One of the main changes in my quest to have an even healthier lifestyle was to quell my intake of fizzy, artificial drinks like diet coke.
At one point, I was cracking open one of those cans every single day which wasn’t doing myself any favours.
So overnight, I stopped. I stopped going next door to the shop to get my fix of aspartame and other unpronounceable nasties and increased my intake of water. Goodbye daily headaches.
Although, the lack of fizz has left a hole in my life I’m afraid to say. I have the odd Gin and Tonic, but I miss my vodka and diet coke.
But, to my rescue came Karma Cola. A purveyor of soft drinks that are kind of good for you and good for their growers. They’re the only Fairtrade organic cola in the UK and the company has set up a foundation to help their farmers in Seirra Leone. And for every bottle made, proceeds are given back to the growers’ families to help them re-establish their lives following the country’s civil war. So it’s sort of a soft drink with a purpose.
They have a small range of lovelies including, Gingerella, Lemony Lemonade and, of course, Karma Cola. They were kind enough to send through a trio for me to try.
Pretty packaging is always a plus for me. And being able to see the colour of the beverage, which isn’t hidden inside a tin can fills me with confidence.
I was apprehensive about trying Karma Cola just in case I liked it. I know that sounds strange but my main love for diet coke was it’s zero calories. Karma Cola does have some calories but you have to weigh up whether you want to fill your body with toxins or healthier calories.
The Soil Association and the Fair Trade seals of approval are reassuring and keep confusing me as they’re on a fizzy drink – how is this even possible?!
And the cola itself is from an actual cola nut (which is a real thing, who knew!) grown in Sierra Leone.
Karma Cola: the taste test
So what did I think? Well, I absolutely loved the taste of Karma Cola and finished it off rather quickly so take from that what you will. Although it does contain sugar, the sugar is unbleached so there’s a lot less tampering and bad things inside your drink. I imagine this will go rather well with a vodka.
Now that I had established a taste for the cola, I thought I’d wait for a sunny Sunday afternoon to try the rest.
Gingerella is made of all natural ingredients too and tastes exactly the same, if not better, than old Jamaicans Fiery Ginger Beer. I added lemon and lime to my drink for extra zing.
The final verdict? Much yum. I’ll definitely be having these again. And I’ve just found out that they are sold at my local supermarket.
