Diet Soda #2! What a world this is. Zevia is a pretty regularly available soda brand, typically found in the “natural” area of your local super grocery. I’ve had Zevia’s root beer before, and it’s pleasant. Speaking on a personal level (as I often do on this blog), I’m a big fan of Stevia as a sweetener. You could probably guess from the brand name, but Zevia is made with Stevia.
Despite my positive predisposition, I attempted to go into this review like my cousin Janusz from Switzerland: neutral. I don’t have a cousin named Janusz from Switzerland, but if I did, he’d probably be pretty neutral. How would my fake Swiss cousin Janusz feel about Zevia’s Black Cherry soda, though? Especially if he had exactly the same taste buds and sensibilities as me and wrote exactly like me? Let’s find out…
Place of Acquirement: Kroger, Gahanna, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 12oz can
AROMATICS: 7/10
Pleasant scent, nothing to tell your weird cousins about. Definitely smells like cherry, I’m into it!
FIRST SIP: 7/10
Nice! Tasty, but not overwhelmingly remarkable.
TASTE: 7/10
Really, this is a nice soda. No frills on the taste, what you see is what you get. It’s a good Black Cherry soda period, not just a good DIET Black Cherry soda. Would I likely choose a full sugar soda over this, given an unlimited caloric limit for a day? Yes. Would I choose this over a full sugar soda if I were trying to be vaguely healthy? Oh yeah.
AFTERTASTE: 6.5/10
Not unpleasant by any means, not a situation where the fake sugar gives you a weird aftertaste. But fades pretty quickly, and nothing special.
MOUTHFEEL: 9/10
There’s something about the way this feels in my mouth. At the start, it’s pretty standard, but then it turns into this incredible, almost creamy feeling? Almost like frothed milk, but with no milk? I love it and it feels great.
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 5/10
OK, this is a pretty straightforward soda! You get the cherry taste, and that’s about it. Nothing wrong with it at all.
SWEETNESS: It’s Complicated (7.5/10)
So since this is a diet soda, it’s obviously a little bit different. But this hits the sweet spot in my book, no pun intended. OK, pun a little intended.
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: Cherry
LAST SIP: 7/10
Kept the taste pretty well, kept the carbonation pretty well. Can’t ask for much more than that, to be totally honest.
OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10
I’m going out on a limb with this one. The taste is only a 7/10, but the mouthfeel is so delightful and enjoyable that I’m bumping it up. It’s also a tad less guilty of a soda, which helps the rating. If you’re into cherry soda, and perhaps trying to be vaguely healthy, this is definitely a good choice. Zevia, good work y’all.
Wow, can you believe my fake Swiss cousin Janusz wrote all of those words? He is very talented for someone who doesn’t exist. Excellent work, Janusz.
