Fresca Original American Soda

My usual go to drink is Pepsi Max, but I have given it up because the quantity I was drinking was far from healthy... Anyway, I decided to treat myself and have a fizzy drink, but not one of the dull British fizzy drinks, an American one! 

This is a brand called Fresca which specialises in low calorie citrus soft drinks, apparently it did used to be available in the UK, but it was discontinued by Coca Cola but released all over the globe, this can is specifically from the fabulous USA!

The flavour is quite subtle, though this is not a bad thing, it tasted like sparkling water with a slice of lemon in it and it was rather nice. It was very refreshing, especially after being chilled in the fridge for a day. It wasn't quite as strong as a lemonade, or particularly sweet but once again, that was not a bad thing. If they started selling this in the UK I would definitely start drinking it, until then I suppose I will have to enjoy it as a rare treat saved for special occasions!

Rating - 7/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 0

Buy Again - Yes

Twining's Caramelised Apple Green Tea

As you saw from my last post about Twining's flavoured green tea, I am a big fan and I was very impressed with how well it actually tastes like what it said, something which is very rare with flavoured tea (I'm looking at you fruit tea!)

Once I had tried the Cherry Bakewell flavour I just knew that I had to try all of the other flavours out there! So I decided upon the Caramelised Apple flavour. I was a fair bit more sceptical of this flavour because I thought, how could they emulate the taste of caramel and apple whilst still retaining the classic green tea flavour? But it somehow does. It is absolutely delicious, you can really taste the caramel and apple. It feels indulgent as though it should be high in calories, but it somehow manages to only have 1 per cup! The exact same as a regular cup of green tea.

Basically I loved this and I am desperate to try all of the other flavours in this range!

Rating - 9/10

Vegan - Yes

Calories - 1

Buy Again - Definitely! 

Twining's Cherry Bakewell Green Tea

Green tea is often synonymous with health and well being, it is believed to contain antioxidants that can prevent certain types of cancer, it is also proven to have the ability to increase your metabolism thus helping weight loss. Some of the claims attributed to green tea have less evidence to support it than others but it certainly can't do you any harm to enjoy a cup or two a day. 

Unfortunately, green tea is quite an acquired taste and many people are put off by this and can't manage to drink it as it is without adding copious amounts of honey. Again, nothing wrong with honey but this simply isn't an option for vegans or those that just don't enjoy the taste of honey. That is why I think flavoured green tea is a wonderful product, especially when they have such unique and delicious sounding flavours.

I won't bore you any longer, so I shall get onto the actual review! The packaging is absolutely lovely, I liked that the main colour was green with pink accents, presumably to represent the cherry? The smell of sweet almond hits you as soon as you open the box and it is very enticing, it smells remarkably like an actual cherry bakewell, but I thought it best to not get my hopes up too much regarding the flavour because I often find that with fruit teas, they smell heavenly but in reality they taste of hot water no matter how long you allow the tea to brew. 

But I was pleasantly surprised to take my first sip and for it to actually taste quite like cherry bakewell! It is a subtle flavour, but certainly identifiable, especially in the aftertaste. It was a nice change from regular green tea as it lacked the usual bitter taste that puts most people off. I can't believe that this is only one calorie a cup and I was surprised that is was actually vegan. I expected for there to be some honey or lactose in it but thankfully not!

Rating – 8/10

Vegan – Yes

Calories – 1

Buy Again – Yes!

Blue Diamond Iced Cappucino

Almond Milk is my preferred dairy milk alternative, primarily due to it not really tasting like milk and it being low in calorie with loads of health benefits such as vitamin D, calcium, etc. I use it when making porridge primarily or my breakfast, but have never thought of using it in coffee or tea. I don't know why, but it just never occurred to me, probably because I don't really drink any tea other than green tea, so I suppose it would be odd to add milk to it.

Blue Diamond are one of the main brands of Almond milk here in the UK and they offer varieties of both sweetened and unsweetened, but now they have launched into the iced coffee market with a product that is significantly lower in calories than its competitors, even those that are of a 'lighter' variety. 

The flavour is nice enough, sweet with a hint of coffee. I blended mine with a frozen banana so that it was like a frappacino which was absolutely divine! It was more of a dessert like this but absolutely delicious! The banana worked perfectly with the coffee flavour and I thoroughly enjoyed this frosty drink.

Rating - 8.5/10

Calories - 29 per 100ml

Vegan - Yes

Buy Again - Yes

Jelly Belly Milkshakes

Jelly belly had released three flavours of milkshake about a month ago, and when I first saw this product I was a bit sceptical because I thought this would just taste like some cheap rubbish that resembles cardboard or something with equally little flavour. But after a while I was tempted so I bought two flavours, the “top banana and French vanilla”.

For obvious reasons they are not vegan but they are in fact vegetarian and for another added bonus there is no artificial colours, sweeteners and flavours.

There are only a couple of ingredients the main one being semi-skimmed milk, which I always feel is a little reassuring in these type of products.

Once I started drinking I was pleasantly surprised to find that both of them were smooth and creamy not thick and tasteless like I had imagined. The French vanilla was particularly delicious and both were ideal in size and had a pleasant aftertaste which I find rare in milkshakes.

I am ultimately pleased that I picked these up and will definitely buy again and cannot wait for the new flavours!

Rating - 9/10
Vegan - No
Price - £1.25
Buy Again - Deffinitely!