' Shake & Sip' - Paper Boat Drinks {A product review}

These paper boats of mine are meant to dance on the ripples of hours and not to reach any destination – Rabindranath Tagore

Paper boats invokes happy memories of the days of the yore when tearing papers and folding them in to submission yielded joy unsurpassed. Those were the days when playing actually meant stepping out of the house and having unabashed fun. And when it used to rain, it was like a cherry on the ice cream. Out came the papers and our nimble hands would make dainty boats that would then set out on its remarkable though short journey in puddles of glory. Aaah; such happy memories....

I had almost forgotten the joy of such small things and a few days back, when I saw my daughter teach her little brother how to make a paper boat it was nostalgia galore. No, the rain god did not make an appearance, rather it was 'how to kill time' moments that had enveloped its gloomy pall on my daughter. Making paper boats became a good pastime and guess where her boats sailed - On the bathroom floor some pretty messy looking puddles sprouted and her boats sailed rather proudly :D

I had already seen pouches of 'Paper Boat' beverages on the shelf of our local mall. The flavours of Kokum & Kala Khatta had my attention. And my palate had a whiff of Kokum. Around the same time the team behind Paper Boat asked me If I was interested in reviewing the product and my answer was an instant yes! So the courier containing the following beverages arrived in a pretty looking jute bag :-

• Jamun Kala Khatta
• Jaljeera
• Aamras
• Aam panna

The very first beverage we tasted was Jamun Kala Khatta 

Kala Khatta - a flashback to my younger days, Delhi a sweltering cauldron during the torrid summer months, slurping gorgeous ice golas. The flavour that I particularly loved was the spicy kala khatta. Interestingly I had always thought that that jamuns were blackberries. My ignorance was given a brisk thwack by a roadside juice vendor in Mumbai a few years back.  While sipping in to the tasty jamun drink I had in my all knowing glances commented that they were blackberries; to my surprise the vendor simply said 'madam, they are jamuns and not blackberries; both the fruits belong to different families'

Coming back to this drink, the beverage tingled our senses and was immediately liked by all. Hubby felt that the beverage could do with a stronger hit of the jamuns but nevertheless it was a roaring thumbs-up! This drink existed as early as 100 AD and was called as Raga - music for the taste buds. A winner alright!

Jal Jeera

This quintessential beverage is one of my favorite drinks. The best thing about this drink is that it can be served as an appetiser or as a heavy duty after meal drink. An instant party pleaser, this cumin infused drink was a total knock-out. The taste buds sang a lilting tune and hummed a satating rhythm. The family felt that it was a little too strong. Could have been a tad milder.

Aam Panna - a Heat Buster

The scorching summers we experience gets a major boot with the Aam Panna. A staple in my kitchen during those long dry months, I quite looked forward to how this would taste in a packed avatar. Quite surprisingly, the drink despite having added flavours tasted quite home-made. 

Aamras

The name spells silky surge of the pulpy mango. Mango undoubtedly rules our hearts and is a delight all along.

Kokum

This beverage was not part of the package from the Paper Boat team. But I had wanted to taste it because kokum despite having a wealth of health benefits is an acquired taste. And inspite of my earlier trysts with kokum my heart doled an average tune while hubby liked this one.

Looks & Cost :-

The drinks come in attractive looking pouches.  Weighing about 250 ml, each pouch is priced at INR 30/-

Thumbs-up to:-

• Anytime & anywhere - just shake & sip
• Highly appealing beverages that are sure to quench the scorching throats
• Aesthetically packed 
• Promises real drinks with no junk
• Drinks & Memories - I surely had a few nostalgic moments

Serving Suggestion:-

Shake well and serve chilled. I used salt rimmed glasses to give the drinks an added shot of pep and zip. I served Jaljeera with a lemon wedge and Aam panna was given a shot in the arm with a good sprig of mint.

Final Word:-

The website of the paper boat team oozes oodles of passion and attitude and it reflects on their products too. The 4 variants we tasted contained added flavours (as mentioned in the packages) due to which we can't call them 100% authentic. However kokum was clean of the extra flavours. Is it economical ? - prices could be a little less to reach the mass market, but for me, well on those heat scorched days when all one can think is just lazing around with a drink in hand, getting busy in kitchen would be the last thing on mind. Yes, on those days, the drink would be a welcome and refreshing change.

Touching our hearts with heady Indian drinks I am looking forward to them launching an umbrella of other drinks native to other parts of India.

Thank you Team Paper Boat for sending me the beverages for review. The views expressed here are strictly my own