Sodas

Sodas.  Pop.  Coke.  Soft drinks. Whatever you call them, these beverages are consumed in vast quantities by people all over the world.  Unfortunately, most of the conventional sodas available in the United States are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which research is showing has a number of detrimental affects on humans, including increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, hyperactivity, hypertension, and more.

Recycla doesn’t drink a lot of sodas, so she wants them to really count when she does.  She’s a lifelong fan of Classic Coke, but hates the fact that all Coke products in America are sweetened with HFCS and not sugar.  This really struck home when she was in England earlier this year and had a sugar-sweetened Coke.  The difference was striking.  British Cokes taste much better.

Upon her re-entry to the U.S., Recycla began researching sodas at her local Whole Foods and another organic grocery store and discovered that most of those drinks are sweetened with sugar. Most are caffeine free.  This was a promising turn of events.  Thus, was born a quest — to find a great-tasting soda that is sweetened with sugar.

Here are some of her findings:

Boylan Vintage Soda Pop — Founded in 1891 and still family-run, this company offers a full line of delicious sodas.  Boylan makes the best cream soda that Recycla has ever tasted.  Alas, they are a bit pricey, so they are a real treat in Recycla’s house.

Orangina vs. Whole Foods orange soda — Recycla’s children have only recently been allowed to drink sodas on occasion.  Even so, they don’t really love sodas and don’t ask for them.  So far, the children only like Boylan’s creme soda and Orangina.  Unfortunately, Orangina has HFCS in it, so Recycla went looking for a better option.  She was pleased to learn that Whole Foods sells an orange soda that is made from carbonated water, orange juice, and sugar.  That’s it.  It tastes great and, according to Recycla’s children, is great with homemade pizza.

Old Dominion Root Beer — A longtime favorite of Recycla’s, this root beer is made in her home state and HONEY is the sweetener.  Yum.  This is a flavorful root beer made from quality ingredients.  Unfortunately, this root beer is hard to find, even in Virginia.  Recycla thinks she might need to test a few other root beers and find a good alternative.

Whole Foods brand sodas — Recycla has tried a variety of Whole Foods sodas, including cola, creme soda, root beer, and cherry soda.  So far, she has been underwhelmed by each and every product.  The flavors have been okay, but not great, with the exception of the cherry soda, which was just flat-out bad.  The cola tastes like a pale imitation of Coke, which is too bad, as Recycla was really hoping it would be good.

This is the sum of Recycla’s efforts so far.  As she said, sodas are a treat for her and she has them only a two or three times a month, as opposed to daily like a lot of people.  She plans to keep trying new sodas in the coming months in an attempt to find the perfect cola. Recycla wonders if any fellow Eco Warriors have a favorite soda that is not sweetened with HFCS.  Please let her know in the comments.