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My TikTok feed kept showing me videos of people using a water bottle with a scented pod that flavors the water, which fascinated me. So when a PR rep reached out asking if I wanted to review the new metal version of the Air Up bottle, I said yes, fast.
The first flavor I tried was the peach iced tea, and unfortunately, I immediately didn’t like it, so I switched to the cherry pod, which tasted far better. The water gets a very faint taste of cherry, similar to other fruity water drinks. The pod doesn’t sit in the water; it’s more that the scent makes it seem as if you’re drinking flavored water. I also took a sip while holding my nose, as people do in the TikToks, and the flavor disappeared.
I decided to try to stick to cherry for a couple of days — except on the second day, I got into a taxi, and for some reason the smell of the water bottle made me incredibly nauseated (car fresheners also make me feel sick). After nearly vomiting, I decided to stop with the cherry flavor.
Now on to my third pod. I tried orange, and my first sip was great, like a really well-diluted orange squash. I managed to stick with orange for a while, and I have to say it actually did make drinking water a bit more fun. The orangeade and strawberry-lemongrass flavors were also refreshing and really summery.
I wish the metal one were as clear as the plastic one, or that it had some way of indicating how much water was left in the bottle. The pods do have a super-strong smell compared with the actual flavor, so think of it as 20% juice flavor and 80% water. But it definitely made for an enjoyable way to stay hydrated.