My Real Life Acai Berry Juice Test
If you've ever watched Oprah or Rachel Ray, chances are you might have heard one of them talk about the aci berry. And since I'm one of their biggest fans, I definately saw those shows. So I decided to try them out and test the benefits for myselft. Well, what a letdown my first experience with acai berry juice was.
I was disappointed to say the least. How could Oprah and Rachel Ray be raving about this super fruit magic berry without even mentioning the possibility that it might, as my first taste test guinea pig put it 'taste blecky'? I may have something to do with the fact that I did indeed choose the most inexpensive option available, but at $2.39 for 8oz, it is not what I would consider cheap.
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 for 330ml/11oz. (Note: I think I saw this exact brand at another store for $2.99) The ingredients listed are 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. Contains: 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. The ingredients listed are 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. The ingredients listed are 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 three 'good' juices, all the judges deemed that they were very tasty and had 'good fruit juice' qualities. The clear winner out of our selection was Happy Planet Extreme Purple - it recieved top scores in all categories of taste, consistency, and appearance, although mySmoothi Superfruit Acai got a first place score from one of the judges. A solid second place was earned by Arthurs's Acai Plus - made in Canada.
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. - 17274
I was disappointed to say the least. How could Oprah and Rachel Ray be raving about this super fruit magic berry without even mentioning the possibility that it might, as my first taste test guinea pig put it 'taste blecky'? I may have something to do with the fact that I did indeed choose the most inexpensive option available, but at $2.39 for 8oz, it is not what I would consider cheap.
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 for 330ml/11oz. (Note: I think I saw this exact brand at another store for $2.99) The ingredients listed are 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. Contains: 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. The ingredients listed are 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. The ingredients listed are 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 three 'good' juices, all the judges deemed that they were very tasty and had 'good fruit juice' qualities. The clear winner out of our selection was Happy Planet Extreme Purple - it recieved top scores in all categories of taste, consistency, and appearance, although mySmoothi Superfruit Acai got a first place score from one of the judges. A solid second place was earned by Arthurs's Acai Plus - made in Canada.
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. - 17274
posted by X - Men at
6:02 AM
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