Every Bai Antioxidant Infusion Water Flavor, Ranked Worst To Best
The ideal summer beverage is one that not only tastes yummy but boosts hydration. With many drinks, especially sugary cocktails and sodas, we sacrifice the former for the latter. And other popular drinks claim to be an excellent source of hydration but have more hidden additives than you might realize. Are there any honest, delicious beverages out there to keep you hydrated throughout the hot summer days?
Bai Antioxidant Infusion waters may be the summertime sipper for you. They are low-calorie, no-sugar-added flavored water made with natural flavors and the artificial sweetener erythritol, according to the product's nutrition label. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, slightly less sweet than cane sugar, that is considered a safe sugar alternative in moderate and reasonable levels of consumption.
All Bai Antioxidant Infusion waters contain at least 10 grams of erythritol. There are 13.5 milligrams of vitamin C in each Bai as part of their antioxidant-boost agents, as well as polyphenols from coffee fruit and tea extracts. Potassium levels vary by flavor, and they all contain no fat, 55 milligrams of caffeine — equivalent to a cup of green tea, per the Bai nutritional label — and 10 milligrams of sodium.
Bai Antioxidant Infusion waters are a family of nine flavors: Brasilia Blueberry, Costa Rica Clementine, Malawi Mango, Dominica Dragon Passion Fruit, Kupang Strawberry Kiwi, Zambia Bing Cherry, Kula Watermelon, Ipanema Pomegranate, and Pilavo Pineapple Mango. We tried all nine and ranked them from worst to best to let you know which ones to pack in your cooler this summer.
9. Malawi Mango
Interestingly, while the small East African nation of Malawi is not a top producer of mangoes — it isn't even in the top five, actually, with India, Indonesia, and China being the leading suppliers of this tropical fruit — this country is said to have some of the best conditions in the world for growing mangoes. Mangoes are an excellent source of antioxidants, namely beta-carotene, and may support healthy blood pressure and reduce inflammation of the heart, according to WebMD. The Malawi Mango Bai flavor is a great source of potassium – 280 milligrams per bottle – and contains 1 gram of natural sugars.
Malawi Mango may be the most divisive Bai Antioxidant Infusion water flavor — at least among our testers, anyway. It tastes like fresh, juicy mango, but while one tester found this flavor to be pleasantly sweet, another found it not nearly sweet enough and actually experienced a rather bitter aftertaste. The taste is refreshing and tropical but not a universal crowd-pleaser.
8. Ipanema Pomegranate
Pomegranate seems to be often overlooked for standalone flavors, so we appreciate the Ipanema Pomegranate Bai water for its attention to this underrated fruit. This variety was slightly less sweet than the Zambia Bing Cherry, with a stronger sourness. The Ipanema Pomegranate will pucker your lips more than any other flavor we've tested, which may not be enjoyable for everyone.
And while you'll reap some nutritional benefits from pure pomegranate juice that Bai doesn't offer — a small amount of protein and fiber, for example — a one-cup serving of pure unsweetened pomegranate juice brings 31 grams of sugar per serving, compared to the 1 gram per bottle of Ipanema Pomegranate Bai water.
Additionally, pomegranate antioxidants are believed to help support cognitive function and the health of the brain, according to UCLA Health. Overall, this flavor seems like one that'll have its own set of loyal followers, but it won't be the perfect match for everyone with its intense tartness compared to the other Bai varieties.
7. Dominica Dragon Passion Fruit
This flavor was perplexing but delicious. It had the tartness of cherry, the brightness of citrus, and finished off with a vaguely berrylike aftertaste. It's not all that sweet, but a tiny bit sour. That seems to be the consensus of anything dragon fruit or passion fruit flavored. The taste, while indistinguishably fruity, is generally tasty. The Dominica Dragon Passion Fruit Bai water fell squarely in the middle between sweet and bitter — perhaps it contains both, and it seems to cancel each other out.
Dragon fruits are packed with antioxidants, including betacyanin, flavonoids, and phenolic acid. This exotic tropical fruit may assist in regulating blood sugar and keep premature aging at bay. Passion fruit is also super rich in beta-carotene plus polyphenols.
That means that this flavor really is an iconic antioxidant duo, although it doesn't seem to outshine any other flavors in that regard because the nutritional stats don't change on this variety's label, except for the comparatively low 70 milligrams of potassium per bottle. Overall, compared to all the other flavors, we'd describe it as average but still very enjoyable.
6. Kula Watermelon
The Kula Watermelon Bai Antioxidant Infusion water was very close to being a top five favorite flavor. It might have even been in the top three if it hadn't been for the slightly strange aftertaste. To one tester, this was a sort of syrupy aftertaste like cough syrup, while the other found it to be a little bitter.
Kula Watermelon still beat out other flavors, though, because the aftertaste is very slight and only detectable after consuming at least half of the bottle. It most likely has to do with the artificial sweetener, just not meshing as well with certain flavors and palates.
