Snapple Agave Cactus beverage

One of my guilty pleasures is Snapple Zero Sugar Peach Tea. It combines black and green tea with natural peach flavor – and somehow this profile hits all the right notes for me.

Imagine how excited I was when I spotted Snapple Elements Rain Agave Cactus on the grocery store shelf. When something is labeled “Agave,” my interest is piqued. Doubly so when it says “Agave Cactus.”

Although I don’t quite know what “Agave Cactus” is supposed to be. Agaves aren’t cacti, even if some people erroneously refer to them as such. Plus, there is something commonly called agave cactus (Leuchtenbergia principis), maybe because its elongated tubercles give it a superficial resemblance to a small agave. But I doubt that Leuchtenbergia principis has ever been considered as a beverage flavor.

Agave cactus (Leuchtenbergia principis)

Of course, most people don’t have such confused botanical thoughts. They read “Agave Cactus” and either shrug their shoulders and move on, or they buy a bottle because they like how it sounds – cool, exotic, refreshing. From a marketing perspective, Snapple clearly did a good job because they got me to buy!

So what does it taste like? It tastes exactly like watered down white grape juice. Which is odd, because one of the main ingredients listed is pear juice concentrate. If this had been a blind taste test, I would never in a million years have guessed “Agave Cactus.”

I’ll be honest here. Even though I paid $2, I didn’t finish the bottle. It simply didn’t appeal to me enough to ingest the 25 grams of sugar. And I’m a bit disappointed because I really wanted my new favorite beverage to be something called “Agave Cactus.”

Snapple Elements comes in five flavors: Rain (“Agave Cactus”), Fire (“Dragon Fruit”), Air (“Prickly Pear & Peach White Tea”), Earth (“Cherry & Fig Black Tea”), Sun (“Starfruit, Orange & Nectarine”).

This was the first time I encountered Snapple Elements, but apparently it was available from the 1990s until 2005 or so and has had a cult following ever since. You can buy old Snapple Elements bottles on eBay for close to $50 (I’m not kidding). This vendor is selling an unopened lot of 7 Snapple Elements glass bottles from the 1990s for $50. The listing comes with a warning not to drink these because the ingredients have broken down. Hey, considering individual glass bottles of Snapple Elements sell for $50, a lot of 7 for $50 may be the deal of the year!

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