So, I totally missed this one! Back in December of ‘08, Coke announced a new extension to its Sprite line. I just heard about this as I  was trolling around the Salute to Soda message board and found a reference to it. After a little bit of snooping, I acquired Coca-Cola’s Press release stating the 2008 launch of Sprite Green. Here’s some info. 

First up, Sprite Green is another (ugh) diet variation. I know there are a LOT of people who enjoy the diet versions, but it pisses me off to no end that we get Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi Vanilla, Diet Pepsi Lime, Diet Pepsi Lemon, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Max, etc etc etc, but we don’t get these options in the non-diet lineup.  I want my Pepsi Vanilla back for the love of GOD! Alright, I’ve calmed down. So, yeah, another diet soda is on it’s way. 

What makes Sprite Green special is that it’s going to be sweetened with a Stevia product. If you’re not familiar with Stevia, let me school you. Stevia is a plant found in South America that contains sweet leaves. Used as a sweetner, Stevia is something like 30 gazillion times as sweet as regular old sugar. Eating it raw will literally turn the blood running through you veins into Pixy Stix. But oddly enough, according to Stevia’s wikipedia entry: “Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.” So all you wacky diabetics can enjoy it without worrying about your toes getting gangrene-y or slipping into some sort of sugar fit.

When I was working at an Internet radio station in Dallas, TX, there was a consumer advocate lady who had her own show. She was kind of a crackpot (one of her shows was on the importance of reversing the polarity of water using some tinfoiled head guy’s device) and had me taste Stevia. At that time, she said, Stevia was allowed to be sold as a sweetner, but the FDA wouldn’t allow it to be added to products (such as colas) because the powerful Sugar lobby was trying to kill Stevia, or some nutjob bullshit like that.

By the way, I tried pure Stevia and it was awful. Just a little FYI for you, there. Hopefully  Coke figured out a way to de-funkify it. For this product, they’re using “TRUVIA”, which is just a brand name for stevia. Same junk.

From Coca Cola’s Press Release:

Developed jointly by Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company, TRUVIA natural sweetener is a great-tasting, zero-calorie natural sweetener using rebiana, which comes from the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. Harvested at the peak of sweetness, stevia leaves are dried and steeped in water, much like tea. This extract is then further refined and purified. The finished product is the pure, natural sweetness of rebiana.

Sprite Green is naturally sweetened with TRUVIA brand sweetener and has 50 calories per 8.5-ounce serving and 5% lemon juice. Sprite Green was created to appeal to active young adults and will be launched in two U.S. cities this month in distinctive 8.5-ounce aluminum bottles. Initial availability will be limited to teen and young adult-oriented locations and events with a broader rollout planned for early 2009. Sprite Green complements the Sprite brand’s leading lemon-lime and zero-calorie lemon-lime sparkling beverages.

So, this thing was supposed to be released in a few markets in late 2008, with a wider rollout in ‘09, but I don’t see that happening. What happened? (Insert conspiracy theory here. THE SUGAR LOBBY MADE SPRITE GREEN SWIM WITH THE FISH!!!)  Did you (or do you still have) Sprite Green in your area?

UPDATE: Sprite Green presented a private event introducing itself to Chicago On April 20th. Should continue rolling out soon! Did it tase good? According to tweets, there was a mixed reaction. Jury’s still out on that one, I guess.

Below is the bottle design Coke provided.