Hoppers are the first of their kind - a ’soft-brew’ with authentic beer ingredients including hops and malt with the refreshing tang of fruit.  Created by ‘The Juice Brewery’ the soft brews feature a frothy head when poured and are aimed at adults drinkers who don’t want to feel deprived by choosing a healthy ’soft’ option. Hoppers are currently available in three flavours: Apple, Citrus and Blackcurrant.
www.juicebrewery.com.

New in France are this line of ‘Awakening Tao Boissons Gazeuses Bien Etre’ (Otherwise known as ‘healthy soft drinks’). There are four varieties available: Hydration & Motion, (blackcurrant, ginseng and acerola) Health & Energy, (kombucha, guarana and vitamins) Wellness & Serenity, (ginger, cardamom, passion flower and vitamins) and Youth & Vitality (green tea, ginkgo biloba and vitamins).

Wikipedia describes the Chinese concept of Tao as having been “used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the world.”

Not wanting to be cynical but not sure a can of soda can manage this, but hey, in these crunchie times anything is worth a go. 

Diageo has a hand in these somehow.

New in Germany from Carlsberg are these pretty organic sodas. Perhaps inspired by the success of Bionade, Beo are low calorie, lightly sparkling drinks in three varieties: Heimat (apple and pear), Einklang (elderberry and white tea) and Ansporn (grapefruit and lemon).

Billed as the “Drinks for the undecided”. Anything and Whatever drinks each have identical cans and the flavor is a mystery until you open and drink it. WHATEVER is still and comes in six flavours - Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea. ANYTHING is sparkling and comes in Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer.

Top flavors. Top idea.

Why has this taken them so long? It’s not rocket science is it? Everyone knows that coke tastes better out of the glass bottles and everyone knows that its a pain in the ass to buy a glass bottle and then hope the store has an opener. And then not be able to reseal it.

Well anyway they have finally done it - Coca-Cola in a glass bottle with a screwtop - and it looks good.  Not quite the iconic bottle design we love but hey it’s better than nothing. Oh and it’s only available in the US sold in a 12 fl. oz. (355ml) glass bottle in a 6 pack (72 fl. oz. total).

We say: It’s almost like the moon landing.

Small drink shots are massive right now. In the US at the moment about 25% of all energy drink launches are energy shots. In the UK this trend really began with Yakult and then all the copycats but it looks like it will move into new areas. Selfridges has just started stocking Big Shotz a vitamin and mineral packed mango and passion fruit juice shot drink. It contains 11 vitamins, Ginseng, Omega 3, minerals and prebiotic.

They say:

“Rather than adding small quantities of vitamins to a lot of juice, we’ve simply added a small quantity of juice to a lot of vitamins”.

We say: Refreshingly simple explanation.

This new green tea from Teapigs in the UK has 137 times more antioxidants than a normal cup of green tea. . Teapigs matcha comes from the renowned Nishio region in Japan. They say it is a ’super hero’ amongst teas. We say it’s beyond cute.

The Independent on Sunday reports that the hugely controversial Cocaine energy drink is actually now on sale in the UK. Have you seen it? Let us know.

If you aren’t familiar with the background to Cocaine energy drink, we have put together a precis for you after the jump.

[Read more →]

Fresh Breath is a new somewhat quirky drink from “Japan Tobacco” which is aimed at Japanese men. According to trends in japan, the sugar free grapefruit flavored drink contains rosemary extracts which helps to freshen the breath!

To celebrate the handover of the Olympic torch from Beijing to London, British photographer Rankin has collaborated with Coa-Cola for a limited edition bottle available exclusively at Selfridges for £1.99.

Rankin says:

“As a Londoner, I love what the city represents - the vibrancy, the strength and the energy - so to reflect that with an image, which also represents the Olympics, was a fantastically exciting challenge for me as a photographer. It was made even more compelling for me to do it in collaboration with Coca-Cola, and using the iconic contours and shape of the glass bottle.”

