Pete's Natural - Hemp & Manuka Sparkling Goodness product reviews

Hemp and its products are quickly becoming a big market - along with things like CBD oil and other typically "hippie" items. Personally, things like this drink are right up my alley, having been a "crunchy" Mumma, with baby wearing, natural products for gut health and overall, and shying away from chemicals and additives that I cannot pronounce, nor actually know what they are! I love that a company such as Pete's Natural have decided to embrace it and have created something unique and different.

The bottle itself is on the smaller side at 300ml, but honestly - you will not even notice. The label is bright and cheery with a cannabis leave on it - pointing out that hemp or similar is going to be in this product. I do note that the other varieties are different colours, making them easy to distinguish. I like that I can actually see the drink - and it is a lime green type colour - making me think it will be almost lime-y, and refreshing.

Knowing that this is a sparkling drink made me think it may fizz when opened, but I was nicely surprised that I did not end up with a sticky mess and wasted drink. I personally chose to chill mine, so not sure if it good at room temperature, but nothing that a few cubes of ice could not fix.

I had had a late night the night before and really wanted a pick me up that would not then crash me down a few hours later like normal fizzy drinks are likely to do, and so decided to have it, hoping that it would be helpful in my energy level! On to the taste, and this is a drink that is not sweet in the sugar sense, but rather it uses the honey and other fruit ingredients to sweeten it. I found it pleasantly sweet, lemony rather than limey and with a slightly savoury type flavour that I can only assume comes from the hemp seeds. I did feel like it was a good pick me up and certainly do not remember feeling that crash later in the afternoon. As to whether it was the hemp seeds, I am not sure - I think you would have to drink this on a regular basis to feel and benefit from them.

All in all - I would drink it again, excepting the price - as that is probably the biggest thing stopping me. It definitely has a market for it and if you were looking for something a bit different to fizzy, this might just hit the spot.

Pete's natural hemp and manuka sparkling goodness drink comes in a small bottle displaying a big cannabis leaf hinting to the fact that it has hemp seeds which have been claimed to have many health benefits. I picked this product purely because it was very interesting and different. When first seeing it I saw that it was a lovely shade of ivy green which excited me because it adds a little colour to my diet and it is healthy for you claiming that it is rich in omega 3 and 6 as well as containing big amounts of antioxidants helping the heart and skin.

When first opening the bottle I was expecting the bottle to fizz over and make a huge mess but to my relief, it only made a noise and didn't make a mess. The colours as I said before are quite pleasing and the design of the bottle is aesthetically pleasing with the vibrant greens with a hint of yellow, white and black, I especially enjoy the hexagon pattern to represent beehives or a least the insides of the hive I also like how it comes in a glass bottle instead of plastic as it is way better for the animals and planet.

The flavour of the drink is sweet but refreshing and the carbonation makes it suitable for those hot summer days when you feel like a cold drink. I would describe the flavour to be similar to iced tea with a bitter after taste mixed with a pop of sweet honey as it also has a strange herbal taste to it which I assume is the hemp seed. It not only tastes great but it smells good too with a nice sweet herby smell.

Pete's Natural Hemp & Manuka Sparkling Goodness comes in a glass bottle with a large cannabis leaf on the label with a bee in the middle, obviously to reinforce the fact that it's Hemp and Manuka flavoured. The drink is a pleasant shade of green and I did notice that there was sediment at the bottom so I tried to give it a gentle shake to stir the contents without having it explode when open. I was pleased to find that there wasn't a huge explosion and when I looked at the ingredients, I saw that it contained Lightly Sparkling Water. Lemon juice, Manuka Honey, Hemp seed infusion, Monk Fruit Extract, and spinach juice make up the rest of the ingredients. I must admit I was surprised by the spinach juice but at least it's healthy!

Once opened, I noticed a subtle honey scent and another unassuming scent that I assume is hemp, although I have to admit that I've never smelt hemp so wouldn't know what it smelt like! The Hemp & Manuka Sparkling Goodness has an interesting taste and although it has no sugar added the honey gives it some sweetness. I found the lemon juice was dominant but not overpowering.

I can see the appeal to some but personally, this was not a drink that I was overly keen on and although it has some health benefits, I wouldn't purchase this in the future.

