Spindrift Soda Update

Box of Sprindrift Soda

After my first post on Spindrift, I wrote owner Bill Creelman to inform him of my blog and wish him the best in his soda business.

Because Spindrift isn't available in West Michigan, I wasn't able to comment directly on the taste -- only the concept, values and mission of the company.

All six colorful Spindrift flavors

To my pleasant surprise, Bill wrote back, said he liked the blog and offered to send me some samples.  I was delighted a week later to receive my package of bottles.  In exchange for the favor, I hosted a tasting party with friends and family to get their opinions and brought samples to a local restaurant, Marie Catrib's, and a local health food grocery store chain, Harvest Health Foods, to get their feedback.

In a nutshell, all of the tasters were completely delighted with the taste and appreciated the values of the company.  More on this in a moment.

Pulp in Spindrift Soda

The sodas arrived in a carefully packaged box from Famous Foods.  I pulled each bottle out and first noticed the bright colors and pulp in each bottle.  It is the pulp that carried a lot of visual appeal to those looking for natural unadulterated foods.

The sodas have about 70 calories -- much less than a regular soda.The bottle label indicates the amount of real fruit is in each bottle such as "made with 16 raspberries, 9 cranberries and fresh squeezed lemon juice" or "made with 1/4 of a fresh squeezed grapefruit and fresh squeezed lemon juice".

The soda introduces itself with a playful sentence on the side of the label that says, "Sodas.  A Reintroduction. -- I'm sorry -- we've gotten off track.  Let's start again.  I'm a soda.  I'm made of sparkling water and crushed fruit.  Simple, light, refreshing.  Give me a second chance...please?"

The cap on each bottle is designed to showcase a non-profit Spindrift supports through donating at least 1% of its sales (not profit).  The organizations are all water preservation or water access related.

The cap reads, "Flip the cap to find a non-profit working to preserve water resources.  Once the bottle is opened, a web site is revealed with an organization they support.  Noticeable absent on the bottles was the 1% for the planet logo, the organization that certifies the donations, though it does appear on the web page.

Spindrift nutrition label

The flavors are:

1. Sparkling Grapefruit
2. Sparkling Blackberry
3. Sparkling Mango Orange
4. Sparkling Lemonade
5. Sparkling Half and Half (tea and lemonade)
6. Sparkling Cranberry Raspberry

Spindrift Soda Label

Amongst family and friends, the flavors most liked by the adults were grapefruit and half and half.  Everyone said the lemonade would be great on a hot day.  But all of the flavors were enjoyed and everyone said they would purchase this product if it were available.  The kids most liked mango orange and surprisingly the half and half.

I took the remaining samples to a local restaurant and health foods store to get their reactions. 

The owner at Marie Catrib's restaurant said he and his staff loved the product, that it was "flavorful" and that "it is exactly what they would want in a soda".  He made contact with Bill immediately and has been working on finding a distributor.

Spindrift bottle cap

The buyer at Harvest Health said she drank all three samples I gave her in one day and wants to buy it for their store.  Again, distribution is the only hang-up at this point.

Spindrift is a soda that is natural, refreshing, environmentally responsible, and great tasting.  With a solid network of distributors, it shouldn't be long before people will be buying it in droves.

Buy it online or in a local store or restaurant and enjoy!

Bodum French Press Delivers

I love coffee and drink several cups daily.

The amount of coffee I enjoyed grew exponentially when I was in college and the number of coffee makers I used during those four years and a few years after was astounding.  I could never find quite the right machine and they all plugged after several months of use thanks to the hard water in the city where I then lived.

I discovered the simple beauty of french press coffee on a business trip to the Northwest when a couple invited me to their home for a cup of coffee.  I purchased my own shortly thereafter and gave up on the traditional coffee-maker.

