Pure Inventions, a dietary nutrition company specializing in all natural liquid supplements, recently sent me two samples of their rather unique liquid water enhancer. Pure offers a wide variety of liquid dietary supplements, including green tea, fruit, and cocoa extract mixtures, among others. I have been trying a lot of different water enhancers lately, and I could tell as soon as I took the containers out of the package that there were several distinct things that set Pure's product apart from the rest.
First and foremost, I was somewhat startled by the weight of the containers as I lifted them out of the box. The vials are made of a very thick and high quality frosted glass that feels great to the touch. The vials feel like medical-grade pharmacy bottles, and they give the impression that they are very durable and would definitely survive being carried around in a handbag or backpack. The lids also screw on very tight, and there is no indication that they would leak under regular circumstances.
One of the more interesting things about Pure's enhancer is the fact that the bottles use a built in medical-style dropper to administer the enhancer. The dropper allows for more precise servings, and is better than the more typical eye-dropper lid type in that it allows the consumer to add the liquid either quickly or drop-by-drop, depending on the amount desired. The dropper can also be used as an impromptu stirring rod to give the water a quick swirl to help homogenize the flavor. However, the dropper does have some drawbacks. Having to physically take something in and out of the container greatly increases the chance of accidentally dripping the flavoring outside of the bottle. This is something that a little care when serving won't solve, but it does cut down on its portability a bit. However, it should be noted here that Pure does not market their product as highly portable. It is a nutritional supplement, and is constructed to present itself as one. However, in a market segment full of competitors who frequently tout the "on-the-go" nature of their water enhancers as a major selling point, some consumers may view this lack of portability as a problem.
The only other small complaint that I had about the functionality of Pure's enhancers was the dropper bulb. The directions for the green tea supplements call for one full dropper of enhancer per 8 ounces of water, but the suction of the dropper bulb is not quite strong enough to entirely fill the dropper. This is not a huge problem, as adding two half droppers is certainly easy enough, but it does leave the actual serving size between usages a bit ambiguous.
Overall, the taste of Pure's water enhancers is great. I was sent samples of the green tea with peach and cranberry with elderberry supplements, and I like both of them a good bit, although they are quite different. The green tea with peach is fairly straightforward, although it is very good. Pure uses all natural ingredients in their enhancers, and it really shows. The green tea extract manages to avoid the "instant tea" taste that is so common amongst tea flavored water enhancers, and tastes a lot more like real tea than most of the competition. The peach flavoring is a little bit more on the standardized, "this is peach flavoring" side, but it is still good, and adds an extra element of interest to the taste. I found the green tea with peach flavor to be very good, overall.
The cranberry and elderberry extract is a little bit more unconventional than the green tea extract, in that the entire cranberry is used, seeds and all. This gives the fruit extract supplements a more granular consistency, and allows for a little bit of sedimentation after mixing if the drink is allowed to sit still long enough. Using the whole berry also allows for a very accurate and natural taste, and the enhancer does taste pretty much like a mildly sweet, raw cranberry. The inclusion of the elderberry also adds an extra bit of interest to the flavoring, although my previous inexperience with elderberry makes it difficult to attest to exactly what the fruit adds to the taste. My only complaint with the cranberry extract is that it has a mildly strange aftertaste. It's not a bad aftertaste; just a bit dry and mildly bitter. It took me a few servings to warm up to the cranberry extract because of the lingering aftertaste, but after I became accustomed to it, I began to really like the flavor.
Overall, I really like Pure Inventions' water enhancers. They are full of beneficial dietary supplements, and are very natural and straightforward, with no added sugar, preservatives, or artificial flavors. The only thing keeping me from giving Pure's supplements my full recommendation is the slight barrier of entry. The supplements are on the expensive side, with each bottle ranging between 30 to 45 dollars. In a market full of water enhancers that typically cost less than five dollars per box or bottle, it makes Pure's product a bit of a hard sell. However, it is important to keep in mind that each bottle contains approximately 60 servings, and that the price you pay for Pure's product also includes the superior quality of the container, the carefully engineered nutritional benefits of each mix of supplements, and the unmatched natural taste of the flavors.
If you are in the market for a truly all-natural water enhancer and are willing to take the risk on the price, Pure Inventions' natural supplements are definitely worth trying out.
Verdict: Recommended
Purchased: Samples sent courtesy of Pure Inventions
Size: Varies by flavor [2 - 4 fl. oz.]
Price: Varies by flavor [$30.75 - $44.95]