Kool-Aid

Where I work, we occasionally talk about "drinking the Kool-Aid."  I suspect it's a common discussion at various workplaces.

Most workplaces, however, don't have a teammate who has never even heard of Kool-Aid.

For those two or three of you who don't know what it is, let me quote Wikipedia:

Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by the Kraft Foods Company.

Hrm.  That doesn't help much, does it?

It's a small packet of powder. You take two quarts of water, one cup of sugar, and this flavoring package. Mix it all together and drink. Or chill first. Either way, it's good stuff. Depending on the flavor.

It's marginally better for you than soda, and it's a lot less expensive.

My favorite flavor is Black Cherry, so we're nearly always out of it at Chez Gamethyme. And the water here at the office is only marginally drinkable (we boil it before drinking it).

This means that introducing Dasha to Kool-Aid would require some special effort, because I'd have to bring water from elsewhere. I was early to work one morning, and so took a quick trip to the nearby (and dangerously convenient) 7-Eleven. One quart of water is about one liter (almost exactly one liter, in fact).

I'd previously brought in a 2-Quart pitcher and a cup of sugar. And a packet of Strawberry.  It's not as good as Black Cherry, but it's one of the drinkable Red flavors (and everyone needs to start with Red Kool-Aid).

Once Dasha arrived, I showed her the packet, and mixed everything up.  "You need," I told her, "To drink it out of an actual glass for the full effect."

Her first comment: "I don't think I like this."

But she kept trying. "It's not soda. I don't know what it is."

"It reminds me of ... you know the Jelly?"
"Jell-O?"
"Yes. With the water?"
"Yes."

All in all, she only had about half of a glass.

Result: Fail. I should probably have waited until I had Black Cherry on hand - Strawberry isn't a good starter flavor. I may have shot myself in the foot to test this, however.