Acai Juice Taste Tester
If you're a fan of the two hottest talk show hosts as I am, you will no doubt have heard about the acai berry. Oprah and Rachel Ray have both raved bout this new superfood, and as I tend to do, I immediately went out to try it out for myself. Well, I bought my first box of juice, tried it right then and there, and was immediately taken aback. I screwed up my face about as much as if someone had played the 'lemon instead of an orange' trick on me.
"But how can that be" I thought to myself. My talkshow heros wouldn't lead me astray? So I decided that my first taste of acai berry must have been a fluke - I picked the worst tasting acai berry available in my town. Although, it at $2.39 / 8oz I had the unfounded belief that my acai berry juice should have been delicious.
As you have gathered, after that first try, I decided that a taste test was in order, and I promptly lined up 3 unsuspecting household members. If Oprah and Rachel Ray love acai, there must be some redeeming taste on top of the health benefits, so I figured I just got unlucky with my first choice.
The next day I headed out to find a sufficiently varied selection of acai juices available within walking distance of my house. This task took all morning, and I found there were a wide range of options, ranging from the atual real pure acai berry juice at $80 per litre which you are only supposed to have 2 tablespoons of, and which is very bitter, (I did NOT purchse this by the way, are you kidding?), to various colorfully packaged health drinks with different juices and concentrations of acai berry juice. Here's what I found:
1. Nova Acai made in Brazil. Cost: $2.39 for 250ml/8.4oz. Contains purified water, naturally organic acai puree, organic evaporated cane juice, citric acid. Nutritionally 120 calories per container, 3.6g of fat 1.3 of which are saturated (6% of your rec. daily intake) and 39% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
2. O.N.E Amazon Acai made in Brazil. Cost: $3.99 or $2.99 depending on the store for 330ml/11oz. Contains: 100% natural acai, 100% natural acerola, organic evaporated cane juice, citric acid, guarana extract, xantham gum, and lecithine de soya. Nutritionally 157 calories per container, 3g of fat 1 of which are saturated (5% of your rec. daily intake) and 167% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
3. mySmoothie Superfruit Acai made in Sweden. Cost $2.79 for 250ml/8.4oz. The ingredients listed are apple juice, crushed banana, 11% acai berry, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Nutritionally 150 calories per container, 2.25g of fat .03 of which are saturated (less than 1 % of your rec. daily intake) and 39% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
4. Happy Planet extreme purple made in Canada. Cost: $2.99 for 325ml/11 oz. Contains: pure apple juice, banana puree, peach puree, acai berry puree, blackberry puree, orange bioflavanoids, green tea powder extract, ascorbic acid and beta carotene. Nutritionally 130 calories per container, 0g of fat .0 of which are saturated (less than 1 % of your rec. daily intake) and 150% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
5. Arthur?s Acai plus made in Canada. Cost: $3.29 for 325ml/11oz. Contains: berry puree blend (acai, blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, cherry) apple juice, banana puree, pear juice, lemon juice. Nutritionally 230 calories per container, 4.5g of fat, 1g of which are saturated (5 % of your rec. daily intake) and 40% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
At the end of our very official quality controlled taste test, we were all suprised at how similar the results were - the consenses ended up with 3 juices in the 'that's pretty tasty' category, and 2 in the 'please don't serve that to me for breakfast' category. The latter sentiment, which was unanimous by the way, were unfortunately reserved for the two Brazil juices(Nova Acai and O.N.E. Amazon Acai), which are also the juices with the highest acai content. To be fair, after the official testing, one of the judges diluted one of the Brazil juices with orange juice and it improved so much that it could be considered a palatable option.
Of the remaining juices it was agreed that all were tasty and palatable. Two judges thought Happy Planet extreme purple was the best in taste, aroma and texture while mySmoothie superfruit acai got the first place nod from one judge. Interestingly, Arthurs's Acai plus was ranked 2nd best by all 3 judges.
