Crystal Light On the Go Drink Mix: Focus

I have been hearing about these water bottle drink mixers for the longest time, and I have avoided trying them until I recently picked this one up whilst grocery shopping. I have actually had Crystal Light before, but only ever on mass in a rather dilute pitcher of the stuff. I remember not being super impressed by whatever peach-flavored tea that I had tried a few years ago, but I figured it was worth giving it another try, and this time I thought that I'd just go for broke and get the portable packets.

After hesitantly ripping the pack open and shaking it into a visually homogeneous mixture within my bottle of water, I, as one would expect in the natural progression of consuming a beverage, took a sip. I was surprised; I actually liked it a lot. The citrus flavor has a very natural essence to it (although the only element that I can really pick out is orange). I say essence because it is clearly artificial, but there is something about the scent and aftertaste of the flavoring that reeks (in a good way) of fresh citrus. The flavor is good overall, although the chemical nature of the mixture does tend to have a bit of a mouth-drying quality. An extra source of easily-accessible water is a quick fix to this, and I definitely recommend it.

One thing that I was particularly hesitant about was the fact that Crystal Light is sweetened with aspartame. I do not like aspartame at all. I don't like consuming it mainly because of its expected connections to migraines and memory loss (although findings, from what I understand, are still reasonably non-conclusive), but the horrendous taste certainly doesn't help. Luckily, the aspartame is not prevalent in this flavor of Crystal Light, and the rest of the drink masks it pretty well. It is still there, to be sure, but the taste is masked well by the other elements of the beverage and is easy to overlook. 

It is worth nothing that this particular flavor of Crystal Light contains 40 mg of caffeine, for those who are looking for a quick pick-me-up during the work or school day. I do not experience caffeine as others do, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of the dosage, but 40 mg for a 16 fl. oz. serving is, from what I understand, a significant enough amount to at least perk up the consumer.

I was honestly shocked by how much I enjoyed this drink. I went in expecting to hate everything about it, but it was surprisingly satisfying despite the dry-mouth afterwards, and I would definitely recommend it for those on the go who occasionally want a little more flavor in their daily water bottle.

Verdict: Recommended

Purchased: Food Lion [Columbia, SC]

Size: 10 packets [Mixes into 16-17 fl. oz. bottles]

Price: $3.00 [ 2 for $6.00; Discounted from $4.00]