Plant Based | No Sugar | Low Calories | Vegan | Keto | Organic | Diabetic Friendly
First article, YOO-HOO!
I want to take a quick second to thank everyone who has shown an interest in this topic. This has been an idea stuck in the back of my mind for a while, and it’s great to be able to work on it now.
Given that this project is aimed towards suggesting snacks and drinks to try, your suggestion are absolutely welcome! I would love to create a space where people can recommend their favorite snacks or be able to ask about specific ones.
Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments of all the posts !
Enjoy the first article!
Soda has never been a favorite of mine. I am not a big fan of sweet things, and the majority of sodas in the market have crazy high amounts of sugar. There is something about the sweetness that makes my mouth feel funny, and my sensitivity doesn’t tolerate it, so I never tend to finish a full can of soda.
While I was browsing the aisles of my local health store looking items to review, I stumbled upon these “Probiotic Sodas” from COVE and their “ ZERO SUGAR” stamp piqued my interest.
About COVE
Cove soda claims to be the first all-natural, zero sugar probiotic soda in Canada.
Vegan, caffeine free, gluten free and boasting 1 billion probiotics, their lineup seems to offer a healthy version of a soda. With 12 Flavors to choose from there are plenty of options for different tastes.
The current flavors available are:
Grapefruit
Icepop
Dr. Cove
Cherry
Raspberry
Ginger Ale
Root Beer
Cream Soda
Classic Cola
Lemon Lime
Orange
Grape
On today’s review we are covering DR. Cove and Cream Soda. (with a small blurb on the Grape and Lemon versions as I tried them a while back)
Flavor
Dr. Cove
Starting with the one that I enjoyed the most, this soda aims to replicate the flavor of Dr. Pepper; does it come close? Not really, but it still has a very good flavor.
To me, this soda tasted more like a cherry Dr. Pepper than the classic flavor, with hints of cherry and vanilla leading the flavor profile. The one thing that immediately sets it apart from the source is that the soda itself is not overly sweet like Dr. Pepper. This made it a lot more palatable to me, and I was able to actually finish it.
A smooth mouthfeel and lack of the aggressive effervescence of Dr. Pepper makes the flavor cleaner and easy to pair with food without feeling that the only thing you can taste is sugar.
Cream Soda
This one was a miss in my books. Even though I knew that the Cream Soda flavor was going to be sweet, even with the lack of refined sugar, it still felt too sweet for my taste. Leading the flavor profile was a very present note of French vanilla (my least favorite vanilla), which completely takes over any other flavor present and makes it taste like melted ice cream.
There was a more prevalent acidity present in each sip, which immediately would get washed by the vanilla.
The flavor stayed nice and present as long as the drink was cold. However, the moment it started to warm up a bit, it started to lose it sweetness and the vanilla became more and more dominant. A bit too strong for my taste.
Lemon and Grape
The first two flavors I ever tried were these two, a couple of months back. My memory of them is not as fresh as I wished, but I do remember thinking the lemon one had a strong taste and would be better suited mixing it with something else like a juice or tea.
The grape one tasted like any other grape drink but “healthy”, which is good for me as I love grape juice.
Both flavors were good in their own form and I would recommend them.
There is a noticeable lack of fizz in both of the sodas. If this is something you particularly enjoy in your sodas, you might be disappointed.
Nutritional Content
There is quite a long list of categories they are hitting over here:
Vegan
Gluten Free
Caffeine Free
Organic
Dairy-Free
Non- GMO
0 Calories
Zero Grams of sugar
1 Billion Probiotics (Bacillus subtilis DE111)
Safe for Diabetics
80% of your daily vitamin C intake
Kid safe
The sweetener used is a proprietary all natural blend of Stevia and Erythritol. One thing to notice about this combination is that some of the flavors left a bit of a coating in my mouth after drinking. It went away after drinking some water and it seems to be a common occurrence of sugar alternatives
Another consideration is that some people can have a reaction to erythritol in the form of gas, bloating or upset stomach , as it’s a sugar alcohol. Keep in mind this if you feel anything after drinking it or a couple hours later, as this might be the cause.
Personally, I didn't feel anything in particular, but it seemed appropriate to mention.
Value
My local store only offered single 355ml cans, but after some googling, it seems like Costco has them in a variety pack of 15, and some stores sell 6 packs as well.
In term of cost here in Canada:
Single 355ml can costs CAD$2.99 - US$ 2.79
15 can Variety pack costs CAD$23.99 - Costco Price
6 pack costs CAD $16.99
If you happen to have a Costco membership, it seems this one is the best value available.
Where to find them
Canada:
Available nationally at Sobeys, Loblaws, The Real Canadian Superstore, Farm Boy, Longos, and tons of health food stores, with more stores being added regularly. Find us in the natural value aisle.
Available in Costco warehouses nationally
USA:
Fresh Market
Available in Costco warehouses nationally
Also check out the store locator on : covedrinks.com/find-us
Rating
packaging 3/5
Flavor 3/5 for Cream soda 4/5 for Dr. Cove
Mouthfeel 3/5
Nutritional Content 4/5
Ingredient Quality 5/5
value for money 4/5
Cove soda seems to be aiming to place themselves in a unique corner of the market with their no sugar probiotic offering. All four of the flavors I tried were quite good considering they aren’t relying on bombarding your with sugar to make them tolerable. For an all natural product, it tastes quite good.
The main benefit I could see from these sodas is to help people break their refined sugar soda habit, you still retain a lot of the flavor of the other brands but this version is better for you.
I can definitely see myself buying these sodas again and will update you all when I try the other flavors.
Let me know if you try the other flavors and what you thought about them !