So on taste alone, Happy Planet Extreme Purple seems to be the winner. It seems as though the Brazilian juice, which has the strongest concentration of acai, is also the least favorite. You'll have to use your best judgement here, and decide whether you will get an acai juice (blend) that tastes great, or go for a more concentrated version and flavor it yourself. - 17268
"But how can that be" I thought to myself. My talkshow heros wouldn't lead me astray? So I decided that my first taste of acai berry must have been a fluke - I picked the worst tasting acai berry available in my town. Although, it at $2.39 / 8oz I had the unfounded belief that my acai berry juice should have been delicious.
As you have gathered, after that first try, I decided that a taste test was in order, and I promptly lined up 3 unsuspecting household members. If Oprah and Rachel Ray love acai, there must be some redeeming taste on top of the health benefits, so I figured I just got unlucky with my first choice.
The next day I headed out to find a sufficiently varied selection of acai juices available within walking distance of my house. This task took all morning, and I found there were a wide range of options, ranging from the atual real pure acai berry juice at $80 per litre which you are only supposed to have 2 tablespoons of, and which is very bitter, (I did NOT purchse this by the way, are you kidding?), to various colorfully packaged health drinks with different juices and concentrations of acai berry juice. Here's what I found:
1. Nova Acai made in Brazil. Cost: $2.39 for 250ml/8.4oz. Contains purified water, naturally organic acai puree, organic evaporated cane juice, citric acid. Nutritionally 120 calories per container, 3.6g of fat 1.3 of which are saturated (6% of your rec. daily intake) and 39% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
2. O.N.E Amazon Acai made in Brazil. Cost: $3.99 or $2.99 depending on the store for 330ml/11oz. Contains: 100% natural acai, 100% natural acerola, organic evaporated cane juice, citric acid, guarana extract, xantham gum, and lecithine de soya. Nutritionally 157 calories per container, 3g of fat 1 of which are saturated (5% of your rec. daily intake) and 167% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
3. mySmoothie Superfruit Acai made in Sweden. Cost $2.79 for 250ml/8.4oz. The ingredients listed are apple juice, crushed banana, 11% acai berry, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Nutritionally 150 calories per container, 2.25g of fat .03 of which are saturated (less than 1 % of your rec. daily intake) and 39% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
4. Happy Planet extreme purple made in Canada. Cost: $2.99 for 325ml/11 oz. Contains: pure apple juice, banana puree, peach puree, acai berry puree, blackberry puree, orange bioflavanoids, green tea powder extract, ascorbic acid and beta carotene. Nutritionally 130 calories per container, 0g of fat .0 of which are saturated (less than 1 % of your rec. daily intake) and 150% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
5. Arthur?s Acai plus made in Canada. Cost: $3.29 for 325ml/11oz. Contains: berry puree blend (acai, blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, cherry) apple juice, banana puree, pear juice, lemon juice. Nutritionally 230 calories per container, 4.5g of fat, 1g of which are saturated (5 % of your rec. daily intake) and 40% of rec. daily intake of Vitamin C.
At the end of our very official quality controlled taste test, we were all suprised at how similar the results were - the consenses ended up with 3 juices in the 'that's pretty tasty' category, and 2 in the 'please don't serve that to me for breakfast' category. The latter sentiment, which was unanimous by the way, were unfortunately reserved for the two Brazil juices(Nova Acai and O.N.E. Amazon Acai), which are also the juices with the highest acai content. To be fair, after the official testing, one of the judges diluted one of the Brazil juices with orange juice and it improved so much that it could be considered a palatable option.
Of the remaining juices it was agreed that all were tasty and palatable. Two judges thought Happy Planet extreme purple was the best in taste, aroma and texture while mySmoothie superfruit acai got the first place nod from one judge. Interestingly, Arthurs's Acai plus was ranked 2nd best by all 3 judges.
So on taste alone, Happy Planet Extreme Purple seems to be the winner. It seems as though the Brazilian juice, which has the strongest concentration of acai, is also the least favorite. You'll have to use your best judgement here, and decide whether you will get an acai juice (blend) that tastes great, or go for a more concentrated version and flavor it yourself. - 17268
posted by X - Men at
4:24 AM
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