What were they thinking?!?

[furtech]

I tried Hansen's (diet) Green Tea Soda (Lemon Mint). Aghthppff!! One sip was all it took: obviously someone in R&D decided that a soft drink that tastes like carbonated Vap-O-Rub would be a big seller.

I find it ironic that they tout all-natural ingredients and then throw in a craptacular artificial sweetener to make the concoction "diet". I hate Splenda: it has a citrous-y taste I don't care for and they use too much of it to make it "sweet". ugh. Avoid this! (<--unless you think carbonated muscle-balm is attractive).

Comments

[waynekaa.livejournal.com]

Could you add anything else to that? Maybe some spice?
Green Tea & Diet & Lemon & Mint? No wonder!

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Could you add anything else to that? Maybe some spice?

You could add Old Spice to this and not make it any worse.

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

As I recall having drunk a Hansen's product once, the stuff is universally evil. It actually turned my tongue numb!

[skiefire.livejournal.com]

I dont think they do taste testing any more, or their testing department is all monkeys.

The new coke 'zero' tastes like its been left open for a few days. Horrible flat stuff.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I don't think monkeys would pass this drink. I don't think any Earth-born creature would enjoy this flavor. Except ferrets...ferrets eat soap.

[cooner.livejournal.com]

Bleah. I wish I could find a good zero-calorie or low-calorie soda, but my taste buds are sensitive to all three main artificial sweeteners in different ways. The only one I could tolerate was C2, but that was still half-sugar, and I don't know if they're even making it anymore.

I'm also annoyed at the flurry of "fruit-flavored waters" on the market right now. When I see them the impression I get is a refreshing water with just a hint of fruit flavor to make it go down easier ... but instead every one I've tried tastes like colorless Splenda-flavored Kool-Aid. Ugh.

You're right, I've found when they put artificial sweeteners into things they always seem to make them too sickly sweet, IMHO. I'll drink a cup of hot tea with maybe a half or third of a packet of Splenda in it. It almost makes me wonder if it'd be possible to make a low-calorie carbonated beverage by just mixing flavors and maybe adding enough sugar or sweetener to cut the harsh bitterness ... sort of like bittersweet vs. milk chocolate. I'd like to try it.

In the meantime ... I'm stuck with my unsweetened iced tea for now, with the occasional cola as a treat ...

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

You could try Fresca for a zero calorie soda. I've only had the original flavor, which was grapefruit, but they allegedly have a black cherry and peach now as well.

It's been awhile since I had Fresca, but it was not very sweet at all. It tasted pretty clearly of grapefruit. Grapefruit juice is actualy the third thing on the ingredients list.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

Fresca is all right...but still has that artificial sweetener taste and leaves me feeling like I just drank negative calories (an empty feeling that's hard to describe--like a knot in your stomach).

Of all the diet drinks I've tried (and I'll obviously try anything), the only one that doesn't leave my gut in a knot is Diet Coke and I have -no- idea how that works. Diet Pepsi is a distant second and after that there's nothing.

Plus I hate Splenda: tastes too lemony to me and I think it doesn't agree with me (I feel slightly nausious rather than refreshed). But then, I don't like Nutrasweet much either (no lemony taste is plus); Saccharin is my favorite (but harder to find) and Cyclamates are best of all (totally impossible to find in US).

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I get the impression that even the drink bottlers know how lame artificial sweeteners are...and then use the logic of 4-year olds and figure that if the sweetener isn't very good, adding more will fix it.

I miss the days of the actual fruit-tinted waters like Calistoga makes/made, which were just barely fruit-tinted. But I want uncarbonated stuff for refreshment.

Back in the bad ol'days there was the original Pepsi Light, which had saccharine -and- some sugar and was very palatable.

There is a new line of "soft drinks for adults" called GuS (Grown Up Sodas) that is very nice: it's fruit juice and carbonation and very little sugar. The grapefruit is wonderful and the gingerale is all right (actually does taste like a dry ginger ale).

I've been having the same problem with Slurpees (of all things): the new fad is to add waaaay too much sugar and then make it "extreme" and add too much flavoring/sour stuff. blech.

I'd love to see a trend of soft drinks with NO artificial sweeteners and just half the sugar. Kelloggs actually has it right: I LOVE their 1/3 less sugar Frosty Flakes!

[crocuta.livejournal.com]

I think it was the combo between your description of it and the icon that almost made me snort back out what I was drinking. XD