Yoli Sabor Limon

When we were in Mexico last month, my boys each had one of these on Ixapa Island:

Under a little thatched sunshade with the ocean crashing behind me.

 

Brand: Yoli Sabor Limon.

Origin: "Hencho in Mexico."

Purchase Place: Ixtapa Island.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was refreshing. But anything on the island would have been! It was a like a 7Up, but a bit smoother and with a heavier lime kick. Tasty while sitting in the sun!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Topo Chico Grapefruit Mineral Water

I cracked into this last night:

Brand: Topo Chico Grapefruit Mineral Water.

Origin: Monterrey, Mexico.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I saw "grapefruit" on the label, but I didn't realize this was just mineral water until my first sip. It was decent as no-calorie slightly-flavored water. It was like a fancy La Croix. Nothing amazing, but still refreshing. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Mexican Squirt

I grabbed this at the corner store this past weekend:

Brand: (Mexican) Squirt.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Marshall Stop, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a little more "kick" than the Squirt I'm used to. And I don't think it's all in my head. Squirt that I'm used to is a little smoother, and this isn't. It's sure not bad, but it's just slightly different. Otherwise, the pretty normal citrus flavor I'm used to. (Oh, but COOL bottle. The slight spiral was nice.)

Score: 6 out of 10.

Fanta Orange

On a recent warm evening, I opened this with supper:

Brand: Fanta Orange.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: Nothing fancy here, but decent orange soda. Smooth. Oh, and as I've noted before about Fanta sodas, the mouth of the bottle is super rounded and smooth. It's awesome.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Jarritos Mango Soda

About 10 days ago, I won a duathlon (it's a run/bike/run race - like a triathlon, but with another run in place of the swim).  Because it was in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, the winner's "goodie bag" had Mexican themed things in it, including a 1.5 liter bottle of Mango flavored Jarritos Mexican soda.

Goodie bag

Brand: Jarritos Mango Soda

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Unknown.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I'll be upfront: I don't really care for mangos. But this was OK. It was sweet, but not too sweet. It was right in the middle of my "smooth vs bite" scale. This surprised me a bit - for not liking mango things, this was as good as it really could have been.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Jarritos Tamarind Soda

Tonight during the Super Bowl (what an ending!) I tried this soda without knowing what the flavor was:

Brand: Jarritos Tamarind Soda.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I don't fully know how to describe this flavor. It's a little like a fermented apple juice, but with more of a bite. I looked up "tamarind" on Wikipedia, and found out that it's a pod-like fruit that is used in (of all random things) Worcestershire sauce. The soda was good, but odd. It wasn't super sweet, and it's not something that you can just gulp down. It's worth a try. Check it out.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Fanta Strawberry

Time for something sugary:

Brand: Fanta Strawberry.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was sweet (Fanta seems to usually be sweet). I would never call the flavor "strawberry" - it was almost more cherry. Kinda just "red" flavored. It was sweet and OK. Nothing too great or memorable, but OK.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Jarritos Strawberry

I wanted some sugary sweetness this weekend:

Brand: Jarritos Strawberry.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This tasted sweet, but not really like strawberry. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't strawberry either. It just tasted "red." Not bad. No bite. All sweet. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Fanta Grape

I opened this a few minutes ago, and I'm still enjoying it:

This is the "Mexican version" that I got in the ethnic foods section. The back of the bottle is all in Spanish, and the bottle cap says "Grape" and "Uva" (Spanish for grape).


Brand: Fanta Grape.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This is very sweet, sugary, and syrupy. The flavor was spot-on. It was "basic" and normal, but extra sweet, and I liked it a lot. Oh, and a BONUS: the top of the bottle is super rounded - I've never sipped soda from a smoother, rounder opening. It was a strange, special treat.

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

Jarritos Lime Soda

Yesterday, I grabbed my 2nd soda from the Mexican Food Section of Cub Foods:

Brand: Jarritos Lime Soda.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was a good Lime Soda. It has a nice bite of Lime, but not too much. Good flavor overall. I think I need to start trying more Lime sodas because I haven't had a bad one yet...

Score: 8 out of 10.

Sidral Mundet Apple Soda

Last week, I grabbed 3 sodas from the Mexican Foods section of Cub Foods:

My 2nd Jarritos and Goya sodas (on either end), and my first Sidral Mundet.

This was the first one I tried:

Sweet embossed bottle.

The cap.

Brand: Sidral Mundet.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This is a simple soda: it's tastes a lot like a sweet, carbonated apple juice. If that sounds good to you (which is does to me), try this. I'm actually surprised this is labeled as "less than 1% apple juice" because this could have a lot more in it based on it's flavor. It's an apple SODA, when it really could just be an apple JUICE with some carbonation (that would make it better for you too). Anyway, it was tasty and sweet - tastes more like juice than a soda though.

Score: 8 out of 10.