Diet soda — the artificial alternative to calories that we have to live with? And even if Aspartame-based diet soda is not always associated with health problems — as indicated by Live Strong — do we have alternatives? The Zevia company sent us a box of its diet soda varieties to supplement our tests to find out. We tried Caffeine-Free Cola, Cola, Cream Soda, Dr. Zevia, Ginger Ale, Ginger Root Beer, Grape, Grapefruit Citrus, Lemon Lime Twist, Orange, and Mountain Zevia — and our tour of flavors inspired some pretty consistent opinions. The first is that each option smells great. The cream soda has the exact aroma it should, for example. The second is that if Zevia were a movie star, s/he’d be one that we’d recognize in all the roles, but we’d generally suspend our disbelief for. Meaning, in almost every case, we felt like we were drinking Zevia with a flavor, not that the flavors themselves had stand-alone identities the way Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Coke do. The only variety we found somewhat off-putting was the regular cola; the phrase “ashy aftertaste” came time to mind often when sampling it. We still haven’t tried the Lime Cola or Cherry Cola–but we look forward to sampling those soon. Competitor Blue Sky has launched a line of Stevia-sweetened sodas as well, though we see these less often in stores. Our verdict? It’s great to have competition and options, and our primary focus this time around, Zevia, should more than suffice anyone’s zero-calorie natural soda cravings, no matter the flavor.
