The Good: Fairly inexpensive, Low calorie
The Bad: Requires a pricy machine to make into a not-quite soda pop, Harder to find, Not at all a strong or vibrant flavor, Not actually nutritious.
The Basics: Sodastream makes a disappointing sparking drink with its not-quite-fruity enough Kiwi-Pear Flavored beverage.
When I picked up a Sodastream home carbonation system for my wife for her 25th birthday, there were several products we found ourselves instantly baffled by. Why, we wondered together, would Sodastram and its patrons need Ocean Spray, Hawaiian Punch and Crystal Lite flavors for what was a soda pop maker?! We never, honestly, intended to utilize our Sodastream for anything but the company’s zero calorie soda pops . . . until we found the Cooking Light Kiwi-Pear Sparkling Drink Mix on clearance the other night at our local grocery store. Some combination of our power being off, boredom and curiosity played together for us to actually buy the Sodastream not-soda flavor mix. Unfortunately, neither of us were at all impressed by the Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Sparkling Drink Mix.
Had we not known that this was supposed to be Kiwi-Pear flavored, neither of us would have guessed it was that flavor. In fact, given that it is not quite a soda pop, the Kiwi-Pear Sparkling Drink Mix bears more of a resemblance to a flavored seltzer water than a satisfying low- (or no-) calorie soda pop.
Basics
Available primarily in a 16.9 fl. oz. plastic bottle, Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix is a concentrated flavor syrup for creating Kiwi-Pear drink that is somewhat like soda. Despite finding it on clearance for $3.50, the usual price is in the $5 - $7 range per bottle. The Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix makes 50 8 oz. servings and that is about what we got out of our bottle.
Ease Of Preparation
The Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix is a flavoring to be used with a Sodastream soda pop maker, like the Sodastream Fizz (reviewed here!). After one fills the Sodastream bottle with water – I recommend filtered water and when I use my Brita Water Filter Pitcher (reviewed here!) in order to prepare the sparkling drink it provides a more pure flavor – and carbonates it, they must add a capful of Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix to the bottle. It is that easy. Preparing the Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix into a prepared beverage is easy and it makes a very lightly flavored carbonated beverage.
Taste
The Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix has a light generically fruity scent to it. The aroma is not very strong and that actually prepares the consumer for the beverage surprisingly well.
In the mouth, the prepared mix is overwhelmed by the carbonation. The Kiwi-Pear flavor is rendered as a generic, sweet flavor. Indeed, once the carbonation has dissipated, this beverage tastes more like a powdered drink mix than a soda pop. With the carbonation, there is little in the way of fruit flavor in the Kiwi-Pear Sparkling Drink. Instead, there is a light applish fruit flavor that is sublimated to a sugary taste that comes from the drink. This is not a powerful flavor at all, nor is there anything that truly embodies kiwi (which is usually somewhat sweet then sour).
Unlike most beverages, the Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix has no aftertaste.
Nutrition
The Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix makes a drink that is not quite a soda pop, so it is unsurprising that it does not have a strong flavor (though it seems odd that people would bother with it given that it is not at all flavorful or distinctive!). Mixed properly, the Kiwi-Pear Sparkling Drink results in a beverage that has forty calories and ten grams of carbohydrates all in the form of sugars. There are no other nutrients of any sort in the Kiwi-Pear Sparkling Drink mix, so it is not bad for consumers, but not good either.
Made primarily of fructose, water, and citric acid, the Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix has nothing particularly bad in it, but nothing very good either (which makes one wonder why Cooking Light associated its name with it. There is no caffeine, no aspartame, and no high-fructose corn syrup. It is kosher and carries no allergy warnings.
Storage/Cleanup
The Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Soda Mix is a liquid, so there is the danger of spilling it and wasting some of it. But, for the most part, it is a drink mix that keeps for quite some time, at least until it is prepared. The bottle we got last week had an expiration date of February 15, 2015, so this is a mix that does not last forever!
The Kiwi-Pear mix is very light yellow, so it will only stain light colored fabrics. Consult a fabric guide to get any stains out.
Overall
Sodastream Kiwi-Pear Flavored Sparkling Drink Mix continues to leave consumers baffled as to why anyone would buy a non-soda Sodastream drink mix instead of one of their many wonderful soda pop flavors (some of which are much healthier than this mix)!
For other Sodastream Mix reviews, please check out my reviews of:
Diet Orange Mango
Diet Tonic Water
Caffeine-Free Diet Cola
Diet Pink Grapefruit
2/10
For other drink reviews, please visit my Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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