Bloom Pop root beer float

Background information: (from the website) "When co-founder Mari Llewellyn hit rock bottom mentally and physically, she decided to take ownership of her health by turning to wellness. With the help of her now-husband, Greg, she lost 90 pounds and finally found self-love. Inspired to help other women do the same, Mari created Bloom: high-quality, delicious health supplements designed to help everyone bloom into their best selves."

"All our supplements come in delicious flavors you can’t find anywhere else, so you can enjoy every scoop and stick to your wellness routine with ease. Designed with you in mind, our supplements are made with high-quality, effective ingredients that provide amazing benefits to help you feel your best daily.

With a female founder and female-led team, our mission is to make approachable, delicious, and effective supplements so every woman can bloom into their best self."

Product details: 12 fl. oz.  Designed by Bloom Nu LLC. Distributed by Nutrabolt, Austin, TX 78746. 20 calories, 3g sugar. Aluminum can. https://bloomnu.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Organic Cane Sugar, Pear Juice Concentrate, Fruit and Vegetable Juice (color), Prebiotic Xylooligosaccharides, Natural Flavors, Stevia Leaf Extract (Rebaudioside M), Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. (Contains 2% juice)

My thoughts: Another "healthy" root beer, these have been popping up like crazy. I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the pre/pro-biotic sodas, but it's a root beer and must be reviewed. Let's see if this continues the trend of ho-hum to downright not appetizing, or finally breaks through to deliver a complete, satisfying root beer experience.

The root beer flavor in the is the real deal. It has a good rooty sassafras base with a decent vanilla mixed in. It does have some of the traditional stevia flavor to it, but I feel like it's well masked and managed, so not too strong. The aftertaste leans toward vanilla with more of the stevia showing through. 

Upon cracking open the can, I was expecting a not too fizzy drink based on the whimper of escaping carbonation, and a moderately weak experience is what I get. It's not flat by any means, but the bubbles aren't very energetic and it feels a bit dull, especially as I neared the end of the can. Sweetness is good, though (as mentioned above) the use of stevia downgrades the flavor experience. Like most pre/pro-biotic sodas, this has a thick texture to it and, combined with the lack of carbonation, makes it very smooth to drink.

Keeping in mind that this is a "healthy" soda, I ended up thinking that it isn't that bad. If somebody offered me a can, I'd take it. As a root beer, it's okay, but it's hard to overcome the basic fact that this isn't a normal soda, so doesn't quite live up to what a real root beer can be. I think I prefer this to most diet root beers, however, so for those looking to cut their sugar intake, I think this is a perfectly valid option. For those looking for a classic root beer soda, however, there are certainly better options.

Rating: C
flavor: C+
aftertaste: C-
sweetness: B
smoothness: B

carbonation: D+