Taste Test- Pop Tarts Pink Lemonade, Orange Crush, and A&W Root Beer

Kelloggs and their Pop Tarts brand is trying really hard to keep expanding the brand and gain an extra sale here or there. They have a really aggressive flavor program to bring something unique out regularly to your breakfast or snack time. For this week we tried a couple of varieties, Pink Lemonade, A&W Root Beer, and Orange Crush Creamsicle.

I don't drink root beer so it wasn't the one for me to try but we are always a little skeptical when companies try to incorporate soda flavors into other items. It never seems to come out right because I just think a soda mix is a delicate balance that you can't always put into to something else.

The Pink Lemonade isn't bad. It does take some getting used to however. It's not as citrus as lemonade can be or lemony, it's a good balance, but mainly a little bit on the sweet side. Now my favorite way to eat a pop tart is straight out of the pack these are alright, but a warmed up one has a bit mellower and more unified flavor than room temperature. It kind of seems odd for a summery flavor.





The Orange Crush was not one that my son cared for. He ate the first one but then set it down. Now I tried them and they aren't bad at all. The orange flavor isn't bad although it is quite strong when uncooked. The sweetness can be overpowering, for a pop tart that's saying something but the Orange isn't the normal artificial taste that you get (that's not to say that it's natural) so it's edible. It's just an odd sort of flavor to me overall.

My family seemed to think that the Root Beer tastes decent, but my daughter wasn't fond of the after taste. Both said that it tastes just like concentrated soda syrup.


There are a lot of flavors you could try in a pastry like pop tarts. I never would have picked these three myself, but they all work somewhat. Each of them has a decent flavor but they don't seem natural for Pop Tarts. Even just having one pack I don't see us really eating them. If you have a family or friends with young children over you could get a box and use them as a treat over the weekend and that might be the best idea and use for these. Crack them out while you wait for the food to come off of the grill and enjoy.




Rating: 2.5/5

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Taste Test- Pepsi 1893

Pepsi has 2 new beverages for people to try made with 'better' and more 'natural' ingredients for a throwback taste. They are 1893 Cola and Ginger Cola. These aren't in 2 liters or 6 packs but slimmer 12 ounce cans with new modern graphics in an attempt to be a cool throwback drink.

Retro-cool graphics aside, the drinks are interesting to say the least. Made with real sugar you taste it immediately and it's amazing the difference that it has from corn syrup. The other thing that you can taste which is present in both drinks is the kola nut which is the main flavor profile of both drinks. The original cola is smooth and doesn't have the sharpness or bite of the regular Pepsi we drink today. I preferred that over the added Ginger flavor from the Ginger Cola. For me it was slightly odd and off-putting although my mother whom is a huge ginger fan loved the taste. It's not something I would drink again.

Overall these are some unique flavors and there is a group of people who have more sophisticated palettes who will enjoy these drinks more than I did. The Original Cola I would drink again but I wouldn't go out of my way to get or find it in order to do so.

Original Cola
Rating: 3/5

Ginger Cola
Rating: 2/5

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Taste Test- Thums Up

My uncle has to travel for work and this visit he brought back some items for us to try. First was some of the Oreos that they have over in India. So my family and I tried both strawberry creme and orange creme. These cookies on the outside seem like they would be the same but once you open the pack (it says Cadbury on the outside and not Nabisco) the cookies all seem to be slightly thinner and have less cream in them.

Both varieties have a strong scent of flavoring to them and strong coloring. The taste of the strawberry isn't bad, very strong but yet artificial. The orange, while initially a little off-putting is actually not bad. The wafer cookies are a little crispy and more difficult to bite on. The flavor is different, not quite as robust in my opinion but they aren't bad. I prefer the domestic versions better.


Now Thums Up soda was the big thing to try once I got it. It's a Coca-Cola product that comes in a blue can with a red logo. Remind you of anything? To me the taste is sort of between that of a Coke and their chief rival. Sort of like "New Coke" slightly sweeter and not quite as heavy as our sodas here. The caffeine content seems to be strong though or maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me because I felt like it was more of an effect on me in the evening.  Overall this was interesting to taste common products from another place.

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Taste Test- Sprite Lebron Mix

I'll tell you what, you can say what you want about Lebron whether or not he is or isn't the most imposing basketball figure these days and whether or not he lives up to his hype, skills, and potential on the court, but as a marketing machine he is unparalleled. He has many of the same types of endorsements that Michael Jordan had and with many of the same companies but MJ never had his own beverage flavor. This isn't the first year for Lebron mix, nor do I think for this particular variety but this is the first time I have ever had it.

This new Lebron mix is cherry and tropical flavors and the traditional lemon-lime flavor of Sprite. The drink itself is still clear which I thought was odd because I expected a slight tint of some sort. I didn't care for the flavor as much, it was subtle and cherry at first which went away and was kind of syrupy afterward. Both of my kids loved it however so it didn't go to waste. The one thing I don't like is that it's in a can which is an odd size so it's more than you may want to drink at once but no way to save it so if you're trying to cut back on what you give the kids then you will want to split it. Overall it's a cool drink but not my personal favorite.

Rating: 3/5

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Taste Test - Cheerwine and Shirley Temple Soda

 

I'm not sure where I first saw Cheerwine but it wasn't here in Baltimore. It had to be online or on TV somewhere so when I saw it at a local Wegman's grocery store I decided I needed to go ahead and try it. As well as having a bunch of sodas I never heard of I decided to also grab a 6-pack of Saranac Shirley Temple sodas for my sister and daughter to try because my sister is a 'Clean' Shirley expert.

The Cheerwine was compared to Dr. Pepper which amazingly, I have never had to my recollection. That didn't dissuade me at all and I cheerfully opened the top after chilling the classic bottle. The taste is really similar to Cherry coke which I love but it is missing the cola part of it. It also has a little bit of an after taste but it wasn't particularly bad, just there.




The Shirley Temple soda however I wasn't feeling though my daughter liked it. It was incredibly sweet, slightly overwhelming and the lemon lime or citrus flavor was as present or as strong as it needed to be. It needed to cut the sweetness and for me the after taste on this was too strong to enjoy for me. The kid thought it was good and though she doesn't particularly like cherry or cherry flavoring this one is more like the maraschino cherries that she eats gleefully for some reason.


Cheerwine Rating: 3/5
Saranac Shirley Temple Soda Rating: 2.5/5

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