The Good: Fairly nutritious, Does not taste horrible.
The Bad: Expensive, Does not taste great.
The Basics: Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical is a blend of fruit and vegetable juices that is ultimately underwhelming on every front, save nutrition.
I, for the most part, enjoy the beverages produced by Bolthouse Farms. However, given that they tend to be a bit more expensive than other juices (also vastly more nutritious!), I tend to only get them as they near their expiration date and are discounted locally. Usually, this thrills me and I get a treat that was otherwise unexpected. In the case of Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical, I found myself far less surprised that it was locally clearanced.
The 50/50 Tropical is a mix of fruit and vegetable juices that is nowhere near as awful as the 100% Carrot Juice produced by Bolthouse Farms (and reviewed here by me!). But, it’s still not an incredible or delicious beverage.
Basics
Bolthouse Farms is a health drink brand, which is a full-health beverage (as opposed to being a liquid vitamin supplement) and, as a general rule, they tend to taste better than energy drinks. This is a vegetable beverage that is enhanced with nutrients. Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical comes in a 32 fl. oz. plastic bottle that is smooth and very portable. The #1 recyclable bottle is filled with the opaque orange liquid, which looks bright and cheerful. Bolthouse Farms juice products is one of the leading manufacturer of healthy prepared beverages, both of fruit juices and dairy beverages.
The 32 fl. oz. bottle gives consumers four full servings, though the bottle is not marked with clear delineations for each serving.
Ease Of Preparation
Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical is a liquid in the 32 fl. oz. bottle and is a ready-to-drink beverage. So, preparation is as easy as opening a plastic bottle. 50/50 Tropical has a plastic cap that easily twists off and can be put back on in order to reseal it. It is important to note that this is supposed to be refrigerated, so quality of the beverage may degrade if it is left out at room temperature before or after the bottle is open. This has a pretty standard security seal ring around the lower half of the cap and informs the consumer as to whether the product has been opened by cracking off when the top is twisted.
Taste
Initially, the 50/50 Tropical smells delightful. The aroma it possesses has an orange and citrus scent to it. The citrus scent, I now realize, is Guava. The smell is very fruity and exciting.
On the tongue, though, the 50% that is vegetables certainly overwhelms the fruit flavor. While there is an initially tangy fruit flavor – entirely produced by the guava and pear flavors in the beverage – it quickly transforms into the dry, familiar, fairly disappointing taste of carrot juice. The flavor of liquefied carrots settles on the tongue and is unrelenting once there. The “tropical” fruit flavors are quickly sublimated to the carrot juice.
The 50/50 Tropical has a very dry aftertaste.
Nutrition
As a healthy fruit and vegetable beverage, Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical is designed to fill in some of the nutritional gaps one might have in their diet, most notably Vitamin A, which the 50/50 Tropical has 260% of your RDA of! Nutritionally, Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical is an option for those who are dieting or are trying to improve their health, who are looking for specific nutrients and hydration. 50/50 Tropical contains carrot juice from concentrate, apple juice from concentrate, and pear juice from concentrate (among other things). It contains nothing bad and it is gluten free and does not appear to contain any meat or dairy products in it, so it IS Vegan compliant! As well, there are no preservatives, artificial flavors or colors or genetically modified ingredients!
This drink is also very healthy. One serving of 50/50 Tropical has no fat and 130 calories. While there are 31 grams of sugars and a gram of protein, the beverage has no cholesterol! There are 55 mg (2% RDA) of sodium in each serving. A single serving is a decent source of Vitamin C (60% RDA). It has vastly more than your daily needs for Vitamin A.
Storage/Clean-up
Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical comes in a plastic bottle and it keeps for only a few months. The bottle I bought on August 1, 2012 had an expiration date of August 6, 2012 (fear not! That’s when I drank it and wrote this review!). This beverage must be refrigerated!
This drink is a fruit and vegetable product and bright orange. If this gets on clothes, it will certainly stain them. Consult a care guide for your clothes, though I suspect light clothes would need bleach to get this out. Still, the drink wipes off surfaces easily with a cloth, assuming they are impermeable.
Overall
Bolthouse Farms 50/50 Tropical is not one of the most incredible Bolthouse beverages, but it does not taste horrible, making it a good, occasional (only if it’s on sale) drink.
For other Bolthouse beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Protein Plus Strawberries + Yogurt + Granola All Natural Protein Shake
Vitamin Rich Strawberry Banana Fruit Smoothie
Protein Plus Mango Fruit Shake
4.5/10
For other food reviews, please visit my index page for a complete listing by clicking here!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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