Recently I have had the opportunity to meet the founders of SanTasti, the world’s first and only palette cleansing beverage, and try out their new drink. Obviously my first question I had to ask was “Does it work?” and I’m happy to report that it does. A couple ounces of SanTasti completely clears the palette of any residual flavours from the last drink, taste, or bite whether it’s at a wine bar, olive oil tasting, or with a meal. I was pretty skeptical when I first heard about it considering the idea is so simple and so absolutely necessary and no one had done it yet. Especially when it came to olive oil which I have the most experience in tasting, I was doubtful that a liquid with the same viscosity as sparkling water would be sufficient to clear out the lingering flavour of a flavoured Tuscan varietal olive oil but somehow it goes way beyond my expectations.

SanTasti is still a very small company less than two years since their founding, but their product is as amazing as it sounds and I can foresee them replacing Perrier in every restaurant if they can get their formula to taste just a hint more neutral. With Santasti every single taste is as concise as the first and its implementation is pretty much limitless. As a restaurateur and taster I can see myself carrying around a bottle every time I plan on eating or drinking something. I’m lucky enough not to get palette fatigue from trying six or seven oils in a tasting, but with the added accuracy and precision of having a clear palette before each taste I could see easily doubling that figure and that goes for any time when my senses need to be their keenest.

SanTasti comes in three flavours - classic, peppermint, and cinnamint. The Classic flavour tastes much like a regular sparkling water but with a hint of sweetness to counter the strong flavour of the citric acid which is a primary ingredient in the neutralization of flavours on the palette. The Classic flavour was designed specifically for the purpose of wine tasting and when paired with food or drink the sweetness is almost completely negligible. If it wasn’t sweet at all I’d have to say nothing could compare to it and hopefully soon their formula will be completely neutral. The other two flavours were geared more for coffee drinkers where the strong lingering taste of coffee needs a stronger flavour to neturalize the after taste. What surprises me most is whether it’s the classic or stronger flavoured SanTastis the flavour of the drink disappears almost entirely after a couple seconds leaving the palette refreshed and ready for the next taste.

Of all the palette cleansers I’ve tried at restaurants and tasting rooms, SanTasti does the best job of clearing the palette without masking flavours or adding flavours as all the other palette cleansers do. What I hope to see soon is SanTasti available in large bottle sizes at restaurants so it can be shared much the same way as a big bottle of Perrier. Once they get there it should be apparent to every diner that SanTasti is the best choice to accompany a meal. The idea of taking every bite and it tasting like the first is beyond enticing. For now I’m sure I’ll be carrying a bottle everywhere. Since I’m also an avid supporter of small business with brilliant ideas SanTasti will be my biggest plug wherever I go. So the next time you plan on going wine tasting or out for a fancy meal pick up a bottle of SanTasti first. Trust me when I say it’ll change your tasting experience forever.