Spring's Soft Drinks "Countries"

ספרינג ארצות תאילנד הודו ברזילסדרת משקאות

Spring's latest line of soft drinks was given the name "Countries" because each soft drink is "representative" of a different country. The three countries are Brazil, Thailand and India.

The Brazilian fruit drink is made of Apples and Caja Fruit. The one from Thailand has Banana, Pineapple and Coconut in it and the drink representing India is made of Peaches, Passion Fruit and Jackfruit.

I was debating which one I wanted to try. Having never been to any of these three countries, none of them brought back memories of a wonderful exotic vacation I was hoping to "escape into" via a glass of a fruit drink, so I went strictly by flavors.



I think I may have mentioned in a review of Spring's Pineapple-Lychee Soft Drink that I'm not a huge fan of pineapple juice so I decided to skip the Thailand drink.

Caja Fruit
source 

I had never heard of Caja Fruit or Jackfruit so I checked Google. First I learned about that Caja fruit. Its pronounced "ka-ja" and they grow on huge trees deep within the rainforests. The Caja fruit resembles and tastes like a tiny mango. The Brazilians mostly use it in juices. It seems to be rich in calcium, iron, phosphorous, beta carotene, Vitamins A, B and C. I thought it sounded interesting but given that I don’t really like apple drinks that much the Brazilian option was off the table for me.

On to India and learning about Jackfruit here is some of the information I found. (source)

The jackfruit is a species of tree in the mulberry family. It's the largest tree borne fruit in the world. It is seldom less than about 25 cm (10 in) in diameter.

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous. It’s a good source of dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins but contains no saturated fats or cholesterol.

The exterior of the fruit is not edible, but the flesh and seeds are commonly eaten. When the jackfruit is opened, numerous sweet, banana-like bulbs are revealed. The seeds can be roasted and are compared to chestnuts in flavor.

In India, jackfruit is eaten raw or used in curries, soups, and stews. It also flavors various deserts and is a common ingredient in fruit salads. Bangladesh claims it as its national fruit.

I found all that information very interesting and banana flavor didn’t sound too bad, so even though I wasn’t 100% sure what Jackfruit would actually taste like, plus I thought the peaches & passion fruit juice, which I enjoy, would most likely be the dominating flavors, I decided that the India Spring Soft Drink was the right one for me to try.

I was right the main flavors I tasted were peach and passion fruit but I did pick up on a touch of "banana" flavor. I guess that was really the jackfruit and not banana. Given that the drink has 6% peach puree and 6% passion fruit but only 2% jackfruit puree it didn’t surprise me that the jackfruit flavor was just a slight undertone and not really as noticeable as the other fruits. Still the jackfruit did seem to add flavor and thickness to the soft drink.

I liked the drink, I thought it was refreshing and I enjoyed its rich flavors. To me, it seemed that peach was the leading taste with a nice kick of passion fruit that was then "topped off" with what must have been the jackfruit.

I actually did think the drink left somewhat of a banana-like "starchy" feeling on my tongue. Again, I'm guessing that came from the jackfruit but I can't say it really bothered me all that much. 

As with many fruit drinks I thought they added WAY too much sugar for my liking, it’s the second ingredient following water. Next time I have a glass of this Spring India drink I plan on adding about a half a cup of water to dilute the sweetness.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed Spring's India inspired drink. I didn’t know peaches and passion fruit were so popular in India so I was a little surprised when I read what fruits it was made of. I was also happy to learn about Jackfruit and Caja Fruit, two fruits I never knew existed. My main issue with this drink was that I thought it was too sweet. I think peaches and passion fruit are sweet enough on their own, Spring should not have added so much sugar to the mix.

1.5 liter bottle – 6.79 NIS
3 for 15.99 NIS at Shufersal Deal

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Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.