Tango a no go (Britvic Tango Citrus)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	Britvic Tango Citrus
Date:	05/10/07 (407 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Different flavour to the norm

Disadvantages: No real citrus kick

I'm a bit of a fizzy drink addict much to my dentists' dismay, and while my usual "poison" is of the cola variety I'm not against the odd fruity flavoured drink. I'm usually a Fanta girl when it comes to such drinks but when I saw Tango on buy one get one free in my local Somerfield store I decided to take up the offer, after all a budget is a budget, I grabbed the standard orange flavour and the citrus variety, both in regular sugar versions.

Citrus Tango-
Introduced in 2007 Citrus Tango is the baby of the Tango family alongside traditional orange, apple and cherry flavours. It is available in both regular and no added sugar varieties and comes in 500ml bottles, 300ml cans and 2litre bottles.

It is quite a shame that there are only 3 citrus fruits included in this drink, the inclusion of more exotic citrus fruits could have made this quite an exciting flavoured drink but as it is they've gone for a basic combination of orange, lemon and lime, this of course has been driven by the demand for healthy natural ingredients which other Tango varieties such as the retired Fruit Fling and Tropical versions did not have. At the end of 2006 Tango underwent a transformation becoming a far healthier soft drink by cutting out artificial colours and flavourings, restricting the drinks to drawing their flavours from natural ingredients.

The drink has the appearance of a cloudy traditional lemonade and looks very similar to Fanta Lemon. It has all the promise of a sharp tangy drink but is quickly let down by the smell. Rather than the fresh and almost bitter scent you expect from a citrus drink you are greeted by a dull smell of orange and lemon, almost as if you had made a very weak batch of orange and lemon flavoured squash, there is no indication of the bitterness that accompanies lime.

Tasting the drink is where the first indications of lime come in, again though not the sharp bitter taste but a dull flavour that barely leaves a taste in your mouth. The orange and lemon flavours are shyly hiding behind the lime, blending well but not powerfully enough to make a real impact. You expect a real kick of citrus flavour from the drink but the flavours are more subtle, quite pleasant but not nearly as refreshing as it could be. Admittedly I do like my lemon style drinks quite bitter and sharp, for something more mellow you can just stick to orange so it's quite disappointing that this drink doesn't provide the tanginess I was hoping for. It's quite watery in flavour, a trait carried by most of the Tango flavours and has a hard time competing against the full body flavours of Fanta.

The drink is definitely best served chilled, warm it simply tastes like bland fizzy squash and even the faintest citrus kick is lost. I'm sure as a drink on a hot summers day it is very pleasant, just the kind of thing you would want to help cool you down but now the summer is slowly creeping away the flavour of the drink simply does not provide enough that you would pick it up over any other flavour .

From a health point of view Citrus Tango contains no artificial colours or flavours, taking it's flavour from fruit concentrate, while this may be healthier for you it is on reading the fact that 3% of the drink is from orange, 1% is from lemon and 1% from lime, this in a 2litre bottle, that you realise why the flavour is somewhat lacking. The natural sugars and sweeteners used do little to add to the drinks flavour which makes me glad I chose the regular version of the drink rather than sugar free as I would rather not imagine how bland it would taste sugar free. A regular sized glass (approx 250ml) provides 25 calories which is only 1% of a females daily allowance (less for men) this isn't bad but when you consider that drinks such as Pepsi Max contain 1 calorie per 500ml, you ca see there are far healthier drinks out there for you to choose. The drink is however suitable for vegetarians and is gluten free.

I have actually never seen the Citrus version before spotting it this week and have never seen it in anything less than the 2 litre bottle. I've checked both Tesco and Asda and they do not seem to stock it so it would appear quite a tricky drink to find, personally I'd be quicker to reach for Fanta lemon which not only has a far greater flavour but is widely available unlike Citrus tango.

Overall I found Citrus Tango quite a let down, the taste is pleasant but nothing special and I would not go out of my way to buy it again. With such an array of drinks and flavours available nowadays I think Citrus Tango will have a hard time competing, especially when its sister Orange Tango achieves much the same in the way of flavour. If you like fruity flavours but like quite mellow tastes then you may just like Citrus Tango, I however like a bit more oomph in my citrus drinks which this drink simply did not provide.

Summary: No where near as tangy as it should be, i'll stick with Fanta