At $49 for 12 bottles you would definitely want to make sure you loved the product before buying 12 bottles. I kind of remember having hemp drinks as a kid but can not really remember the taste so I was not sure what to expect when trying the Pete's Natural - Hemp & Manuka Sparkling Goodness drink. My partner and I first noticed the label and the leaf on the label with the bee. Makes for a interesting talk when my older son asks what the leaf was and what it means. But I manage to avoid saying to much this time round. He must have known there was more to it though when adults do adult talk about something.

So my partner and I tried the Pete's Natural - Hemp & Manuka Sparkling Goodness drink and we both really enjoyed it. We tried it both warm from when the package arrived we took a sip and also after it had been chilled. Either way it both worked but I preferred the chilled option. My partner really liked it and commented on the taste and the manuka flavour as well. I also thought it was good, different but good.

Would be a good treat to have if you are into the flavours and health benefits from it. It would be lovely over summer with ice on a hot day. He also commented could work well slightly heated like how you have hot lemon and honey drinks when your sick. He thought this could work the same as well. We did not try to heat it and try it that way though but I guess it could be done.

Hah! Look at that label design; giant cannabis leaves. That has got to be the most obvious marketing tool to trick kids into buying the drink to look cool in front of their friends (and I should know, in high school I used to buy the HEMP energy drink...it stood for Highly Enjoyable Magical Potion, and had nothing to do with the cannabis plant...)

This product comes in a nice 300ml glass bottle shorter in stature than the usual drinks, it maintains that thickness from the bottom of the bottle nearly all the way up to the top. A nice design that makes it easier to fit in the fridge, and also has a lower surface area to volume ratio (which means your hand won't warm it up as quickly). This is another drink where I didn't really read the nutritional info before I agreed to try it, and I was surprised to see spinach juice in the list of ingredients. I have never really been a fan of spinach, but luckily for me, it's the last item in the ingredients list, so it's got the smallest amount compared to the other ingredients.

The beverage has an interesting green colour that makes me think of aloe vera, and looking at the base of the bottle you can see some suspended bits and pieces, which is always a sign of a natural drink. So after a quick little shake to mix up the condensed bits, it was time to give this a try.

I know what lightly sparkling water, lemon juice, and manuka honey taste like. Hemp seed infusion, on the other hand, is something I've never tasted. Altogether, it creates an interesting flavour experience. There is a fullness to it, feeling more viscous than water. At the same time, you get a strong zing of lemon all around the edges of the tongue and roof of the mouth, but the main surface of the tongue is less affected. It's curious to feel that zest at different levels in various places in the mouth. The monk fruit and manuka bring a slight edge of sweetness that comes to the surface as the lemon surge dissipates.

Overall, it's a refreshing beverage, but as an avid energy drink consumer, the strength of flavour isn't enough to make this a drink I'd go out and search for.

Hemp seems to be everywhere these days. It appears that manufacturers have finally realised what a versatile plant it is, so it is suddenly popping up everywhere. I first tried a sample of Pete's Natural's Hemp and Manuka Sparkling Goodness at the Auckland Food Show, and really liked it, so I was delighted to get a whole bottle to myself so I could sample it properly. My first reaction was surprise when I realised the drink was a pretty shade of green. Almost too good to drink! But I overcame that; once I started, I did not want to stop.

Like all Pete's drinks, it is aimed at the adult market. There is none of that annoying sweetness you get from commercial soft drinks, and there is no sticky residue from sugar. Neither is it like the artificially sweetened "diet" drinks that save your teeth and waistline by substituting chemicals for the sugar. This drink is not sweet in the conventional sense at all; it relies on its honey and monk fruit content to alleviate the sharpness of the lemon base by adding flavour rather than sweetness. And yet there are children who also prefer drinks like this, drinks that are made from natural products only and don't attack their systems. Our Miss Seven and Mr Nine are quite ok to eat sugar free products as they have always been encouraged to do that.

The main flavour is lemon - you can taste the honey, but it is quite light in comparison. As for the hemp, I could not distinguish that at all, but that is often the case when several ingredients are combined. I drank the bottle chilled, and I think that is probably the best way to have it; it is very refreshing and went down well with a hot, home baked lamb pie. As someone who does not drink much alcohol, I could happily have this in a wine glass at dinner and look just as sophisticated as everyone else.

On this occasion, I did not share the bottle. Normally I would ask a couple of other people to give their opinions too, but I thought this time that I might need to drink it all myself in order to get the full effect. My mouth felt clean and refreshed after I had finished it all, and I am sure I could feel all those hemp antioxidants working their magic on my system. I might just buy some and share it next time. Then again, I might keep it all for myself!