Although August is scientifically a summer month, for retail displays and autumn lovers, it’s considered the transition into fall. With that, Poppi is releasing a new limited-edition soda for back to school. The popular health drink’s new Sour Apple flavor, meant to spark nostalgia with its crisp and tart apple flavor, releases early August.
Sour apple flavoring has been somewhat of a force of nature in a variety of food products. You can find sour apple flavoring in drinks, gummies, and classic hard candy. It’s a lovable flavor, and now Poppi offers their own take on the special taste. Their goal with newcomer Sour Apple is to accentuate that transition period into fall with a sweet and tangy soda that has a bit of a kick to it. For fans of everything sour, green, and tart apple flavored products, this no doubt will be a favorite amongst them. Especially with those who feel nostalgic over candy like Jolly Rancher’s Green Apple that you found during your elementary school days. I had the opportunity to try Sour Apple ahead of release, so I have some thoughts and advice.
First off, I thought the packaging was beautiful. The bright and dark green duo alone was captivating, so was the art style they chose. Poppi includes cute pop-art styled decals on all of their cans, based on the flavor. This one was, of course, a green apple, and included the words “sour,” “zing,” and “yum” in comic book-style lettering.
I tried Sour Apple in a few different ways. Refrigerated, room temperature, and in a glass with ice. Now, it might seem silly, but it does matter how you drink it. If you’re someone who isn’t a regular Poppi drinker — like me — but still want to give it a try, it’s best to drink it with ice. This will help balance the added sweetener and allow you to taste solely the apple flavoring instead. If you’re a hardcore Sour Apple fan, you definitely want to drink it straight from the can. The Sour Apple will hit you before you even take a sip.
Poppi very much tastes and smells like the flavor that’s listed on the label, such as their Root Beer and Shirley Temple options, but it also has that sweet aftertaste that exists in most of their drinks. If you’re not a fan of a syrup-like aftertaste, these drinks might not be for you. However, the harsher sweetness isn’t as present in their new Sour Apple flavor. Instead, the higher carbonation and tartness contrasts well with a sugary taste. For me, my personal preference with soda is that the carbonated water has to be noticeable or else it’s too overpowered by syrup. That’s something that I haven’t found with Poppi, but Sour Apple was a pleasant surprise. It’s too bad this is only a limited-edition flavor.
Additionally, to celebrate the new release, Poppi will be present at lil sweet treat locations in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles from August 10 to 17, where you can try the new flavor and their gummy candy counterpart (also Sour Apple flavored). Further, Poppi is promoting the release with an interactive billboard at 161 Lafayette St in New York City, where you’ll be able to peel off one of the 500 green apple stickers for a chance to win a Poppi Sour Apple mailer.