Dasani - Essence Review

There is nothing that ruins a drink more for me than the presence of unrefined sugar - or worse - an artificial sweetner!  Products like Splenda and Equal have very unpleasant aftertastes and do nothing to help quench thirst!  If you're going to drink soda (or any other drink for that matter), you may as well drink the fully-loaded stuff. 

If you are picky about your beverages but are growing tired of plain water or tea, you should try Dasani Essences by CocaCola.  It comes in three flavors (so far - I think it's still pretty new): lime, strawberry kiwi and black cherry.  Coke describes it as "unsweetened and lightly flavored" and it has no sugar, no sweeteners, no calories and no preservatives - only a hint of natural flavor.

Essences are also good to take to a less-than-intense workout.  If you are planning on being outside for hours at a time (especially in the hot sun) you should probably bring along some Gatorade or Smart Water to keep your electrolytes up.  If you're just going to the gym for a half hour, however, you don't need the calories and it's nice to have a little flavor in your water. 

The drawback here is that bottled water is not green.  I wish there were an alternative means of getting this great water.  We have a recycling program at work and we recycle at home, but we all know how much unnecessary waste is created by bottled water alone.  See www.treehugger.com for more information on this.  In addition to being wasteful, bottled water does not have fluoride added (like tap water does); this means that exclusive bottled-water drinkers can have more dental health issues.

Also, I know many people disagree with some of CocaCola's business practices, so it becomes difficult to buy a Coke product when you feel that way.  Stay true to your convictions and let me know if you find a comparable, non-CocaCola product!

Check out the official website for this product: www.dasani.com/essence