if you are one of those Diet Coke fanatics that runs through a six pack of the stuff daily, you might find it useful.
Java Monster - Big Black
At the office, one of my co-workers, Jason, is never seen without a can of Monster in his hands. He swears by them, as does my brother, Matt.
I've never been one for the new style energy drinks. They all seem like slightly off versions of Gatorade to me.
But when I saw Java Monster - Big Black at 7-Eleven, I had to give it a try. Who can resist this copy:
The Java Monster isn't bad, but it's not great either. As you can see, the color is more like chocolate milk than coffee.
The flavor is terribly sweet with a milky flavor, with a hint of coffee flavor. I would call it a mocha rather than Big Black. I was expecting a much stronger coffee flavor.
I had a few Japanese iced coffees that are this sweet, but the can of monster is almost triple the size of the traditional iced coffee can. I drank about 2/3 of the glass before I lost interest.
Posted by michael at July 05, 2007 09:10 PMI am curious about what seems to be a contradiction in your article. At the beginning you mention not having the energy to post about Diet Coke Plus, then near the end you state that you lost interest 2/3 of the way through your Monster drink. Hmm... but you found the energy to post, eh? Could it be that the newly found energy levels inspired you to do more than contemplate the benefits of Monster?
Embrace it... love it... Monster is your friend.
I will look for you online tonight around 3am - doubtless you will still be awake.
J
Posted by: Jason [http://blog.flyfishingnewbie.com] on July 7, 2007 6:08 PMI tried the "Big Black" and the "Mean Bean" flavors on the drive to/from Utah. I found them to be indistinguishable. But I prefer them to the "fruit" flavor energy drinks or Starbuck's canned crud.
These are now my preferred WALK UP drinks for long drives.
Posted by: sk [http://htttp://embiggen.blogspot.com] on July 7, 2007 6:49 PMi bought diet coke plus yesterday & i loooooove it. to me it tastes a bit different than regular diet coke (which i'm addicted to)--tastes kinda fruity.
Posted by: adela [] on July 10, 2007 8:17 AM(Soda) Plus isn't a new idea from coke. 7 Up has had is for a while. With 7 Up Plus Mixed Berry and 7 Up Plus Island Fruit.
Posted by: A 7 Up Merchendiser [] on July 17, 2007 7:06 PMThe 7 Up company had the idea of adding vitamins to the soda back in 1994. Here's the article to prove it... http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-08-15-7up_x.htm
Posted by: Coke hater [http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-08-15-7up_x.htm] on July 17, 2007 7:12 PMI can't tell the Java Monsters apart really either, but there's 15 ounces of it, and lots of places only carry those little Starbucks frappuccino whatever thinger bottles. You need like three of them. I've done a Java Monster every day since I found them. I'm disappointed that they cheat you on the caffeine, but still. No one's making you not drink it, so you might as well. Dirt Coke Plus is stupid mostly because that blue they use is a very hospital mediciney blue and it doesn't work for me. And for some reason after it stopped being really really cold, I didn't want it anymore. It's probably a good idea, but a marketing misfire mostly. Like I remember when M&Ms did special breast cancer M&Ms and they were all different shades of pink and for the life of me all I could think was that they looked like cancer cells.
Posted by: happyfeet [] on August 22, 2007 1:19 PM