Unsweetened Essence Water - 8 Reviews

I have a confession to make. I never understood these flavored waters. The extreme lightness of the flavoring always left me feeling like I was drinking a bottle of water after eating whatever fruit it was flavored with. As a result I let Mike write 7 out of the 8 Hint waters we have reviewed. Something has happened though and I now understand the allure. Perhaps my wishes have been granted and I am now a real boy, or a grown up with a fully working set of taste buds. Whatever the case this makes sense to me now.

This is simply water, mango and grapefruit. I can only assume the company has huge vats of water that they soak fruit in. They don't squeeze the juice out of the fruit; they just let the soaking extract a tiny bit of flavor. The result is nice and refreshing without any overbearance or intense sweetness. It does have a slight sweetness from the mango, but it's very subtle. Even though the flavor is minimal, the mango is definitely stronger than the grapefruit. Actually if a competitor wanted to create a similar beverage line I would suggest they use that as their name, Subtle. The Cola wars were so 80s. This is the decade for the minimally flavored water wars.

Look kid, this is ridiculous. Get to work. You've been here for four days and you haven't done anything. We've got deadlines and you're costing this company its reputation. We brought you on because you had a good portfolio and you could talk the talk but you and I both know that is only half of the gig. That's right. "The walk."

What do you need? Do you need something? We've got to get some work done and we can't get it done without everyone pitching in. So what do you need? Something to drink? Yeah? Cool. Look, I've got this right here. I was going to drink it but you can have it. It's still cold. It's lime flavored water but isn't strongly flavored it's just a light flavoring. I don't know how to explain it. Here, just take it. I've had it before and it's alright but anything to incentiviseâ…‚¬Å½ you. It's good but it's nothing special really. It's kind of like a flat Sierra Mist or something. You can taste the lime but it's weak. It's just water with "essence" of lime so you can take that how you will.

Alright, look at you. You just needed some lubrication like the Tin Man. You're working! You're really working. Man, I'm not picking on you. We're paying you to work and you're just sitting in here staring at the ceiling. That's not right. Enjoy that water and get to work. Seriously.

I don't know about you, my fine readers, but I am a big fan on bahn mi sandwiches. They are a staple lunch for me. I mix up some tofu, carrots, cucumber and sriracha and put them on a roll. I know that I should put daikon on it, but I haven't been making it to the Asian markets as much as I used to. My whole point of this is that when I make the sandwiches, I peel the skin off of the cucumbers. I find it to be a bit distracting from the overall taste. It's not a bad flavor at all, but it's not what I want in this particular sandwich.
Now what should be done with those leftover skins? I could compost them for my garden in the spring. Instead perhaps I will let them soak in water so that their flavor is transferred to the liquid. That my friends is exactly what this water tastes like. I've had other cucumber drinks that taste like the soft innards of the vegetable, but this tastes unmistakably like the skin. It's not bad, but it's not what I expected. I would also say that the flavor is much stronger than a “hint” as well. It certainly is refreshing and I like it. If you are iffy about cucumbers I would stay away though. This thing is pure cuc.

FACT!
Every time Jay, Editor Dan, and myself go to Chili's our number one (numero uno) priority is to get the blackberry tea. It probably trumps the importance of the meal. Now although we don't frequent Chili's as much as we used to, and I don't know why because it's pretty consistently delicious, we still have cravings for that sweet, wonderful blackberry. We haven't done many blackberry related drinks and I don't know why. I feel like if I went into any anonymous forest, the bushes would be laden with that little black dude. That sounds racist. It isn't.

I was pleased to see that Hint released a blackberry. I don't know when. Perhaps I've just overlooked it thinking I had reviewed it before, but I didn't until today. I bought my official "Thirsty Tuesday Taco", my blackberry Hint, and headed outside to have dinner.

As per usual, it was good. It was light, as expected, but every time I have Hint water, I'm surprised at how well they pull it off. It's like they previously used the bottles for a blackberry drink, did a garbage job of cleaning it, and then filled it with water, but it's acceptable. It's so light that I could see people getting mad if they didn't know what to expect. "I thought this was a clear juice. What a bummer." they would exclaim while people who knew what time it was were getting refreshed just two tables over thinking to themselves, "Who's that jerk and what's he complaining about? This stuff is great."

Think of it this way. There is no better drink for you than water. I'll say it. I've drunk hundreds of different drinks in the last year and it's true. This is just water with a tiny bit of blackberry flavoring. It's enhanced water. No one can tell you that water is better than this.

I gave my mom first sip, she said that it was just water. I made her try it again, and she said that it's like they forgot to put the flavor in. I gave it to my dad and he said that it was weak. I tried it and they were both right. Yes, it does taste like watermelon, yes it is weak, but it's different than the rest of the Hint stuff I've had. This drink is like Fibonacci sequence of drinks. The more you drink it, the more it tastes like watermelon. Once you stop, it gets back to square one. If you drank the whole thing, gluttonously and irresponsibly, in one chug fest of a drink session, it would probably be like eating a really wet watermelon.

This is good. It's refreshing, but if you're looking for a juice, this isn't it. If you want water with a little tiny bit of taste this is for you. If you like lemon water but are sick of always drinking the same thing, try this on for size, why don't you.

It's been a while since I've reviewed something by Hint. There is no reason. It's not like we went on an awkward date and then, when it was over, I shook her hand, thanked her for paying for both dinner and the movie, and then proceeded to ask her for bus fare. I just walked by them and didn't think twice. Look at my reviews. They're all pretty decent and that would warrant at least a thank you card.

Well, Hint, here is your thank you card. This drink is good and the flavors are pretty in your face. It really does taste like strawberry and kiwi. Having added no additional sugar or sweeteners, you have earned a gold star. Nothing beats a shiny, adhesive gold star. Ask and 3rd grader.

What ever happened to raspberries? I feel like some fruits are fads. Things like grapes and apples are a standard and will always be "there." Think about it, remember last year when everything had pomegranate in it? Good for pomegranate but it's not like something happened and all of a sudden they got good. People discovered antioxidants and all of a sudden this hidden gem is uncovered and everyone puts it in everything: chocolate, coffee, tea, candy, and so on and so forth. Blueberries, same thing. I feel like mango might be "it" right now.

"Problem" with these essence waters is that they have flavor, but sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what there are, especially if there is a mix. In the case of this drink you do get both raspberry and lime but you really have to study the drink. You have to swish it around, let it ruminate, swallow slowly, swallow quickly, and anything else you can think of. It's a good flavor and I think it's one of those "colder the better" drinks.

Everyone who tried it seemed to like it, which is good for Hint. Now if we, Thirsty Dudes, can only get the word out and make this company what they (probably) want to be; Commonplace, more popular, and in everyone's fridge. We're doing what we can, dudes. We're doing what we can.

I like flavored waters. I like them because I like a weak drink. A subtle flavor still keeps the essence of why you're drinking water in the first place alive. I still feel like I'm doing something good for myself while enjoying the natural taste of fruit. No sugar, no funny business.

Firstly, I get more tangerine than pomegranate so it should have been called tangerine pomegranate, not visa versa.

I liked this. It was good to drink with a meal and without since I took a break while drinking this of about 12 hours. It was good the second time around. I don't know if you can get Hint by me, but you can get it at Whole Food as well as a handful of other places. Go to their site and try some of their other stuff out. This one would be a good place to start.