Aura Bora Review: Sparkling Water, Flavors, Ingredients, Pros, and Cons

Aura Bora offers carbonated drinks that are described as a zero-calorie alternative to sweetened sodas and flavored drinks. Its offerings do not feature added sugar, sweeteners, citric acid, or artificial ingredients.

This review examines the brand’s ingredient approach, flavor breadth, and real user experiences with its offerings. It also compares the brand with other similar brands that also offer sparkling water.

About Aura Bora

Aura Bora is a California-based brand that offers flavored sparkling drinks that are infused with herbs, fruits, and flowers to create flavor profiles that differ from standard options. It has a diverse flavor range, including options like Cactus Rose, Lavender Cucumber, and occasional limited-edition flavors. The brand also states that it utilizes water filtered through reverse osmosis before flavoring to preserve taste and potency.

The manufacturer states that all of its products are non-GMO and sugar-free. It also emphasizes a commitment to sustainability by stating that all drinks are packaged in aluminum cans.

Core Offerings

1. Sparkling Water

   The Sparkling Water range features core flavors such as Strawberry Basil, Ginger Meyer Lemon, Lime Cardamom, Grapefruit Elderflower, Lavender Cucumber, and Cactus Rose. Depending on availability, the range also offers a few limited edition flavors, including Hibiscus Passionfruit, Blueberry Wildflower, and Banana Bergamot.

   Across the range, the drinks contain carbonated water with dissolved carbon dioxide, which forms carbonic acid in the mouth and creates the mild sharpness and tingling sensation associated with sparkling drinks. The Strawberry Basil variant features basil leaf extract that provides linalool and eugenol, which help create the drink’s basil aroma and enhance taste.

   The Lime Cardamom variant contains lime extract with citrus-derived aromatic compounds like limonene and citral to support immunity. It also features cardamom extract with compounds like 1,8-cineole and terpinyl acetate, which contribute to its recognizable spicy and citrus-like aroma. Raspberry Vanilla variant features vanilla extract that contains vanillin, a compound that contributes a sweet, warm aroma without functioning as a sugar.

Aura Bora Advantages

1. Standardized Water Purification Process

   Aura Bora states that all of its beverages are produced using reverse-osmosis filtered water before minerals are added back for taste consistency. According to the brand, this process removes PFOS, fluoride, and other contaminants while helping maintain a consistent flavor profile across its sparkling water lineup. The company also notes that its products are manufactured in California using this standardized production process. You can expect a more consistent taste across different batches because the brand standardizes its water process and does not depend on regional water sources.

2. Distinctive Botanical Flavor System

   Aura Bora builds its sparkling water flavors around herbs, flowers, fruits, and spices. Varieties such as Lavender Cucumber, Lime Cardamom, and Hibiscus Passionfruit combine multiple botanical extracts to create flavor combinations that are uncommon within the sparkling water category. The botanical approach gives you access to a wider range of flavor profiles and creates greater variety across the product lineup, making it easier to explore different taste combinations without repeatedly encountering similar ones.

Aura Bora Limitation

1. Limited Occasion Versatility

   Aura Bora features botanical pairings such as Lime Cardamom and Ginger Meyer Lemon that combine herbal notes with real fruit extracts. Compared with traditional sparkling water brands, these more complex, earthy flavor combinations offer a less familiar taste experience that may have narrower appeal in social settings or when serving a wider range of preferences. Their distinctive flavor profiles can also feel less versatile for everyday occasions, including pairing with meals or post-workout hydration. Finding flavors that suit both your personal preferences and a broader range of everyday occasions may require more consideration than with brands centered on more familiar sparkling water flavors.

Aura Bora Alternatives

1. Spindrift

   When comparing the brands, Spindrift and Aura Bora both offer flavored sparkling drinks, but they differ in their ingredient focus, flavor direction, product breadth, and brand positioning.

   In terms of product range, Spindrift offers sparkling water as its core category, while also extending into soda and tea formats. Its lineup includes fruit-focused flavor options such as Raspberry Lime, Lemon, Grapefruit, Strawberry Lemonade, Half Tea and Half Lemon, and Nojito. Such offerings maintain a more familiar fruit-based flavor direction. Aura Bora remains more focused on sparkling water, with its range differentiated primarily through botanical flavor combinations. A few core flavors across its lineup include Lavender Cucumber, Grapefruit Elderflower, Lime Cardamom, and limited-edition releases like Banana Bergamot and Hibiscus Passionfruit.

   Spindrift and Aura Bora also differ in how they build flavor into their drinks. Spindrift uses carbonated water with real squeezed fruit, fruit juice, and fruit puree, depending on the flavor. Ingredients across its range typically include lemon juice, lime juice, raspberry puree, grapefruit juice, strawberry puree, or orange juice. Meanwhile, Aura Bora uses carbonated water with botanical ingredients that may include herbs, flowers, fruits, spices, and natural flavor components. Its formulations are created around flavor combinations such as lavender with cucumber, strawberry with basil, cactus with rose, and elderflower with grapefruit.

