My wife had given these a go a little while ago, and dismissed them as being “too sweet”, which is actually what drew me to them. I was also intrigued by the “sparkling” aspect of these–I don’t drink much soda these days, but am always open to the occasional soda substitute, and thought maybe this would satisfy me. Even better: these things retail for a scant $.69, which honestly puts them in “you have nothing to lose” territory (though, to be fair, technically all of their products fall into that category, thanks to Aldi’s money-back guarantee), so I grabbed two out of the three flavors–I had to omit the “pink grapefruit” because I’m on cholesterol medicine that reacts to said fruit, and while I’ve broken that rule for a previous review, I don’t like to do it at all.

First we’re going to be taking a look at the Orange Mango, whose bright orange glow makes it look delicious and refreshing. I must admit, once again, that I didn’t notice this was a zero calorie beverage until literally the moment I was cracking it open–I really need to be a little more observant of packaging before I buy certain products, because this has been happening way too often lately. In its defense, however, I probably still would have bought it even if I had noticed that it was “diet”, if for no other reason than its price point.

It smells strongly of orange, with a little bit of mango accent, which really had me excited and expecting something delicious…something that the drink itself can’t deliver. The taste seems like the water and the flavoring weren’t mixed together properly; upon hitting the taste buds right after you take a swig, there’s a strong sweetness hinted at, but swallowing only gives the taste of lightly-flavored water with intensely-fake sweetener. The aftertaste (and, honestly, the taste itself) only got worse and worse for me the more I tried to give it chances; by the midway point, I didn’t even want to drink anymore because the aftertaste was so chemical and overwhelming.

I don’t like to say “never”, but I don’t see myself getting this kind ever again. Even around this price point ($.69), Aldi has some other options that I actually like a lot better, like their Fit & Active flavored waters. No matter how little I’m paying, or how few calories I’m getting, I at least expect it to have a taste I can tolerate, and these don’t come even close to that basic courtesy.

Overall: 2.5/10. It smells great, looks inviting, and the initial taste on the tongue is good, but assuming you’re actually planning on swallowing it, that’s when it all goes downhill. The taste when swallowing shifts drastically, giving a very weak orange flavor in the back of the throat that slowly dissipates, giving way to a finish that’s little more than just plain sparkling water. That might be okay enough to appeal to some, and might have been something I could have tolerated, but then there’s an intense, chemical aftertaste that lingers in the throat for a very long time, and tends to get stronger and stronger the longer you drink it…by the midway point of the bottle, even the thought of taking a drink was no longer enjoyable. Points must be given for value, though–$.69 isn’t a bad price at all, so if you end up liking this, it won’t break the bank. I don’t plan on ever trying them again, short of a total formula overhaul.