Not to be left out, others in the food industry have found a way to make money off the bottled-water craze, including the makers of powdered drinks such as Crystal Light, Tang, and Kool-Aid.

Thus, Kool-Aid SIngles were born.

What is a Kool-Aid Single, you may ask? Is it a chart-topping jam by the Kool Aid Man? Not quite. It's Kool-Aid, slightly modified for on-the-go mixing. Just pour the contents of the package into a container of water, shake (or stir, if that's your style) and voila! No pitcher is even needed, so what the Kool AId man is doing on the box without some sort of major make-over, I have no idea.

The flavor I've chosen today is cherry, because since this whole Singles business is something new and scary, it's good to have a nice, classic flavor to fall back on. Now, the first concern when you see artificial cherry flavor is, does it taste like cough syrup? Well, I'm happy to report that the answer is NO! Well, sort of, kind of. You see, it WOULD taste like cough syrup, if you could actually taste the cherry flavoring, but there's so much sugar packed into these tiny packets, that all you're tasting is unadulterated sugary sweetness. It's wonderful. They also come in grape and tropical punch, but I've yet to try those.

MIxing these things couldn't be easier! It works best with a standard water bottle. The one in the picture below is full of tap water, so it really works with any type of water. I also suggest reusing bottles. Just make sure you wash it out thoroughly after you're done if you plan on doing that, because it can get pretty disgusting if you don't.

AND PRESTO. Look at that, isn't it beautiful? Now you're ready to take your Kool-AId anywhere; school, the beach, the mall, the park, the deep vacuum of space or the deep, dark jungles of the Congo!

Okay, so it's not entirely easy to get the powder into the bottle, and it's possible to make a pretty good mess. I ended up with a thick ring of red around the bottle when I was through. You should be fine if you're not a total klutz like me, though, and it's a harmless white powder before it comes in contact with moisture.

You can make it in a glass, too. Whereas each packet supplies 2 servings, this means that you can pour a whole package into a bottle but will probably want to use only half in a glass. SInce there's no way to seal them back up once open, I usually end up rolling up the ends like a tube of toothpaste.

Mixing in a glass is easy, too! Just fill a glass with water, then add the mix. Of course, you're not done yet, unless you like your Kool-AId with a bitter aftertaste and the consistency of salt water. Unlike in a bottle, you obviously can't shake it. So, you need to stir it, and as much as I'd like to make a James Bond joke here, I can't think of anything. Spoons work fine, or you could get all fancy and esoteric and use one of those stirring stick thingamajigs.

Look at that beautiful color! Sadly, in a glass the flavor is more muted, so I suggest you use a bottle because it's JUST SO DARN COOL. I mean, you can't take a glass with you while biking, or mountain-climbing, or spelunking or whatever it is people do outside these days.

Kool-Aid SIngles may very well be the greatest invention since Crazy Bread. Seriously, if you are at all a fan of bottled water, Kool-Aid, or just sugary, zero-nutrition fruit drinks in general, you owe it to yourself to go out and buy 20 cases of this stuff. It's great.