Review: MiO Liquid Water Enhancer

A few weeks ago, The Brit and I were at the grocery store doing our weekly shop. We were strolling past the end caps when I spotted these intriguing looking little brightly labeled pods. I stopped to check them out. I was delighted to find out that these little pods were in fact water enhancers, i.e. flavoring for your water.

Now, I love water plain, which I know not most people do. But since giving up soda for the most part (it’s a daily struggle) in August, drinking only plain water can get boring. I don’t drink juice very often either, I don’t want the empty calories. I’ve never (don’t tell the rest of Texas) been much of an iced tea drinker. There are plenty of powdered drink mixes on the market, but I really don’t love them either. I always end up with chunks of flavored dust that has clumped up, no matter how well I shake the bottle or stir the pitcher.

In fact, those little clumps give me the heebee jeebies so much that I stopped buying powdered drink mixes and sachets all together. Maybe living in England spoiled me. Over there, they have something called Fruit Squash. Fruit squash is highly concentrated juice, sometimes mixed with artificial sweeteners (“no sugar added” varieties) sold in bottle form. You mix it with water or carbonated water as and when you want a drink. My favorite flavor is Apple and Blackcurrant, especially because Blackcurrant is a flavor we just don’t get here in the States.

The little MiOs instantly reminded me of fruit squash and I got very excited. I picked up three flavors to take home, then and there: Strawberry Watermelon, Berry Pomegranate, and Mango Peach. I couldn’t wait to get home and try them.

First, let me tell you a little trick: If you squirt the MiO over ice in a glass and then fill it with water, you don’t have to stir it. Adding the water to the glass provides enough agitation to mix it thoroughly.

Two squirts of the Strawberry Watermelon had me in a bit of bliss – it tasted like a Jolly Rancher in water form! But it wasn’t coating my mouth in dry and gritty powder, it was completely incorporated, and just made me really really happy. Sweet stuff will do that for me, if you hadn’t guessed from my earlier posts.

The Brit quickly commandeered the Mango Peach and Berry Pomegranate and took them to work, where he blasted through them in about 2 days. So he was really happy to see some more MiO samples, in Peach Tea and Fruit Punch, arrive on our doorstep directly from the people behind the MiO twitter account.

I was so intrigued by their product I had hopped online to search them out while still drinking that first glass of Strawberry Watermelon. They were excited to see how enthusiastically I was enjoying their product, and wanted to make sure I tried more flavors.

Each flavor is as good as the last. Right now, I have three flavors fighting each other for the title of “favorite”: Strawberry Watermelon, Berry Pomegranate, and Peach Tea. Now, I know I said earlier I don’t really love iced tea – but that only applies to normal sweet tea. You put peach tea in front of me and I am *all* over it.

Here’s the really cool thing about the MiOs – the cool little pod bottle is designed perfectly. There are two snap closures that snap loudly to assure you that the bottle is closed tightly. I can toss the bottle in my handbag and not be worried about whether I’m going to end up with a mess. Not so much with those powder sachets. The number of times I’ve ended up with one tearing open at the bottom of my bag? I don’t like to think about it.

MiO also really plays up the “Make it Mine” aspect. Sometimes I’m not feeling in an overly ‘sweet drink’ mood, but I need my water to taste like a little more than water. So most days, I have a glass of ice water with a wedge of lemon and one squirt of the Strawberry Watermelon. It gives the water just enough flavor not to be boring, but with no extra calories or caffeine.

They have become an absolute treat for me every single day – a treat I can have with no guilt! Now.. if only I could get them to make an Apple and Blackcurrant flavor…

You can check out Mio on Twitter and Facebook.

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The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. MiO sent me some additional samples to try, but my initial impression of the brand was through purchase of the products with my own money. I was not paid for this review or compensated in any way, nor was I actually even requested to write a review. It was done of my own volition after my own positive experiences with the product.[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Review: MiO Liquid Water Enhancer – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]