ViWA magnemax - guava, orange

this must be the longest list of denominators i have ever encountered in the realm of soft drinks. the vitamin water market appears to have developed quite a bit in Romania, which means it would not necessarily come as a surprise if many producers were to try and cash in on the trend. i like it a lot - many of these are refreshing and pleasant, though some suffer from the plague of sugar, where any benefit brought by the supposed high vitamin content is offset by buckets upon buckets of the sweet stuff. nonetheless, that stems from my own obsession with sugar - it’s everywhere and honestly, it’s not that good for you, and definitely not in large quantities. preliminary considerations aside, i like the packaging - it’s going for a “medical” appeal and i really appreciate the infographic-like colours and design. nothing unusual among the ingredients either - this may just be a winner.

• taste profile: smells a little bit like Fanta - it’s what you would associate with a guava and orange drink. it’s pleasantly fizzy and really light on the tongue. you can taste the guava and orange in the front, then it just sort of disappears, leaving behind a pleasantly sweet-and-sour aftertaste. i’m digging this. served cold, it’s very refreshing - it’s not a “crowded” taste profile and the aftertaste is orangey and pleasant, and not sticky at all. i can’t taste the lemongrass at all - perhaps it’s melded with the other flavours, giving rise to a tone so subtle I can’t even taste it anymore. the drink is not unusual and it’s not too surprising either, but the flavour profile is new to me; the sharp, complex guava is in the lead, while the orange makes for an excellent, heavier taste base. It’s a good, full bodied profile, but without losing out on freshness. 

• rating: 8/10 - a good first impression; i could see myself drinking this regularly. refreshing, well balanced flavour, not overwhelmingly sweet. it does well, i think, in terms of marketing and it brings a pleasant, well put together flavour to the table. 

• background - ViWA appears to be a Hungarian company; they’ve got plenty of vitamin water options and i’m definitely not the first one to check them out. based on the managing director’s profile, ViWA’s been around since at least 2013.