I use my 34 oz. Bodum french press once or twice daily and enjoy it because:

• It wastes nothing.  (No filters or fancy single-serve plastic cups.)
• The grounds can be easily discarded or placed into a garden or flower bed for fertilizer.
• Coffee can be prepared quickly.  Throw in course grounds of your favorite coffee, hot water, wait a couple of minutes and press.
• The flavor profile can't be beat.  The french press is the preferred brewing method of professional taste-testers.
• It can last forever and doesn't rely on any electronics or water softeners.  My Bodum is about 10 years old.

I grind our favorite beans in our burr grinder and throw them in the bottom of the press.  We have an electric tea kettle that heats water to boiling within three minutes.  Pour the water in and press after a couple of minutes steeping time.

It couldn't be easier or much faster and the taste is amazing.  This $40 investment may last you a lifetime.  There are varying sizes of presses from one-cup to 12 and even presses that are insulated for family gatherings.

I know the various one-use cup machines are all the rage now, but the expense and waste is astounding when the simplicity of a press is more more efficient, environmentally sound and perhaps delivers better taste.

Give it a try.  Most good coffee shops (I know Starbucks does) will make your coffee using a french press if you ask.  Or make the leap and buy one -- or two.

Starbucks VIA Easily the Best Instant Coffee

Starbucks Via is on the Right

We occasionally reach for an instant coffee when time is tight and we just don't feel like going through the process of french press coffee-making. (our usual method)  I also use instant in baking and cooking to help bring out the earthier tastes.

Ultra-fine Starbucks Via

We recently purchased Starbucks VIA brand Christmas Blend, a break from our traditional leading national brand.  I'm impressed.  While not quite a true Starbucks coffee taste I would get from a local Barista, it comes close.

The Large Granules of the Leading National Brand

The flavor is great, but it's the way it so smoothly blends in the hot water that is the deal clincher for me.

Leading National Brand with No Stirring

On a white plate, you can quickly pick out the dark-roast Starbucks.  But look even closer and you will see the huge difference in granule size.  The ultra-fine granule of the Starbucks brand makes stirring close to unnecessary and blends well into baked goods while the course nature of the leading national brand always leaves floating pieces on a cup of coffee.

There are thirteen flavors and varieties of VIA from which to choose ranging from light to dark roasts and a few flavor options too.

I also like supporting Starbucks because they are outwardly committed to issues of sustainability, diversity, ethical sourcing and community.

VIA does cost more, but it may be worth an occasional splurge.

Starbucks Via with no Stirring

"spindrift: a fresh take on sodas"

According to an article in February's issue of Fast Company magazine, the average American drinks 50 gallons of soda annually.  A lot of that soda is made with up to 55% fructose (an ingredient linked to health troubles) and a host of artificial colors and flavors.

The article highlights a fresh new approach and company to the soda industry.  Enter Spindrift.  Made of soda water combined with fresh squeezed fruits with nothing artificial.

This is how they are different from every other soda maker:

• They never use juice from concentrate.
• They never use artificial sweeteners.
• They never use preservatives.
• They never use artificial colors.
• Each bottle contains 50-100% juice portion.
• Juice fibers are maintained which helps your body.
• They use FDA-certified "fresh" nectar from four suppliers.
• They refrigerate their product once made (it's required with fresh ingredients unlike the syrups that are shelf-stable at room temperature for months).
• They contract delivery of the finished soda with distributors of fish, produce and cheese because traditional soda distributors only deliver with warm trucks.
• *And one of my favorites.  They are members of 1% for the Planet, a collection of environmentally aware companies that donate 1% of their sales (not profits) to non-profit organizations that preserve and protect the environment.  In this case, Spindrift donates their money to the preservation of water resources nationally and globally.

I have yet to find any flavors in Michigan and the article said there were only 200 retailers at the time of print.  But it will be coming and I look forward to writing a follow-up to this post.

