(Almost) Everyone Else Seems To Enjoy Ayala's Lemongrass Mint Vanilla Herbal Water More Than Me!

The Good: Fizzy, Great scent
The Bad: Taste is nothing to write home about, Expensive
The Basics: A surprisingly blasé premium bottled Water product, Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla flavor left me utterly unimpressed.


Every now and then, I encounter a product that others seem to like much more than me. For the recent Super Bowl, my wife and I got a smorgasbord of delicious snacks and drinks, cheated on our dieting program and watched the entire first season of Happy Endings (reviewed here!). One of the highlights of the day was supposed to be the 25.4 fl. oz. frosted bottle of Ayala’s Herbal Water we picked up the day before from the organic section of one of the more hoity toity grocery stores in our area. It seemed like it would be a good, safe bet; we picked up the Lemongrass Mint Vanilla flavored water and we were both excited about trying it.

My wife was actually repulsed by Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla, largely on how the sparkling quality made it taste salty. I was neutral to it (loved the scent, did not enjoy the taste), but figured I had to keep trying it to give it a credible review. But when I brought the bottle to work to review during a break, a coworker saw it and lit up, so I shared it with him. I swear, if I had one on me, I could have sold him a case of Lemongrass Mint Vanilla Herbal Water based on how much he seemed to dig it!

Basics

Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla is a flavored water. This is a premium flavored water and the sleek, European-style frosted glass bottle tends to run (at least locally) $4.99. Five dollars for a 25.4 fl. oz. bottle of flavored water is not unheard of, but for that price, I want a pretty incredible flavor experience. This is not.

The 25.4 fl. oz. bottle represents three servings of the flavored water and the beverage has a sparkling quality to it that is initially very robust.

Ease Of Preparation

Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla is a clear liquid in the heavy glass bottle with the green labels. Preparation is as easy as twisting the metal cap, which breaks the safety ring. This beverage is best when chilled and it gets very nicely cold in the glass bottle. There is no other prep needed; open and drink, it’s that simple!

Taste

Ayala's smells very minty. The peppermint flavor actually smells like the aftertaste of a Chocolate brownie. There is also a slight hint of lemon to the afterscent that actually makes this beverage seem very inviting.

The predominate taste, however, is salty. The taste is salty, cut by a lot of bubbles. There is very little in the way of flavor to this beverage. As the herbal Water loses its bubbles, the flavor moves more toward being simple lemonWater. While the drink continues to smell like mint, the taste is lemon with a slight sweet aftertaste of honey. It never seems to get to a truly minty flavor, which is a big disappointment for someone like me who loves mint.

Nutrition

As a bottled water, Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla is made primarily of sparkling purified water, organic extracts of vanilla beans and lemongrass leaves. This has no nutritional benefits or detractions, though. It is, for all intents and purposes, water. On the plus side, it also has nothing whatsoever that could be construed as bad in it!

Storage/Clean-up

Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla comes in a beautiful glass bottle that is very stylish. I could not find an expiration date on the product, so I assume that because it is mostly water anyway, it will remain fresh for years.

This drink is clear and water, so it will not stain.

Overall

Ayala’s Herbal Water Lemongrass Mint Vanilla is not an exciting beverage and for the price, I hoped for and expected more.

For other beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Bolthouse Farms Antioxidant Rich Berry Boost Smoothie
The Simpsons Duff Energy Drink
Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice tea

2.5/10

For other food and drink reviews, please be sure to visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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