Review: Pretty, fizzy drinks not Holt's cup of tea

FARGO – Cold, colorful, fizzy beverages help make summer summer.

So I was excited to see one of my favorite coffee chains come out with new “Sparkling Teas and Juices.”

One of Caribou Coffee’s Facebook fans commented on the company’s “reveal” post: “I hate it when coffee shops try to do stupid drinks that don’t have coffee in them.”

Well, I disagree. Sure, I normally order coffee at a coffee shop, but I like having other options, too.

Caribou’s new Sparkling Teas and Juices include Berry Black Tea, Green Tea Lemonade, Mint Lime White Tea, Peach Black Tea, Lemon Ginger Pomegranate Juice and Very Berry Juice.

I tried the Mint Lime White Tea and Lemon Ginger Pomegranate Juice.

My first impression of the summertime drinks: “Ooh, pretty!” My second impression of them: “Hmm, weird.”

Though they’re both refreshing beverages with fun flavor combinations, I didn’t like either enough to get them again.

(I’ll stick with usual my cold press with a shot of white chocolate.)

The mint and lime of the white tea reminded me too much of eucalyptus, and the aftertaste was like sucking on a Halls.

The pomegranate juice had a better aftertaste and overall was the better of the two, but I tend to favor fruity over citrusy.

Out of curiosity, I checked out the nutrition information.

A medium Mint Lime White Tea has 240 calories and 58 grams of sugar, the Lemon Ginger Pomegranate Juice 260 calories and 57 grams of sugar.

Uh, yeah, that’s a lot.

By comparison, a 12-ounce can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar.

I was surprised at the high sugar content because they don’t taste overly sweet. Maybe the extra carbonation masks the sweetness.

The drinks were so fizzy I had trouble stabbing the straws into the plastic cups without making a mess of my car’s cup holders.

Give them a good swirl before you start sipping – the syrups tend to settle at the bottom.

I have a wicked sweet tooth, but there’s no way I could finish either medium-sized drink.

Next time I’ll order the Peach Black Tea, which has the fewest calories and sugar grams at 140 and 33, respectively.

Caribou Coffee has locations on 25th Street, in the 13th Avenue Hornbacher’s, 32nd Avenue Hornbacher’s and Osgood Hornbacher’s in Fargo and on 13th Avenue in West Fargo.

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