   Both brands primarily offer carbonated drinks, though Spindrift offers more variety with sparkling water, sparkling tea, and soda-inspired products. Aura Bora appears to remain focused on carbonated sparkling water and does not provide a non-carbonated drink range.

   Spindrift places greater emphasis on fruit juice and puree as part of its lineup, while Aura Bora places greater emphasis on zero-calorie botanical flavor combinations without added sugar, sweeteners, citric acid, or artificial ingredients.

2. Waterloo

   Waterloo and Aura Bora operate in the flavored sparkling water segment but differ in flavor direction, ingredient emphasis, quality communication, and brand engagement.

   The brands differ in terms of catalog breadth. Waterloo offers flavored sparkling water in canned formats, including individual cans, multipacks, variety packs, and limited seasonal releases. Its flavor range generally stays closer to familiar fruit options, with core profiles such as Black Cherry, Lemon Lime, Strawberry, Melon Medley, and Tropical Fruit.

   Aura Bora also provides canned sparkling drinks through individual packs, multipacks, subscriptions, and seasonal releases, but its lineup includes more herb, flower, and fruit combinations. Some featured flavors in its catalog include the Raspberry Vanilla, Cactus Rose, Strawberry Basil, Ginger Meyer Lemon, and Lavender Cucumber.

   Waterloo states that its water is locally sourced and processed through a multi-step filtration system before carbonation and canning. The brand notes that this process removes contaminants and produces purified water without sodium, fluoride, chlorine, and other impurities. The brand further highlights several certifications across its lineup, including Gluten-Free, Vegan certified, Whole30 Approved, and OU Kosher certified. Aura Bora states that its products are manufactured in California and that its water is filtered through reverse osmosis before minerals are added for taste. The brand also notes that its cans are BPA-free and PFAS-free. Its product pages also highlight that its products are vegan, gluten-free, Kosher, Whole30 Approved, and sugar-free.

   Waterloo emphasizes a recognizable range of fruit flavors, clear dietary certification communication, and simple formulation standards. Aura Bora highlights its broader use of botanical extracts and more distinct flavor pairings, as well as reverse osmosis water, PFAS-related packaging information, and microplastic testing. However, both brands lack transparency regarding their third-party testing standards, testing procedures, and ingredient sourcing.

How Did We Evaluate?

1. Real User Experiences

   In assessing Aura Bora, we looked at its presence, ratings, and user reviews shared on ThingTesting, where the brand currently carries a 3.7 out of 5 rating based on more than 150 reviews.

   Many users appreciated the brand’s distinctive approach to sparkling water, particularly its use of fruit, herb, and floral flavor combinations. Several users described flavors like Lavender Cucumber, Strawberry Basil, and Cactus Rose as refreshing and different from conventional sparkling waters. A few users also appreciated the absence of added sugars, the lighter flavor profile, and the visually appealing packaging.

   However, not all reviews indicated a positive response to the brand’s botanical flavor style. A few users felt the herbal and floral notes were too strong or unusual, with some describing certain flavors as perfume-like, overly plant-forward, or difficult to enjoy. Others felt the taste was too subtle and wished for stronger flavor intensity. Some users also questioned whether the products justified their price point.

   Our evaluation found that Aura Bora’s flavor range offers a clear alternative to standard unsweetened sparkling drinks, but the same distinctiveness can make some varieties less approachable. We recommend trying individual cans or a mixed pack before long-term commitments. It is also worth weighing the cost per can against how often the flavors would realistically fit into your usual drink routine.

2. Brand Reputation

   When evaluating Aura Bora’s brand credibility, we analyzed its operational history, business background, and presence across independent review platforms. Founded in 2019, the brand is a relatively young sparkling drink company that has expanded its retail presence, secured outside investment, and later entered a majority-stake acquisition partnership with Next In Natural in 2025. Such factors may indicate that the brand has maintained business growth and operational continuity during its time in the market.

   We also reviewed the brand’s presence across reputable independent review forums. As of now, the brand does not maintain an active presence on platforms such as Trustpilot, Better Business Bureau, or ConsumerAffairs. This limits the availability of independently verified customer feedback, complaint histories, refund experiences, and customer service records that are often used to assess a brand’s reliability.

   Based on its business development history, Aura Bora appears to be in a developing state. However, the lack of presence across major third-party platforms makes it difficult to independently evaluate user satisfaction trends and service performance.

Conclusion

Aura Bora takes a different approach to sparkling water by centering its drinks around botanical combinations of herbs, flowers, fruits, and spices instead of familiar fruit flavors. The drinks maintain a simple formulation with zero sugar, zero calories, and no added sweeteners, keeping the emphasis on flavor and not onfunctional ingredients. That same botanical focus defines the brand as much as its products. It creates a more distinctive drinking experience but also narrows the brand’s versatility, as the flavor combinations are less universally familiar than conventional sparkling water options.