Lean - Yella

Today’s offering from ThirstMonger is a relaxation beverage.  Currently I don’t need a relaxation beverage because my wife is listening to one of the dullest power point presentations I’ve ever half listened to.  Ah, education.  Thankfully, I can focus all my attention on this can of Lean (flavor “Yella”) in front of me.  ThirstMonger sent me three flavors of Lean: Purp, Easta Pink, and of course Yella.  Having reviewed other relaxation beverages I had grown tired of the whole “purple drank” variation and was pleased to see that Lean offered other non “Purp” flavors for those that craved more variety from their chillaxation beverages.  Lean is labeled as the “slow motion…potion”.  Even their tagline has an ellipsis in it, this must be good.  I wasn’t all that shocked to see melatonin in the ingredient list, but I was surprised to see sugar.  I would have thought they’d have gone the HFCS route, but I’m happily wrong about that.  The band around the top of the can gives us the flavor title of “Yella”, but also includes tiny pictures of pineapples.  I’m not sure what I would have assumed the flavor of “Yella” was without this picture cue, so I’m pleased it exists.

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Twist is always leaning.  Always.

An unusual pineapple cream aroma races out of the can, almost desperate for me to smell it.  There’s an unexpected amount of sweetness in this scent so I’m a bit more curious as to what Lean – Yella will taste like. 

Yella tastes as it smells.  There is a sweet, smooth, pineapple taste that washes over all aspects of my mouth.  The carbonation is small, but shows up in powerful bursts throughout the drinking process.  Even though there are tiny pineapples on this can, I’m quite pleased with the fact that “Pineapple” is not listed as the flavor.  While it is the primary taste I’m experiencing it has been mutated into something much more interesting than your standard apple of pine.  The sweetness, that I’ve now mentioned several times, is quite similar to what you might find in a cream soda.  There’s also a bit of vanilla within this pineapple soda.  This addition keeps each swig somewhat fresh and allows for repeated returns to the beverage.  On the negative side, Lean – Yella is somewhat syrupy and some might find it overly sugary.  There are only 28 grams of sugar in a serving which may sound like a lot, but Mountain Dew is made with a number that travels well over 40g.  This sweetness does build upon itself making it difficult to finish off this 16oz can, but all in all it’s a fairly tasty beverage.  The rating I give it may seem a little low, but just know it’s on the high end.

~A