Califia Farms California Tangerine Juice

Another hot day here in Norther California, instead of soda I grabbed this tangerine juice from the store. Perhaps I should just stick with orange juice next time, because this is the second disappointing tangerine juice I have tasted in a month!! (Read the first disappointment here)

So this Califia Farms tangerine juice contains no pulps, yet it has thick texture that flow very syrupy. And I suspected that they never filtered out the pulps instead they blended it all in, hence the thick texture of the juice.

What I love about this drink:

• It's produced in California from California grown tangerine!
• Non GMO

What I don't like about this drink:

• Syrupy, thicker than normal 
• Lack of tangerine taste, felt like I was drinking a diluted OJ

Cheers,

B

spindrift Sparkling Orange Mango Soda

It has become a habit or a routine to grab something to drink whenever I go grocery shopping. This weekend I was at Berkeley Bowl and the spindrift sparkling soda grabbed my attention. Actually anything with sedimentation always grab my attention, but this one in a good way. After reading the label and knowing that what's at the bottom is actually mango puree, I decided to give it a try. 

This beverage has no added flavors meaning that its flavor comes from the mango puree and orange juice that was added. And this vivid yellow color is colored by fresh fruit juice instead of artificial coloring, which they probably added a lot that's why it's so bright to compensate for the color fade that is prone to happen under light and heat. 

What I love about this drink:

• Love the fresh alfonso mango taste
• Love that it's refreshing 
• Love that it's a right balance of sweet so it's not cloying
• Love the flavor combination

What I don't like about this drink:

• Orange taste is weak, I would love to taste a bit more of it
• It was pricy! $2.99 for a 355ml bottle.

Cheers,

B

Trader Joe's Tangerine Juice

 

Trader Joe's is full of goodies, look what I picked up yesterday while grocery shopping. This 100% fresh tangerine juice. It's more sour than I would have expected, almost tasted like orange juice. But since it was so warm yesterday, anything cold and refreshing worked.

Trader Joe's also sell different types of cold press juices, wanna know more between regular freshly squeezed bottle juices vs c

old pressed juices, this article explains it very well.

As much as I enjoy drinking juice, I prefer eating the actual fruit instead for the fiber they provided. 

Cheers,

B

Bruce Cost Ginger Ale Jasmine Tea

Yesterday we talked about Ginger Beer, today I am reviewing Bruce Cost Ginger Ale Jasmine Tea. 

This drink grabbed my attention because it contains Jasmine tea (real brewed "premium" tea). I was very interested to know how well ginger ale and jasmine tea would go together. Despite that giant cloud of sediments at the bottom, with those ugly looking brown "peels" sinking at the bottom, I decided to give it a try. After all, it does say unfiltered and the label did mention that sedimentation is normal, just shake before drinking.

To be honest, I regretted buy a 4 pack. If it was labeled as an Unfiltered Ginger Ale, I would buy it again. But the fact that it claims to have Jasmine Tea in it and I couldn't even taste the slightest hint of floral taste, then we have a problem. And it was labeled that it contains "Premium Jasmine Tea"?!? I wish I can taste how premium it really is!

Companies try to trick consumers all the time with labeling.  While FDA has a strict regulation on certain types of wording, the word "Premium" is not one of them. It is added to romanticize the ingredients or make you feel that it's worth the money.

Besides not being able to taste the Jasmine tea, I would say it tastes almost like a ginger beer. Unlike other ginger ale brands out there, it uses fresh ginger instead of flavorings, which gives a much stronger ginger taste but without that spicy taste. Some ginger ales also have a hint of vanilla sweetness, but not in this one. 

What I love about this drink:

• Love the strong ginger taste yet not over powering

What I don't like about this drink:

• 35g of sugar per serving, so don't be drinking it every single day!!
• That cloud of gunk sinking at the bottom, I don't know if it adds any taste to it but it looks ugly and disgusting
• No jasmine tea taste whatsoever

Cheers,

B

Cock and Bull Ginger Beer

Cock and Bull Ginger Beer! This has been my favorite ginger beer so far!!

Although this is a formulated ginger beer (it contains no brewed ginger roots, all flavors are coming from natural flavors, and the pale brown color comes from caramel), it has genuine ginger taste and aroma that is perfectly balanced. But having said that it is a formulated drink, it is lacking that spicy burning ginger taste that a brewed ginger beer has. If that's what you love about ginger beer, you might not like it.

I love to pair it with spicy hot pot, but the brand also suggests that it's a great mixer for a Moscow Mule!

What I love about this drink:

• Love the fresh ginger taste that's not too spicy or artificial
• Love that it's super carbonated which pairs well with spicy food

What I don't like about this drink:

• 35g of sugar per serving, so don't be drinking it every single day!!

Cheers,

B