This week we have another craft soda review from our resident craft soda enthusiast, 16 year old Joey Godinez. Joey has been sharing his reviews with Craft Beverage Jobs for almost one year! You can look back to all of Joey’s Craft Soda Reviews HERE, and enjoy his unique perspective and love for craft soda. One thing is certain, no craft soda may ever have enough fizz to satisfy Joey!
This is Joey’s second review for a Karma Cola product. (Joey’s first review for Karma Cola) Before we get to the review, we wanted to introduce you to the Karma Cola Foundation and its commitment to fair-trade.
Karma Cola Foundation
One of the characteristics of the craft beverage industry that we love, is its commitment to quality ingredients and equitable practices. So it comes as no surprise that Karma Cola established its own foundation to bring awareness to fair-trade within the craft soda industry.
The Karma Cola Foundation ensures fair-trade is practiced in the purchase of every quality ingredient for their products. Working in conjunction with charitable organizations and the Agro Forestry Farmers Association, the foundation works to fund projects benefiting communities within the Tiwai region of Sierra Leone. The foundation helps fund building projects, local schools and provide medical aid to these communities where Karma Cola sources ingredients.
If you don’t know what’s in your drink, if you don’t know what’s in your food, it can’t be good for you. – Albert Tucker, Head of Karma Cola Foundation
Joey’s Craft Soda Review
I’m Joey. I like craft soda, a lot. In my opinion, I feel that craft sodas have a lot more to offer than a mass produced soda not only in taste, but in the variety and quality of ingredients used in their production. This is a big reason why I generally enjoy craft sodas, and I also think that drinking them and reviewing them is a great way to support the generally smaller companies that produce these beverages.
Karma Cola’s Lemony Lemonade
Here is part 2 of the epic 3-part review for Karma Cola’s craft sodas. Today’s review is for Lemony Lemonade, a perfect drink for what has so far been a pretty muggy summer. Will it hold up to Karma Cola? Will it be the lemonade to end all lesser lemonades? Let’s find out.
The Bottle
First things first, the bottle. If Karma Cola’s label was a hieroglyph, then Lemony Lemonade reminds me of several 
old cartoons I used to watch. Lemony looks like an extra in Looney Toons. But, what it reminds me of the most, is that old pre-movie cartoon Let’s All go to the Lobby. Interesting? Yes, a neat little drawing.
The Smell
I popped the cap and wasn’t too surprised to find that it smells like lemonade. I like the smell of lemonade just as much as anyone else, but it’s certainly nothing new or different, just lemonade. I wish there were more to say about it, but like I said, it’s lemonade.
The Fizz
I think I’ve said before that to me citrus sodas benefit the most from being uber fizzy, and I was hoping this would be the one. It does better than most of the sodas I’ve reviewed, but it’s just not the one. The craft soda I can take back to my parents and say “IT’S FIZZY ENOUGH” is out there, and this comes pretty close, but close isn’t close enough.
The Taste
The Karma Cola company has another winner here! I don’t drink a lot of lemonade craft sodas, mostly because all the lemonade craft soda’s I’ve tried in the past have disappointed me. They are too sweet, too sour, or too bitter; I’ve experienced it all. But Lemony Lemonade is none of these things. I drank half of the bottle before I actually went into review mode, and I do not at all regret it. Easily the best lemonade I’ve ever tried, and while it would be comparing apples to oranges, I have to say I enjoy this more than Karma Cola. I don’t know how to describe it, just imagine really good lemonade with fizz and that’s what you get. Perfect summertime drink.
Overall: Lemony Lemonade is an all around winner with no obvious weaknesses. Easily the best summer drink I’ve had in a while. 9/10
Meet Joey Godinez
Joey Godinez is the 16-year-old son of a blogger Mom; big brother to two sisters; and lover of all things “Craft Soda”!
To keep up with all of Joey’s guest posts, just search the category Joey’s Craft Soda Review right here on the Craft Beverage Jobs Blog.