Drinks with added benefits

Over the past few years, alcohol-free drink producers have begun to experiment with new and interesting substances. Some ingredients, such as CBD, have an impact on the mind whilst others, such as kombucha, have an impact on the gut.

As such I’ve created a separate section outside of the non-alcoholic drink categories and I’ve called this ‘drinks with added benefits‘. 

AF DRINKS FOR THE BODY

AF DRINKS FOR THE MIND

Non-alcoholic drinks for the body

Nowadays you can find all manner of non-alcoholic drinks that have a positive benefit to the body. Some have active ingredients such as probiotics that you find in kombucha whilst others have more traditional ingredients such as electrolytes or additional vitamins. You’ll find a collection of interesting body-boosting non-alcoholic drinks below.

Kombucha drinks

Although kombucha has been around for hundreds of years it has had somewhat of a resurgence thanks to its many health qualities and unique taste. If you are unaware of kombucha is its essentially fermented tea (generally black tea) drink that is carbonated and has an acidic edge.

I mentioned health benefits and kombucha has many. Not only is it low in calories and sugar but it also has probiotics (good for the gut) and contains antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals.

Nowadays drinks companies are coming up with a range of exciting and inventive combinations of kombucha and exotic ingredients.

Counter Culture offers a unique range of sparkling kombucha drinks. From grapefruit and lemongrass to spiced blackcurrant you are sure to find some flavour profiles to jazz up your kombucha drinking.

Picoso Spicy Sodas are tasty, refreshing and truly unique in their flavour profile. Suitable for vegans and gluten-free drinkers they have great spicy ingredients and added electrolytes. 

Villbrygg brings you a taste of Norway thanks to its collection of Nordic Tropic sparkling drinks. The drinks combine unique local ingredients to create some of the tantalising and refreshing non-alcoholic drinks out there. 

Non-alcoholic drinks for the mind

Mood enhancing drinks are those non-alcoholic drinks that include ingredients such as adaptogens (ie mushrooms) that either attempt to give you a mellow feeling without the use of alcohol or alter your state-of-mind.

All these drinks are legal (well in the UK anyway) and most contain natural ingredients to achieve an effect. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened up a can of NuWave but I really liked it. The flavour was quite unique; probably due to the many different botanicals and biotics added resulting in a tasty, crisp non-alcoholic lager I enjoyed drinking.

Impossibrew have created beers using their secret sauce aka ‘social blend’ to create calmness and soothe the mind without resorting to alcohol. I tried out their hazy pale ale which scored a reasonable 65.

Three Spirit was one of the first mood-altering non-alcoholic drinks I tried and it continues to remain a favorite. There are three different ‘botanical concoctions’ that have been created. Social Elixir (pictured) was certainly tasty but didn’t really have the behavioral impact I had anticipated. 

Collider is an interesting non-alcoholic beer producer who add adoptogens to their beers which have an impact on your body’s response to anxiety as well as mood-boosting properties. The Collider lager I tried included Lion’s Mane mushroom, Ashwagandha and L-Theanine.

CBD drinks

CBD is a trendy ingredient added to all manner of drinks but what exactly is it? Well for the uninitiated CBD is an active ingredient found in cannabis and extracted directly from the hemp plant but it is not the ‘high’ inducing part of cannabis.

What CBD does is help reduce anxiety as well as benefit insomnia and those who have chronic pain issues. Just to mention it also shows no signs of addictiveness and according to the World Health Organization, there is no evidence of public health-related problems associated with its use.

Drink producers Maria and Craig have created this drink by intertwining botanical ingredients with CBD. Check out my review of this interesting non-alcoholic spirit.