We say: Photography on a bottle makes a nice change from the usual illustrations.

We love these new Marble POP drinks, inspired by the classic Japanese “ramune” bottles which are recognized for their unusual bottles. Each Marble POP bottle features a marble seal closure which is held in place by the carbonation of the beverage and is pushed open with a special stopper. The innovative pinch in the neck of the bottle allows the drink to flow out while the marble stays in place. Available in Strawberry, Blueberry, Original Flavor and Green Apple across the USA, we think these bottles are beyond cool.

Second in our series of our favourite crazy energy drinks is Pissed Off, launched late last year.

Perfect for Monday mornings I’m guessing.

There seems to be a trend for fictitious drinks at the moment. First there was Tru Blood promoting the new HBO vampire series True Blood, and now there is Booty Sweat from the Ben Stiller film Tropic Thunder. One of the characters in the film Alpa Chino played by Brandon T. Jackson, a rapper turned actor who has made millions with his hip-hop energy drink, Booty Sweat. Check out the ‘fake’ website for the drink.

UPDATE:

The Booty Sweat fake drink from the film Tropic Thunder is rumoured to be made into a real drink to help market the movie. Although, this could be a PR stunt in itself.

When researching energy drinks this week it reminded us how entertaining and um, eccentric some of the products are. So this is the first in a series of our top favourite and bizarre energy drinks released over the last few years. First up, is Deep Throat, an energy drink to “Keep you UP all Night”. We came across it earlier this year when it launched but thought it deserved a second coming. (ahem)

Tags: Energy Drinks, Non Alcoholic

AG Barr the company who owns Scottish carbonate Irn Bru has bought Rubicon, the exotic juice company (and corner shop favourite) for £59.8m (US$116.9m). The purchase is seen as symptomatic of the consumer move away from carbonated soft drinks to more health orientated beverages.

New in Japan for the summer months is an ice cream flavored soda from Suntory.

Verity Finest Liquid Tea is made from only tea and water, and comes in three different varieties: Finest Ceylon, Fruity Hagebutte, made from wild-grown rosehip; and Pure Rooibos. The tubes contain 18 tea concentrate capsules which you add to hot water or cold sparkling water. They say: “Tomorrows tea today”

We say: cool development for the tea category

Waterlicious the US company which produces vitamin enhanced beverages for children has launched a new drink specifically for Hispanic consumers in the US. They say:

“Agualicious is designed to be part of the solution to the growing problem of poor nutrition and obesity among Latino children. In addition to the standard enhanced fiber content in all Waterlicious products, the Sports version of the product — Agualicious deporte — contains electrolytes which are necessary ingredients for healthy nutrition and hydration of active kids due to its signature fortified content of essential vitamins: calcium, magnesium, potassium and trace amounts of sodium, with no high-fructose sugar.”

Functional Beverages Inc. (or FBI as they like to refer to themselves) are the company behind Purple Stuff, a range of (supposed) relaxant drinks. The branding sits on the unsubtle side of the fence, but we kind of love it for its tongue-in-cheek, garish hipness. It comes in Classic Grape, Berry Calming and Sippin Citrus, all of which are a ‘Pro-Relaxation and calming elixir’. Check out the website as it’s kind of cool. They say:

“Purple Stuff is a premium healthy soda that is considered “Tight” by the younger generation and “Cool” by the older generation. Purple Stuff does use the good stuff.. Crystaline Fructose in a small amount. Rosehips and valerian root that are the best quality money can buy (not the cheap stuff which smells and tastes awful)
L-Theanine for the magic bullet when combined with Rosehips and valerian root. There is a lot of strong science behind this amino acid. L-Theanine is the active ingredient in green tea and we have the correct amount for you to feel it.”

We say: Purple Drank

Tags: Non Alcoholic, Soda

The Beijing Olympics 2008 has finally begun. To celebrate here are the Coca-Cola Olympic LTD edition bottles. Nice work.