I have liked Vitamin Water since I was first introduced to it in September 2006. My GRE tutor (I was taking the GRE that October) loved them and thought I needed to try them too! For my first ever taste, she decided I should try the Power-C (called Mega-C in Canada) bright pink one. The actual flavour is Dragonfruit (see picture below) which I don't think I'd even heard of until then. Now I hope I'll one day be able to taste it (apparently they're available throughout Central America) to determine if I like the fruit more, less, or the same as the drink. I sometimes wonder what would have happened had the tutor chosen a different one to give me, as I have become a die-hard Power/Mega-C fan and worry that had she first given me one of the boring yellow or orange ones I would never have tried Vitamin Water again. I've dabbled in a few other flavours, Focus - the light pink one (strawberry & kiwi flavour) which is too sweet for me, Defense (apple & raspberry flavour - both fruits I like but the taste is not good) and S.'s favourite XXX (acai, blueberry & pomegranate), which is pretty good and which I will drink if need be; but ultimately nothing rivals Mega-C for my affection.
I have to admit I've always been pretty smug about the fact that I don't like Coke, or pop in general (although I did enjoy taking the Coke Pepsi Challenge when I was a little kid, mostly because it was fun to a. see which one I preferred (I always picked Pepsi) and b. to get the prizes (usually gum!) they gave out). It's embarrassing, but it definitely made me feel pretty good about myself that I didn't regularly ingest sugary, wasteful calorie filled drinks. My little smug bubble, however, came crashing down recently when I read an article about how Vitamin Water actually has a lot of sugar, and is not that much better than Coke or other similar drinks. Sure, it has some vitamins (in my case, C and B) but it's also not just, as the label boasts "Vitamins + Water". It's not that I ever really equated it with water, but reading that it's the equivalent of Gatorade (a beverage I find pretty gross) disappointed me. Just recently, the Advertising watchdog Agency in the UK told Vitamin Water it is no longer allowed to use the slogan "Delicious and Nutritious" (which was only used in the UK) because the nutritious part is simply not true. There has been a similar case going on in the US as well.
My burst bubble aside, these developments actually just made me realize that I wasn't ever drinking Vitamin Water for any purported nutritional value. Maybe I wasn't aware it had a lot of sugar, but I was not under the impression that it was super healthy for me either. I just like the taste and it's a good way to keep hydrated every day. Recently I had a conversation with J. about how North Americans are obsessed with drinking lots of water and always staying hydrated. I have to agree. My first few years at Berkeley I was astounded at how many people I knew/saw who brought their Nalgene bottles with them everywhere - to class, to the library, for walks, to the movies. Fast forward a few years, and I had (and have) one too, and drink from it every day (although I really only bring it to school). I have definitely embraced this hydration culture, and I think Vitamin Water is just a part of it. People have decided they need to be drinking fluids all the time, and Vitamin Water is just another option. I do fill up my Nalgene with regular water every day, but it's nice to also have another non-water beverage every day.
In closing, I will say that Vitamin Waters are the absolute best drinks for long car rides, bar none. When S. and I drove from Austin to LA, and then from Austin to Nashville the next year, I always liked stopping in little towns in the middle of nowhere along the highway and buying a Vitamin water. It may not have been nutritious, but it was delicious, and it definitely brightened up the long hours on the road.
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