We spent a long time thinking about how we should build our soda concentrates from the ground up. We considered many options along the way, but one commitment became our driving force early on. We knew that we didn't want any artificial sweeteners or flavors involved. In fact, after pondering things we decided that plain old sugar is about as simple and honest as it gets in the "sweetener" world. But what about those calories you ask?
Here is how we see it:
When you're out on the trail, you're working hard. You're burning lots of energy (aka. calories). Putting some calories back into your system is how you keep your engine running. If you're living an active life style and you have respect for your caloric intake, you should be able to enjoy a caloric reward once and a while. The word "moderation" comes to mind. If you are not living an active lifestyle, then consuming extra calories probably isn't a wise choice.
Our recommendation: Start living an active lifestyle, and make wise choices regarding your nutritional intake. Then, we invite you to enjoy a Pat's Backcountry™ Soda for a boost of constructive calories for a hard days work.
From our perspective, the really scary thing has been the growing popularity of zero calorie energy drinks. Where exactly is all this energy coming from? I thought calories were the way our bodies got energy? It's like trying to fuel a car with water instead of gas. "Empty energy" sounds scarier than "empty calories".
So... once we decided that "calories" were not the enemy (our life styles are), the big question became... how can we make our soda's more than "empty calories"? To accomplish this... we set a few ground rules that became our guide.
- Pursue the most socially and environmentally responsible ingredients available
- Avoid artificial flavors and sweeteners
- Use pasteurization over preservatives
- Fortify our beverages with essential vitamins
- Reduce the level of sweetness
The first three rules were really about making sure that we created something that was honest and made up of ingredients that were harvested from the earth instead of a test tube. We pursued organic and fair trade ingredients, and made a commitment to avoid the use of preservatives. We wanted a beverage that was socially and environmentally responsible as well as nutritionally conscious.
Our fourth rule became our commitment to providing more than just calories and good taste. The backcountry menu is frequently deficient in essential vitamins. So, we added every vitamin that we could find in a reasonable allowance that did not taste unpleasant. Why not...right? It just seemed like the right thing to do. It's strange to think that now our sodas have more vitamins than many of the vitamin fortified water drinks on the market today.
Our 5th rule comes from many scientific studies that have determined: When your metabolism increases (like when you're exercising) things that are sweet taste even sweeter. Most of the sodas on the market are just too sweet. They taste like syrup, and leave you thirsty afterword. We knew that our sodas needed to be "toned down" to offer a genuinely refreshing experience. That is why we reduced the ratio of sugar to provide just the right balance of flavor and refreshment for an active life style.
The result of following all the rules
Our sodas:
- Are sweetened with organic fair trade sugar
- Use all natural flavors
- Are fortified with: Vitamin C, B3, B5, B6, B12, and Folic Acid
- Contain absolutely no preservatives
- Have a lower ratio of sugar (and sweetness) than most sodas on the market (158-165 calories per 16 fluid oz)
Not bad for a bunch of beginners huh? Well...we're really proud of them anyway. We hope you'll enjoy one the next time you're out on the trail. Drink Resourcefully™!
