Kool-Aid is a summer staple in this house and I don't think I am alone in saying that the Dark Cherry flavor is one of the best in the Kraft Kool-Aid product family. The unsweetened packets are inexpensive, easy to mix and you can also use them to make your own freezer pops [directions are on the back of select packets] or ice cubes. I love making the ice cubes from this flavor and adding them to the regular Cherry Kool-Aid mix; it gives it a nice kick and doesn't water down the flavor. Kool-Aid is so easy to make that even Jessica Simpson can pull it off without help from anyone else. Well, someone should tell her not to mix it in a metal container but if she reads the back of the packet she'll know that.

Kraft Kool-Aid Black Cherry Drink Mix

What's the difference between the Black Cherry and regular Cherry Kool-Aid mix? The Black Cherry is darker in color and has a richer slightly tart taste to it. If you aren't into tart drinks you can add more than the suggest two quarts of water or you can add more sugar to lighten up the taste a bit. If you do not want to use sugar you can substitute an artificial sweetener like Splenda, Nutrasweet or Sweet 'N Low. Most of the packet varieties of sweeteners have a '24 packet equals one cup' rule but you should check the end tabs of the sweeteners to see what the manufacturer recommends.

The Black Cherry flavor is one of my favorites, next to the Tropical Punch flavor this is the one that I drink the most of during the summer months. You can make this as strong or watered down as you like and it still has a great flavor. The powder can and will dye your skin and countertop a most unfashionable shade of deep dark red if you accidentally spill it or when you are opening the packet. If you are mixing this in a plastic container make sure that it is something that you can live with being slightly stained, after a few months of Kool-Aid use, it will be permanently dyed. Most of the time I use an empty two liter bottle to mix the different flavors, if we decide to take some with us we don’t have to worry about losing a pitcher somewhere along the way.

Kool-Aid packets generally sell for about .25 to .35 cents and can be found in most grocery stores; I stock up on them when they are on sale because I know that almost every flavor will be consumed by someone at some point in time. Last week my local grocery store had the 0.13 sized unsweetened packets on sale for 20 for $2.00 [that's ten cents a piece!]. This is a great price and since they have a long shelf life I know that they will be safe in the cabinet until summer rolls around. The packets are all stamped with a "best by" date on the back; look for the blue rectangle with the code in it. This one reads 25FEB09ME210:59 so it's good until February of 2009. I doubt this will make it through the first week of the summer of 2008 but its nice to know that this has a long shelf life. As long as the packets are unopened the powder doesn't clump up or become hard to mix.

If you want something more convenient you can get this flavor premixed with sugar or in the Singles package; this is a sleeve of Black Cherry Kool-Aid Mix with sugar added to it but it's measured out to be added to a bottle of water. These are the least cost effective types of powdered drink products but they are handy to have around and the bottom line price is less than buying a 12, 16 or 20 ounce bottle of soda. If you consume a lot of drinks in the summer, Kool-Aid packets are a great way to go regardless of whether you add sugar or an artificial sweetener to them.

These packets have Kool-Aid points on them; you can clip them out and save them up to redeem them for Kool-Aid related products and merchandise [check it out here: www.kraftfoods.com/koolaid/2001/ka_all_stuff.html]. When you are cutting out the points make sure the packet is completely empty or you will end up with some funky looking fingers. The Black Cherry packet has a one point redemption cut out on it, other flavors have higher numbers so be sure to check the packets or boxes for them. You can also play some cool online games and checkout other flavors at the website, you can find that at www.kool-aid.com.

The Bottom Line

It is rare that I use sugar with this flavor when mixing it; all those empty calories add up and I don't need a house full of sugared up kids running around only to have them crash out when the sugar rush wears off. I have had this with sugar as well as artificial sweeteners and there isn't much of a taste difference. If you like the regular Cherry flavor then chances are you will like this one so it is worth trying at least once.


As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2008 Freak369


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