Consumers of all ages love carbonated drinks. That’s been true for centuries, since the introduction of sparkling water all the way back in the 1700s, but modern consumers have far more options at their disposal. That doesn’t mean they’re all created equal, though.
Most of today’s carbonated beverages are filled with high fructose corn syrup and other additives. They may taste alright, but they don’t have the kind of refined flavor associated with natural drinks. Students looking for a delicious, natural sparkling beverage instead of sugary, artificially-flavored sodas will love Orangina.
What’s the Fuss About?
Although Orangina has been around for decades, it’s only recently that this fun, fizzy product has made its way to the spotlight in North America. There’s more to its popularity than clever marketing and a touch of European sophistication, though. Orangina combines a perfect mix of caffeine free natural flavors and carbonation to create a delicious, aromatic beverage that tastes just as good sitting outside during the first semester of fall as it does out on the beach on summer vacation.
Unlike most carbonated beverages, Orangina contains natural ingredients, nothing to be distracted by like high-fructose corn syrup. When they pop the top of a bottle of Orangina, they’ll get a fun and refined tasty treat full of carbonated goodness.
The Science Behind Carbonation
Kids of all ages, from elementary school students bursting with pleasant surprise at finding a tasty treat in their lunch boxes to college students heading out for tailgating parties, love sparkling juices, but few stop to wonder why. The science behind carbonation is actually very interesting, though, so it’s worth getting a jump-start on the academic year by learning about this fascinating scientific phenomenon.
How They’re Made
Carbonated beverages, including sparkling juices, are made by adding carbon dioxide (CO2) to the mix. The chemical reaction that occurs when CO2 is added to water, juice, or other liquids creates carbonic acid. Consumers’ taste buds register carbonic acid as a slightly sour compound, but the taste isn’t the only factor that makes carbonation so appealing.
Regions of the tongue that process sour tastes also contain an enzyme that breaks down carbonic acid, known as carbonic anhydrase. It’s the interaction between carbonic anhydrase and carbonic acid that creates that fun, pleasant fizzing sensation consumers identify with carbonation. The combination of pleasant fizz and slightly sour flavor pairs perfectly with the citrus found in Orangina to create a delicious sparkling juice that’s also fun to drink.
Carbonation and Aromatics
Carbonation doesn’t just alter the taste of beverages and add that easily recognizable fizz. It also helps to bring out the aromatic compounds found in sparkling juice. As carbonic anhydrase interacts with carbonic acid to produce that special fizz, it also releases the aromatic compounds from the juice. As science has shown, smell plays an essential role in how consumers interpret tastes. That means the stronger aroma can actually help consumers taste their fizzy beverages all the better.
The fact that people enjoy carbonated drinks is especially interesting from an evolutionary perspective. Younger students may not have learned about that in school yet, but middle-school through college-aged students will know what it means. The taste receptor for sour flavors, known as TRPA1, evolved as a means of protecting consumers from hazardous substances that could be poisonous when ingested. In other words, they allowed early humans to taste danger.
It’s the degree to which the sour taste receptor is stimulated that determines whether consumers interpret its signals as pleasurable or painful. Every person has a slightly different threshold when it comes to tolerating sour tastes, so carbonated juices aren’t for everyone. All humans will produce physiological defenses designed to dilute the substance and clear it from the system, including increases in saliva, coughing, sneezing, and tearing up in response to too intense an activation of the TRPA1 receptor.
All that being said, almost everyone loves carbonation. It only creates a very mild TRPA1 response and unless consumers are extremely sensitive to sour flavors, the tongue will interpret the tingling sensation as a positive one.
Why Orangina?
What sets this delicious, fun, fizzy beverage apart from other carbonated beverages is that it is made with real citrus juice and sugar, no high fructose corn syrup. There are few other orange sparkling beverage manufacturers that can say the same. Plus, it comes complete with natural pulp from the citrus fruits used to make it, so shake the pulp and tip it up to enjoy a delicious, natural sparkling juice that will keep students feeling refreshed and give them something to look forward to at tailgating parties or daily lunch hours.
Orangina offers the kind of delicious, natural flavor that can’t be found in other soft drinks and now, consumers across North America can find it just as easily as European students. The brand has been licensed to Venture Food and Beverage, which has relaunched with more emphasis on it’s rich French heritage but packaged for modern students’ and other consumers’ desires for a fun, fizzy, refreshing, natural drink.
New to Orangina? It’s never too late to try this delicious carbonated drink. Parents can buy them for their young students’ lunches and older kids can now find them just about anywhere that they buy soft drinks and snacks, so try it today.