On a recent trek up north, I stopped in at a grocery store in Eau Claire and looked over the kombucha cooler. Would I find any elixir made by folks up north, perhaps featuring spruce tips or thimbleberries or oyster mushrooms or any fruits of the forest? Unfortunately, I was unable to find any made there in the Chippewa Valley but I did find some from the Tapuat Brewing Company in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. I had to look it up. Sister Bay is way out in Lake Michigan, near the tip of Green County.
When I opened this bottle up, I heard a mega rush of fizz. When I poured some in my glass, I got a big, lively head that acted like one from soda pop. I was able to smell the strawberry too as I guess those bubbles shook loose some of those esters and some furaneol and sent those aromatic molecules wafting through the air. Or something.
I looked at the label and saw that it contained CBD so I figured I'd be feeling alright after this tasting. Next I noticed "organic strawberry flavor extract" in the ingredient list. Uff da! I guess Amoretti has moved into the kombucha space. The label features the friendly face of what looks like a matryoshka doll that is surrounded by fruit, including strawberries. No vials or gallon jugs of flavor extract. Kind of a bait and switch, if you ask me.
My first sip was quite fizzy and it tasted like strawberry. I'd say it tasted about 75% like a Jolly Rancher with the rest of genuine fruit. There was a hint of something floral and a honeyed smoothness on the finish but I couldn't get strawberry Jolly Rancher out of my head.
The fizz made for a rather strong astringency but it still tasted rather sweet. This is what I suspect Jolly Rancher strawberry soda tastes like.
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