Sat here with cold hands thinking about how much I miss Ribena

[KatyMac]

Do you think they will ever bring the sugar one back?

It's just so lovely when you have a bit of a cold and need a hot drink

Tea is always nice but there are times when only Ribena would do

Irn Bru has a full sugar version out now! It’s called Irn Bru 1901. I’ve found it in Sainsburys and Home Bargains and it’s SO good. I even emailed Barr to find out if it was permanent and they said it was

I used to love a can of Lilt on a hot day. But Lilt is RIP now too.

When the sugar tax came in, there wasn't any substantial change of packaging to identify that previously full sugar-drinks were now stealth-diet. The first I knew of the changes was taking a taste of new bottles and wondering why they tasted rank, checking the small print then chucking the rest of the contents down the sink.

I'm happy to pay the extra for sugar. At least I know I can burn it off as part of healthy, active lifestyle. It will be interesting to see what the long term consequences of high consumption of artificial sweetners will be... so far public health isn't improving because of them.

The manner in which choice was stealthily removed was pretty diabolical.

Never mind Ribena. I want proper Lucozade !

It's bloody annoying having to traipse off on special supermarket trips to hunt down brands like Rocks in order to drink something that isn't water or Coca Cola because there is no other squash that isn't contaminated with artificial sweetners in some supermarkets.

It's a bit like what happened with petrol, when that was deliberately messed with and made less efficient by order of the government a few years back. Previously, 'super' petrol was there as a premium alternative for people with performance cars; now, there are a lot of very ordinary older cars that either suffer 'issues' from the new 'standard' petrol or simply cannot use it at all. Even the newer ones that don't have any adverse effects from it will obviously get significantly fewer miles per tankful.

Never mind Ribena. I want proper Lucozade !

Lucozade did a really nasty number on people with diabetes.

Imagine having as your USP the fact that your drink is high in glucose for people who need/want a quick hit - and also tasted very nice as well - to the extent that diabetes specialist HCPs recommended it by name to a sizeable captive/dedicated market, as well as many others who enjoyed the same sensation and effects; but then deciding to completely get rid of that and make it into just yet another standard sweetener-infested drink, alongside all of the others on the shelf.

Why on earth would you do that? People were always willing to pay a premium price for it over standard soft drinks; it even had its own enviable dedicated section in chemist's shops, long before they ever sold generic soft drinks.

Ribena doesn’t exist anymore??!? What??! Since when???!

Ribena doesn’t exist anymore??!? What??! Since when???!

Since the sugar tax and the subsequent decision of the owners to follow every last vestige of profit, and stuff whatever the customers think.

See also: Cadbury's.

The artificial sweeters in everything is awful, so many things I loved now taste bitter like they have been mixed with crushed paracetamol. Apparently a genetic mutation means some people experience most artificial sweetners as an unpleasant bitter flavour while most people just get used to it.

We don't exist in big enough numbers to alter what big companies do unfortunately. Look out for artificial sweeters coming to your sauces and chocolate bars in future. However there is also increasing research that artificial sweeters might not be do harmless after all. Personally I think it's better to have real sugar but less of it.

Gosh, I genuinely had no idea Ribena was a thing in the past! That said, I hadn’t seen it in a while but I didn’t know it had gone!

Yes lucozade isn't worth buying at all anymore makes me sad ☹️
It just literally tastes flat like cardboard now, of nothing. It used to be my treat but it's not worth spending any money on now ☹️

It exists but its pointless as it's full of artificials

I've always preferred lower sugar versions of drinks, full sugar just have a ridiculous amount in- and I do have sugar in tea, but only 1 tsp, twice a day maximum. Can't bear to waste calories on sugary drinks. Even smoothies make me feel odd. With Ribena it feels like the roof of my mouth is coming off and my teeth are dissolving.

I can understand something comforting when you are ill but I'd rather have a hot toddy!

I would be perfectly happy with low sugar soft drinks if the sugar wasn’t replaced by artificial sweeteners. I genuinely cannot stand the taste of them, I can’t tolerate anything with them in. As they’re now in practically all soft drinks, I only drink water or coffee (no sugar).

Clearly advertised diet/ low sugar drinks have been around 30+ years which is fine as an option. The problem is when the option for full sugar is quietly changed/ removed and substituted which is often a health issue.

Asda high juice blackcurrant (and I think the rest of the hi juice flavours) don't have sweeteners. It's not the same as Ribena but is still nice, and much cheaper than the fancy pants ones like Belvoir and Rocks.

I've been having a Bottle Green "Winter Spiced" berry cordial hot, and it's very nice. I've just checked the label and it's made with sugar not sweetener.

Asda high juice blackcurrant (and I think the rest of the hi juice flavours) don't have sweeteners.

I may be wrong, but I've looked a couple of times and it only seems to be the blackcurrant that's made with proper sugar; the others have sweeteners in (unless they have both sorts and they're always out of stock of the proper sugar stuff whenever I look?!).

Considering that sugar is supposed to be so evil and to be avoided at all costs in favour of 'healthier' artificial substitutes, isn't it interesting how drinks with just sugar in proudly proclaim that they're sweetened with sugar and free of added sweeteners, whereas the other ones NEVER seem to boast about being free of sugar and having lots of added sweeteners?

I bought a bottle of Teisseire syrup off the back of this thread. It's indeed very syrupy so a little goes a long way. I thought it would be just berry flavoured as per the image on the bottle but there's a big wallop of vanilla in there too which I could do without. I do not have a sophisticated French palate it seems.

Oh, OP - thank you! I'd completely forgotten I'd got a bottle of Ribena stashed away. Horribly out of date but still tastes wonderful.

although I think these syrups will work great in cocktails. The vanilla would come in to its own there.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll dammit you're right, just checked the squash cupboard and the blackcurrant and the apple and mango are sweetener free but the apple and the summer fruits have them. Bloody sweeteners!

Loved the old glass bottle with the embossed pips on too! Not the same in a plastic bottle. Same with lucozade.