By: Gemma Mastroiann
Imagine the milk man but for sparkling water, oat milk, and specialty beverages; pretty cool, right? This is why I’m excited to introduce you to lark.
Lark is a Toronto based biz on an eco friendly mission selling sparkling and still spring waters with floras, all natural sodas and barista standard oat milk in their premium branded glass bottles.
How does it work? You order online and they deliver it to your door. When you’re done, they pick up and drop new, if you wish!.
I discovered lark in the beginning of the pandemic on social media. Impressed by their mission and aesthetically pleasing marketing, I knew I had to try it. I was unable to do so for a-while because I lived outside of the delivery zone. However, since moving to downtown Toronto it was finally my time!
It’s common knowledge that there is an overabundance of waste in our country, especially from bottled water and pop cans. I greatly appreciate the mission lark is on not only to reduce waste, but also to deliver higher quality and fluoride free waters in sustainable packaging. Even their delivery crates are made from recycled materials, check it out below:
The order process was as seamless as ever. I placed my order online and by the next day just shortly after 1 PM, it was on my doorstep. The delivery driver sent me a text message fifteen minutes before delivery, and I retrieved it via contactless drop off.
I tried every single flavour. Check out my review of each below:
Bestill
Bestill is definitely the smoothest and freshest water I have ever tasted. Did you know that Ontario has some of the hardest (yes, water can be ‘hard’) water in the country? I never understood this until I tried Bestill. It’s fluoride and after-taste free.
pH is 8.0
Air Oats
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she is Miss Air Oats.
I mean really, who doesn’t love oat milk these days? If you love oat milk in your coffee, then you need Air Oats in your life! It’s creamy, smooth, and filled with so much goodness. Let’s just say that my homemade oat milk hasn’t even come close to this!
Ingredients: ​​Barista Standard, Frothing Oatmylk 1L, Filtered water, Canadian oats, High oleic sunflower oil, Chicory root fibre, Avocado oil, Himalayan salt, Organic Maple syrup.
Inside Job
I was SO impressed with this one. This incredible mixture of sparkling water, bluebelle vine, herbs, and lemon is basically a ‘healthier’ tasting version of a lemon-lime soda. Inside Job is perfect on its own or mixed with your favourite vodka or gin. As a bonus, it’s beautiful blue colour is so aesthetically pleasing.
Ingredients: Sparkling, Ontario spring water augmented with bluebelle vine and herbs. Eco friendly alternative to colas. Taste profile: subtle earthy cola. 8 CALS 0.5 CARB 0.5 FAT 0.5G SUGAR PER 500ML 0.13% ALCOHOL to extract flavour in herbs.
Mandarino
Picture yourself on your favourite beach on a sunny day with a refreshing citrus cocktail in hand - that’s how Mandarino makes me feel.
I typically shy away from juice cocktails because of how potent they are in flavour and sugar but, Mandarino is a beautiful and refreshing option. Made with a mixture of carbonated water and freshly squeezed tangerine and orange juice, this is the drink for us Orangina lovers. If you want it to pack on a bit more of a bunch, squeeze in some lime!
Ingredients: Lightly carbonated Ontario spring water with a 30% *FRESHLY squeezed citrus juice mix of tangerine and orange. *Juice is bottled the same day of it being squeezed. No artificial colour. No artificial flavour. No bitter OJ from concentrated taste to ruin the vibe.
Forever Endeavor
Rose - one of the most beautiful flowers.
Forever Endeavor captures the essence of a rose with a hint of lemon, while pretty in pink. If you love floral drinks and flavoured still sparkling water, you totally need to try this. It’s a refreshing and lighter tasting alternative to pink lemonade.
Ingredients: Still, Ontario spring water augmented with roselle, elderflower and citrus. Eco friendly alternative to lemonade and ice tea. Taste profile: subtle floral lemonade
Ginger Sour
Lark’s ginger sour is definitely one of my favourites out of their options.
Looking to impress your friends with a fun cocktail night? Well, it’s time to mix with the Lark Ginger Sour. Imagine turning your favourite ginger beer down just a couple of notches and also making it fresh and organic tasting; that is ginger sour!
Ingredients: Sparkling, Ontario spring water with ginger juice, agave nectar, naturally derived citric acid and NFLD sea salt. Eco alternative to ginger ales and citrus drinks. Taste profile: ginger beer meets sour patch kid. 50 CALS 8G CARBS 0G FAT 9G SUGAR PER 250ML.
Bubba
Who else loves popping champagne?
Basically you can have your champagne popping moment with Bubba every single day, and feel good about it.
Similar to Bestill but sparkling and a great option for San Pellegrino fans.
I was extremely impressed with lark. From contactless delivery in their eco-friendly crates to the freshness of all drinks, and of course their stunning branding, you can say this is most definitely my new favourite local business.
If you’re passionate about creating a better environment and also putting better ingredients in your body, give lark a try.