For now, here is a list of the flavors from their web site:

1. Sparkling Grapefruit (1/4 of a fresh squeezed grapefruit and fresh squeezed lemon)
2. Sparkling Blackberry (8 whole blackberries and fresh squeezed lemon juice)
3. Sparkling Mango Orange (1/2 of a fresh squeezed orange and alfonso mango puree)
4. Sparkling Lemonade (1 whole fresh squeezed lemon)
5. Sparkling Half & Half (Half fresh squeezed lemon and half fresh brewed tea)
6. Sparkling Cranberry Raspberry (Made with 16 raspberries; 9 Vermont cranberries and fresh squeezed lemon juice)

I presume you will find these in the refrigerated section of your grocery store -- if you're lucky enough to have it as an option in your neighborhood.  To find the location nearest you, click here.

Since I can only applaud the how and why this new product is made and not the taste, I will rely on those who have tried it.  Please comment on this post and let us know what you think of the taste, where you found it, how much it cost, etc.

The owner has a great story of being raised on only natural ingredients and lots of homemade food right down to the making of their own butter.  He is now raising his own kids in this tradition, but found a contradiction to this lifestyle with his frequent consumption (described as an addiction) of Diet Coke.

He sought to create a fresh, non-syrup, solution to traditional soda and ran into a few entertaining bumps.  Read the full story here.

P.S.  If your curious what spindrift means, dictionary.com defines it as "spray swept by a violent wind along the surface of the sea".

Here's to hoping the spray from a violent wind hits the shores of Lake Michigan soon!  Strong hints go out to Meijer, D&W and Spartan Stores along with West Michigan restaurants and hotels.

UPDATE:  01/18/2012

I received this message from owner Bill Creelman on the current locations to find this soda:

Hi!

Thank you for your store locator inquiry to Spindrift Soda. Unfortunately we are not sold in your area. Today Spindrift is only sold in New England, New York, and select parts of the eastern seaboard. We are starting to make our way around the rest of the east coast so stay tuned for further details!

We are always looking for other passionate partners so if you have any amazing cafes, bakeries, burrito shops, or a favorite sandwich spot, please forward them along and we will reach to introduce our product.

In the mean time, you can purchase product from our website or follow us onhttp://www.facebook.com/spindriftsoda or www.twitter.com/spindriftsoda for frequent new store openings.

Thanks again for your Spindrift inquiry!

Best wishes,

Bill

What Ingredients Lurk in Your Hot Chocolate?

Cold West Michigan winters + kids + love of chocolate = hot chocolate!

Last winter our family came in from an hour of cold snow play to cups of hot chocolate.  We weren't a few sips in and our son had a stomach spell -- again.  I flipped over the store brand package and read an extensive list of things I couldn't pronounce or even begin to understand.

Not to single out any particular brand, as all cheap hot chocolates mixes have a similar ingredient list, but really think about the stuff that is in typical hot chocolate.

My brief research led to to learn that all you really need for hot chocolate in a scoop or two of unsweetened cocoa powder of your choice along with an additional scoop or two of powdered sugar.  Perhaps ad a splash of vanilla, a dash of salt, cinnamon, Cayenne, nutmeg or flavoring of your choosing and you're good to go.

This is when I also found that it is natural in the process to have a bit of chocolate sludge at the bottom of your cup that you can choose to consume or discard because natural cocoa doesn't dissolve.

This year, I found a large pre-mixed container of Starbucks natural hot chocolate at our local Costco for $12.99 and containing 55 servings.  A serving is 2 TBS and has 80 calories, but I have found my "diet version" of 1 TBS and 40 calories to be adequate.  It really depends on the size of your cup and chocolate intensity desire.

So, we will gladly trade in our 17+ ingredient (see list on can above) stuff for a *3-ingredient (sugar, cocoa, vanilla) natural cup of hot cocoa.

*Processed with alkali is in reference to Dutch Processing and includes an acid reducer such as baking soda.  Dutch Processing greatly reduces the antioxidant power of chocolate.  To keep more of the antioxidants or avoid the alkali process, mix your own using Ghirardelli brand unsweetened cocoa powder.  They developed the Broma Process that leaves everything in its natural state resulting in a bit darker chocolate and significantly more anti-oxidants.