However, watermelon is a very pleasant and universally enjoyed flavor, and the initial taste is delightfully refreshing. This Bai was almost like a less sugary version of the watermelon Jolly Ranchers, and it falls in the middle of the pack in terms of perceived sweetness. It is another one of the flavors with a lower potassium content – only 10 milligrams in the entire bottle.
5. Costa Rica Clementine
Bai's Costa Rica Clementine Antioxidant Infusion water is super light and refreshing. Acknowledging that all flavors are made with the same amount of sweetener, the Costa Rica Clementine was the sweetest tasting. It lacks that tanginess you expect from actual orange juice, but it still has a full-bodied citrusy taste and is a more hydrating alternative to super sugary juices.
Costa Rica Clementine delivers 280 milligrams of potassium, and this small member of the citrus family also packs a punch in strengthening the immune system, anemia prevention, and metabolism support, according to Healthline. Here's an interesting fact: Clementines aren't among Costa Rica's largest agricultural exports.
That title goes to bananas, which make up around 36% of the nation's agricultural exports each year, followed by pineapples. This Bai flavor tasted just like the burst of juice when biting into a segment of fresh, ripe clementine, making it a solid, middle-of-the-road option to keep in the rotation.
4. Brasilia Blueberry
Close your eyes and take a sip of the Brasilia Blueberry Bai Antioxidant Infusion water, and you might think you are biting into a fresh, ripe blueberry. The flavor is rich and intense, with the perfect level of sweetness. There is no aftertaste to the Brasilia Blueberry and a hint of tartness that really exemplifies the flavor of off-the-bush fresh blueberries. One general downside to the Bai waters we noticed during testing is that the flavor dissipates pretty quickly, but the Brasilia Blueberry is one of the few flavors that did linger in a positive way.
As an added bonus, blueberries are considered to be a superfood brimming with powerful antioxidants that combat inflammation and free radicals. Keeping these humble little berries in your diet may help lower the risk of cardiological disease and cancers, according to WebMD. Strangely, despite blueberries being reportedly a very potassium-rich food, this Bai flavor only contains 20 milligrams of potassium per bottle.
3. Kupang Strawberry Kiwi
Because strawberries and kiwis are a match made in heaven, we weren't surprised at all for this flavor to emerge as a favorite. The fruit is sweet and flavorful while still being subtle and not overwhelming, and each taste meets the perfect level of intensity so as to not overpower its companion. Plus, this variety's flavor was much more present than the Dominica Dragon Passion Fruit and lingered for a longer amount of time.
The Kupang Strawberry Kiwi Bai Antioxidant Infusion water is crisp, refreshing, and moderately sweet. It wasn't memorable enough to beat out our favorites, the Pilavo Pineapple Mango and Zambia Bing Cherry, but it comes up in a close third. Unfortunately, if potassium is a priority for you, this flavor only contains 10 milligrams of it. That's quite low compared to the 280 milligrams offered by other flavors such as Costa Rica Clementine and Malawi Mango. The Ipanema Pomegranate and Kula Watermelon are also this low in potassium.
2. Pilavo Pineapple Mango
We reserved taste-testing the newest Bai flavor for last to ensure that all of the older flavors had been given thorough consideration first, but what we found is that the Pilavo Pineapple Mango is truly sunshine in a bottle. Bright and summery, the lively tropical taste of this new variety is a harmony of tart pineapple and refreshing mango.
It's definitely one of, if not the most, sweet-tasting of all the flavors, but it's not a distracting or overbearing amount. We were worried that the Pilavo Pineapple Mango might share the same strange bitter aftertaste as the Malawi Mango, but that wasn't the case.
Plus, this flavor is super potassium rich at 260 milligrams per bottle, and pineapples are packed with antioxidants, phenolic acid, and flavonoids. We still see the Zambia Bing Cherry as our favorite, but the Pilavo Pineapple Mango will be close at hand all summer long and hopefully opens the door up to more flavor mashups in Bai Antioxidant Infusion waters in the future.
1. Zambia Bing Cherry
Deliciously tart and only modestly sweet, the Zambia Bing Cherry was a fast favorite for us. Cherries are antioxidant powerhouses, may help fight cancer and heart disease, and have been found to play a role in inflammation reduction, according to the National Library of Medicine.
However, cherry juice is naturally high in sugar and may even have more added to make the tartness more palatable. Even pure, unsweetened tart cherry juice contains around 33 grams of sugar per one-cup serving. The Bai Antioxidant Infusion Zambia Bing Cherry water is a fabulous way to enjoy the tart taste of cherry, reap the antioxidant benefits of this stone fruit, and keep sugar consumption to a minimum.
This flavor contains 1 gram of naturally occurring sugar from the cherry juice, plus 10 grams of erythritol — plus 160 milligrams of potassium. Some people might prefer a sweeter drink than the Zambia Bing Cherry and may find the tartness to be a bit much after a while, but we enjoyed the slight sourness and scaled-back sweetness.