Just in time for summer, but can any of the new flavours of Kool-Aid compete with my favorite flavours of the past?

I'll find out as I compare my favorite flavours of the past that were hiding away in a secret Kool-Aid stash to some of the currently available flavours.

I'm going to save time by not reviewing all the regular flavours that have been around as far back as I can remember and are still around today since I'm sure they taste the same. It doesn't mean they're bad and should be avoided, we all have our favorite flavours. I admit do like regular grape (a flavour many people dislike), but it's just grape.

The match-up:
Old favourite flavours:

• Mountain Berry Punch
• SharkleBerry Fin
• Purplesaurus Rex

New flavours:

• Spider-Man Raspberry Reaction
• Blue Moon Berry
• Solar Strawberry Starfruit

For the sake of my health I'll be using sugar-free Kool-Aid (this will save me from consuming at least six cups of sugar). Another reason I'll be using the sugar-free packets is because the regular packets of Purplesaurus Rex and SharkleBerry Fin I have feel a little harder than normal so I'm guessing it won't be easy to actually get the Kool-Aid to completely disovle.

Moutain Berry Punch
Sadly no Mountain Berry Punch was in the Kool-Aid stash, but I remember I really liked this rare flavour. I call this flavour rare because even when it existed, I remember it wasn't always in stock at my local grocery store. I couldn't even remember the name until I came across the Kool-Aid Photo Archive while searching the Internet for Kool-Aid related sites. I also got the impression while searching the net that Mountain Berry Punch is one of the most missed flavours. I only remember the flavour as being not too sweet yet not sour. It was just a perfect blended berry flavour. Looking at the package the flavour was based on blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and a mystery blue-coloured berry that I'm not sure really exists. All I can remember it is Mountain Berry Perfection. Oh Yeah!

SharkleBerry Fin
I can't even begin to describe SharkleBerry Fin other than to say it is like a berry flavour that just doesn't exist in nature and the colour is very pink (that I'm not sure naturally exists in nature either). When I say it's pink, it's like a completely un-natural flourescent-electric pink, Oh Yeah! The picture is accurate as far as giving you an idea of the hue, beacuse SharkleBerry Fin is slightly on the red side as far as pinks go. What is lost in the photo is the bright light reflecting quality that makes the colour so unique. I'm pretty sure the first time I saw SharkleBerry Fin as a kid I thought it was actually glowing and turned the lights off to see if it really was. Back to the flavour, well, I really can't describe it other than to say it does taste like some sort of berry (as opposed to a citrus flavour).

Afer scouring the Internet looking for an answer as to how to describe the flavour, I found someone that noticed an ad in an archie comic magazine that stated:

SharkleBerry Fin is:

FINtastic!
New SharkleBerry Fin. It's the hottest pink drink under the sun. A fruity wave of strawberry, orange, and banana flavours that will quench your thirst even on the hottest day.

When I think about it, perhaps it really is nothing more than strawberry, orange, and banana, but the flavours are so tighly fused together that a single unqiue flavour is born. Oh Yeah!

Purplesaurus Rex
Purplesaurus Rex is definately my favorite flavour and needless to say the flavour I miss the most. Yes, it says right on the package it's grape-lemonade, but I'm sure if I tried to mix grape and lemonade together myself, it just wouldn't be the same. I would say the flavour is a little more towards grape but there is a perfect harmony of sweet lemons to go with the grape goodness. While it is fair to think of Purplesaurus Rex as grape-lemonade, it is a bit misleading because there is no sour or tart flavour you taste with typical lemonade. If there is one Kool-Aid flavour to resurrect, this is the one. Oh Yeah!

Spider-Man Raspberry Reaction
There's nothing special here, it's really just raspberry Kool-Aid. The box says "watch as the Spider-Man blue drink mix transforms into a raspberry red drink!" Yeah, Ok, SharkleBerry Fin is way more mystifying as you watch a nearly white powder transform into a bright pink drink that almost emits it's own light. Spider-Man Raspberry Reaction disappointed me. I was hoping the flavour would give me a more exiting reaction, but sadly it's plain old raspberry in disguise.

Blue Moon Berry
The first time I tried Blue Moon Berry, I was struck with a taste that is not what I expected. I guess I was hoping for a flavour that would instantly bring back memories of what Mountain Berry Punch tastes like. After all, there are similar berries on the packaging. The more I tasted Blue Moon Berry, the more I felt the flavour really does fit the strong transparent blue colour that unfortunately initially makes glass cleaner come to mind. Blue Moon Berry started to grow on me immediately as it's a surprisingly sophisticated flavour as far as Kool-Aid flavours go. Initially you are hit with a blueberry flavour that is quickly followed by a slight blackberry or raspberry sourness that diminishes into a sweet strawberry finish. Ok, I admit that maybe I've been watching too much Iron Chef. After all, it's just Kool-Aid, and while it's no Purplesaurus Rex, SharkleBerry Fin, or Mountain Berry Punch, I do like this flavour a lot. Oh Yeah!

Solar Strawberry Starfruit
I've never tasted starfruit before but I can say that to me Solar Strawberry Starfruit tastes like a strawberry lemonade. You just need to imagine drinking lemonade with an added sweet strawberry flavour that lessens the sourness lemonade typically has. It's good, and if you're a fan of lemonade, or you like lemonade but sometimes find it a bit too sour, then I recommend you try Solar Strawberry Starfruit. Needless to say my preference lies with Blue Moon Berry which means Solar Strawberry Starfruit is far from competing with my old favourite flavours.

What did I learn?
While I still prefer my three favorite flavours of the past to this batch of new flavours I have to admit that Blue Moon Berry surprised me so much that I will consider it in fourth place among my favorite Kool-Aid flavours. It doesn't quite compete with Purplesaurus Rex, SharkleBerry Fin, or Mountain Berry Punch, but it is clearly ahead of all the rest of the available flavours. Oh Yeah!