I typically don’t drink a lot of my calories. I much prefer to get them from actual food. I don’t drink soda (Root Beer being the scarce exception) and I don’t usually drink juice. However, I do love tea, seltzer and water and try to just stick with that.
But when the nice people over at Crystal Geyser offered to send me an array of drinks, I was excited (especially for the Tejava!) We drank these over the course of about two weeks.
When I told the rep how much I already loved the Tejava, she sent me a full sized bottle to review. Of course I already knew how great it was, but now I have a reason to talk about it.
First off, Tejava has two ingredients: water and tea leaves. I LOVE unsweetened tea. I never put milk or sugar in my hot tea either. I like it plain and simple. And as such, it has 0 calories! If you’re thinking maybe it would be too bitter, it’s actually not. They microbrew it which “yields a rich, distinctive, full-bodied taste”.
I enjoyed this tea last week using my new glass from Katie and Mark’s wedding! Yum!
If you are interested, they are holding a contest right now where you can enter to win a trip to the Java Tea Plantation and the Island of Bali!
The second product we tried was the Crystal Geyser Juice Squeeze line. Irving had the Cranberry Black Cherry and I tried the Passion Fruit & Mango. They are a bit tart with a hint of carbonation and come in eight different flavors. Irving loved them. He really liked the taste and thought the flavor was right on. Though I’m not really a juice girl myself, I think it’s great they don’t add corn syrup, cane sugar or beet sugar. But I view juice is an occasional treat and I prefer it a little sweeter.
They do however suggest adding it to a lunch box since it contains a full serving of fruit. If kids are going to drink juice anyways, might as well make it a healthy option.
The next products were Crystal Geyser California Iced Teas. I have an undying love for Iced Tea so of course I loved these. The ingredients are water, tea and cane sugar and natural flavors. It’s actually pretty hard nowadays to find drinks that still contain real sugar. We do not drink anything with Splenda, Aspertame or Nutri Sweet. (No more Diet Snapple for me. I stopped drinking that a few years back, so I’m happy to find a product to replace it!) I not only don’t like the taste, but I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners in general. If I’m going to have sugar, give me (a small amount of) the good stuff.
I had my first one along side a super delicious chopped salad. If I could go back in time and eat this salad again, I would. This tea was the perfect accompaniment. It was just sweet enough for me. I really enjoyed it.
Ok, real quick, here’s the recipe for my Chopped Lettuceless Salad:
–Dice up tomato, red onion, red pepper and cucumbers
–Stir in a glug of honey, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, and whatever seasoning you like (I used a rosemary garlic flavor)
And the last product is actually one I buy quite frequently. It is the Crystal Geyser Sparkling Mineral Water. Sparkling water is my beverage of choice. It has nothing in it, yet it is still bubbly, fun and delicious.
I brought these for lunch last week. First was a Trader Joes Eggplant Parmesan (which I don’t recommend, by the way). I drank the Orange Flavored sparkling water as an afternoon snack. It definitely satisfied my 3:00 snack craving for 0 calories. Perhaps I was more bored than hungry. For the win!
And next was a chicken salad sandwich with chips. Nothing goes better with a sandwich than some bubbles.
Crystal Geyser is currently only in the California and western markets, but if you do live here, it’s widely available. I see it all the time in my local grocery stores. I still only buy bottled drinks occasionally, but when I do crave one, I’m really glad to have some healthy, natural alternatives to the usual fare. Beware though, that Tejava is like crack. It’s SO good!
I ***LOVE**** Tejava. They are the only brand that NAILS iced tea.
I’ve been wanting to try Teajava. I am a huge unsweetened tea fan too. As for sparkling water, I am OBSESSED! It’s my favorite thing to drink besides plain water.
I have a Tejava sitting around at home, leftover for when I bought it for my dissertation defense (everyone opted for water, though!). Maybe I should finally crack it open!
If you’ve ever been up to Mammoth and such, the Crystal Geyser plant is in Olancha… small little thing, but you can’t miss it.
awesome! Yea, I think I did see the plant when I drove up to mammoth this year! I love local companies!