A Buyer's Guide to Kool-Aid

*Originally published on 10/7/09


While summer may be over, you still get thirsty and crave a cool beverage. For a (slightly) healthier alternative to soda, there's Kool-Aid. I'm a big fan of soda, I long considered it my own personal fuel. So when my roommate put forth the idea to stop buying soda and switch to Kool-Aid, I was less than enthused. It's actually worked out pretty well. It actually is pretty thirst quenching and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than soda. If you buy them in the little individual packets, you can get 5 gallons worth for only 2 bucks. That's a pretty sweet deal.

Newcomers may be overwhelmed as there are a ton of flavors to choose from. While we haven't tried every flavor, I believe I can help you narrow down your choices.

The main one is tropical punch. If you like punch, you'll like this. It's one of my favorites. We used to buy Hawaiian Punch all the time, but we've made the switch to this. It saves space in the fridge, and it's cheaper. The taste is about the same. It's quite refreshing when you're thirsty.

Another popular one is the grape flavored Kool-Aid. This is a tough one to write about because it is associated with a certain racial stereotype. It's not just Kool-Aid, but this flavor specifically. I'm of the opinion that people should be able to eat or drink what they want. If it's good, then what's the big deal? The same goes for watermelon, so what? Watermelon is good, why wouldn't they like it? Lots of people like watermelon so it seems like people are just nitpicking.

But I digress, the cherry flavor is the weakest of the ones we have bought. One of my roommates likes it (as he says, he just likes Kool-aid) but our other roommate and I agree that it tastes like cough syrup. If you like cough syrup, well then I guess you can go ahead and drink this, but I'd pass on it.

You'd think with cherry being a weak link in the Kool-aid chain, that black cherry would provide more of the same. On the contrary, this is good. It's not the best. I wouldn't actively seek it out, but it's drinkable and pretty refreshing in its own right.

Strawberry is another one that's not bad, but just passable. It's one of those flavors that you'll drink, but won't really savor.

The best flavor by far is the lemon lime. This stuff is downright delicious. When you get to this section in the grocery store, nab up as much of the lemon lime as you can because this is the best the beverage has to offer.

You can go with just the lemon lime and tropical punch flavors and be more than satisfied with your Kool-Aid drinking experience. If you're trying to save money on groceries or just looking for an alternative to soda, Kool-Aid is a brand worth checking out.