Less Inspired, But Still Not Bad, Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Is Not Quite Worth It.

The Good: Does not taste bad, Reasonably priced, No nutritional detriment, Surprisingly healthy!
The Bad: Not the most strongly or accurately flavored
The Basics: Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is not the best offering from the company and not one likely to wow water drinkers.


I like to think that, on the balance, my reviews show an objective quality, even when I find myself largely liking a certain brand. That is not entirely by accident. When I pick up a whole new (to me) line, I try to make my earliest reviews – if the products warrant it – representative of some of the best and worst of that product line. A few weeks back, I reviewed the Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Coconut Pineapple Sparkling Mountain Spring Water (reviewed here!) and that was an overwhelmingly positive experience. Not quite at the other end of the spectrum, but certainly not getting any rave reviews from me, is the Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water. The Kiwi Strawberry was hardly flavorful enough to recommend and, given that one is paying for flavored water with this product, left me unimpressed, though the affordability of and nutrition from the product do make it more average than bad.

Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is an inexpensive Sparkling Mountain Spring Water product that is sold in plastic bottles from Talking Rain.

Basics

Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is a bottled Sparkling Spring Water that is sold at grocery stores. Each 17 fl. oz. plastic bottle houses the pale green liquid. The bottles look unremarkable, but professional and uniform.

The 17 fl. oz. bottle represents about two servings of Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water.

Ease Of Preparation

Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is a liquid in a clear bottle. Preparation is as easy as opening the bottle by twisting the bottle cap off and drinking the liquid inside. I recommend refrigerating the bottle first as its full flavor potential is reached by having it cool, though that flavor is still not particularly robust.

Taste

There is almost no scent coming from the Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water. That was a bad omen for me, as scent is an important component of taste. Nevertheless, based on my prior experience with the brand, I still eagerly tried the Kiwi Strawberry.

On the tongue, the dominant flavor is a fruity and dry tartness. Sound vague? You got it; the flavor of the Kiwi Strawberry is neither particularly like kiwi fruit or distinctive of strawberries. Instead, this is a somewhat nebulous citrus and berry flavor that is actually sublimated some to the basic flavor of water. This left a slightly sweet aftertaste in my mouth that dissipated after two minutes. It was in no way superlative.

Nutrition

As a Sparkling Mountain Spring Water, one might expect this to have unpronounceable ingredients related to its carbonation. However, Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is made primarily of carbonated mountain spring water, natural flavor, and juice concentrates. Only the end of the ingredient list is something similar to a chemistry equation.

Nutritionally, Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is not enough to live off of, but it could be worse. Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water has no calories, no carbohydrates, no sodium and no protein. Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water has no fat, but does have 10% of one’s RDA of six vitamins and minerals in each 8 oz. serving..

Storage/Clean-up

Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water comes in a plastic bottle and I was surprised by how soon it expired. The bottles I bought in mid-March (2013) had a September 5, 2013 expiration date!

This drink is a very light green and will only stain exceptionally light fabrics, but should wash out very quickly.

Overall

Talking Rain Sparkling Ice Kiwi Strawberry Sparkling Mountain Spring Water is not flavorful enough to recommend and certainly not the best flavored water on the market!

For other beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Faygo Grapefruit Sparkling Water
Maine Root Blueberry Soda
Stewart’s Orange ‘N Cream Soda

4.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for a complete listing of all the foods I have reviewed!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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