Popular brands like Poppi and Olipop say their sodas contain prebiotics designed to help good bacteria grow. Culture Pop, on the other hand, is a probiotic drink that says it contains the live bacteria other brands help to cultivate.
Even so, I like that these beverages are lower-sugar alternatives to classic soda drinks. Culture Pop, for example, has no added sugar or sugar alternatives. Its sweetness comes from fruit juice.
And, after trying different flavors of Poppi and Olipop prebiotic sodas, I was curious to see how Culture Pop stacked up against the competition in terms of taste.
My wife and I both agreed that Culture Pop's lemon-lime flavor was our least favorite.
Culture Pop's lemon-lime flavor was very different from a Sprite or 7-Up.
Ted Berg
I found that every flavor of Culture Pop required at least a small adjustment of expectations.
I'm not accustomed to soda with relatively little sugar and no artificial sweetener, and a lot of the Culture Pop varieties tasted like a halfway point between traditional soda and flavored seltzer.
However, Culture Pop's lemon-lime flavor was so different from a Sprite or 7-Up that it was a little jarring. I found it to be very tart and didn't like the taste.
My wife agreed that this was the least appealing of the bunch.
The black-cherry flavor had a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste.
Culture Pop's black-cherry soda was the most assertive flavor I tried.
Ted Berg
Culture Pop's black-cherry variety tasted distinctly like a cough drop to me — but one of the tasty, candy-like cough drops like a Luden's.
This may have been the most assertive of the Culture Pop flavors I tried, with an acidic, wine-like tang. But again, it's important to keep in mind that all the Culture Pop flavors I tried were fairly muted by soda standards.
The taste wasn't unpleasant at all, but there was a hint of an aftertaste that I didn't love.
One flavor stood out when I tried the wild-berries-and-lime soda.
The lime flavor was a bit more prominent than the wild berries.
Ted Berg
All the Culture Pop flavors I tried listed white-grape juice as one of the primary ingredients, giving each soda a tangy acidity.
In this case, however, the lime flavor was a bit more prominent than the wild berries, which presented as a hint of blueberry aroma. Otherwise, I thought this soda was vaguely fruity.
The strawberry-and-rhubarb flavor surprised me.
Culture Pop's strawberry-and-rhubarb flavor grew on me as I drank it.
Ted Berg
The first Culture Pop flavor I tried was the strawberry-and-rhubarb variety. When I poured it into the glass, I was immediately surprised by the color. I expected the liquid to be electric pink, but the soda had more of a yellow-ish ginger-ale color.
I also expected to be overwhelmed by the sweetness of strawberries, but my first impression came from the unexpectedly vegetal taste of the rhubarb. The strawberry flavor was subtle but tasted like actual strawberries. This was definitely a flavor that grew on me as I drank it.
The ginger-lemon-and-turmeric flavor tasted like ginger beer.
Both the ginger and lemon flavors were distinct.
Ted Berg
Once I selected my top three Culture Pop flavors, it was tough to choose my favorite. However, the ginger-lemon-and-turmeric variety probably could have taken the top spot if I tasted it on a different day.
The ginger and lemon flavors were both distinct, but neither was overpowering — there was a slight, spicy bite from the ginger, then a bright tartness from the lemon.
It was harder to make out the turmeric flavor, but in general, the soda had the vibe of a pleasant herbal tea. I even thought it tasted slightly closer to the taste of ginger beer than most commercial ginger ales I've tried.
Culture Pop's orange-mango-and-lime flavor was my wife's favorite.
Culture Pop's orange-mango-and-lime flavor tasted less sweet than the other flavors I tried.
Ted Berg
I was also surprised by the color of Culture Pop's orange-mango-and-lime soda. This one had a pleasant salmon color instead of the neon-orange hue I expect from many orange sodas.
This flavor seemed the closest to a seltzer of all the varieties I tried and even tasted less sweet than the rest despite an identical calorie count.
The orange flavor was quiet but obvious, but the mango and lime notes were harder to pick out. This flavor also includes a bit of chili powder, which added a touch of spice that I really enjoyed. This one was my wife's favorite.
The watermelon-and-lime flavor was my favorite.
Culture Pop's watermelon-and-lime soda was crisp and refreshing.
Ted Berg
When I opened the can of watermelon-lime Culture Pop, it had such a strong watermelon scent that I worried the taste would be overbearing.
However, the actual watermelon flavor was mild and nicely balanced by the tartness of the lime.
This was immediately the most refreshing tasting of the seven flavors I tried. It was light and crisp, and though I couldn't quite distinguish the rosemary that's listed in the ingredients, there was something pleasantly herbaceous about the soda that added a nice nuance.
