The Good: Good taste, Very nutritious
The Bad: Expensive, I hoped for more on the nutrition front
The Basics: Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend 100% Fruit Juice + Boosts is a good addition to the Bolthouse drink line worth picking up for anyone who likes berry-flavored beverages!
Summer is here, which means many of my drink reviews will focus on fruity or cold beverages once again. That means, I am turning my attentions back to one of my new favorite brands, Bolthouse Farms. Yesterday, as part of my wife and I eating (and drinking) healthier, I spent a couple bucks on some new (to me) Bolthouse Farms beverages and while the local selection is somewhat dismal, I found the 15.2 fluid ounce bottle of Acai + 10 Superblend 100% Fruit Juice + Boosts. Despite thinking Acai is another fruit trend like pomegranate, which I loathe, I picked up a bottle of the Acai + 10 Superblend anyway.
And it was all right!
Acai + 10 Superblend 100% Fruit Juice + Boosts is good, but for the money, I hoped for a little more in the way of vitamin and mineral content from the beverage.
Basics
Bolthouse Farms is a health drink brand, which is like an energy drink except that is designed for more of a full-health solution (as opposed to being a liquid vitamin supplement) and they tend to taste better. This is a fruit beverage that is enhanced with nutrients. Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend comes in a 15.2 fl. oz. plastic bottle that is smooth and very portable. The #1 recyclable bottle is filled with the opaque purple liquid, which looks much like a bunch of fruit was just blended together, that is Acai + 10 Superblend. Bolthouse Farms juice products is one of the leading manufacturer of healthy prepared beverages, both of fruit juices and dairy beverages.
The 15.2 fl. oz. bottle is intended to give consumers just under two servings, which seems pretty ridiculous to me. For some strange reason, Bolthouse Farms cheaps out on a full 16 fl. oz. bottle, which would be two servings.
Ease Of Preparation
Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend is a liquid in the 15.2 fl. oz. bottle and is a ready-to-drink beverage. So, preparation is as easy as opening a plastic bottle. Acai + 10 Superblend 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
Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend smells sour and disturbingly uninviting. The scent is like a mix of carrots, fermenting grapes and curdled milk. Alas, this is not a drink that screams “Consume me!” from its aroma.
On the taste front, though, 100% Fruit Juice + Boosts Acai + 10 Superblend is all around wonderful, though some sips of it have a sour kick. The Acai + 10 Superblend is distinctly berry-flavored in its taste after that and for every subsequent sip of the drink. The flavor changes with almost every sip from though it always has a berry with a hint of grape and/or apple flavor to it. The raspberry and blueberry flavors are the most prominent, though there is a sour kick from what I assume is the acai (which is probably where I am getting a grape flavor, because the acai berry juice is well above the grape juice that is in this beverage).
The aftertaste from the Acai + 10 Superblend 100% Fruit Juice + Boosts is slightly sour and oddly (because there is no dairy of any kind in it), milky. The sour and milky aftertastes endure in the mouth for about five minutes, but they are not unpleasant.
Nutrition
As a healthy fruit beverage, Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend 100% Fruit Juice + Boosts is designed to fill in some of the nutritional gaps one might have in their diet, while tasting pretty awesome to boot! Nutritionally, Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend is a great option for those who are dieting or are trying to improve their health. Acai + 10 Superblend is primarily composed of apple juice from concentrate, organic acai juice and black currant juice from concentrate. It contains nothing bad and does not have any additional vitamins pumped into it. 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 exceptionally healthy for you. One serving of Acai + 10 Superblend has 120 calories and no fat. While there are 31 grams of sugars, the beverage has no cholesterol nor protein! Rather nicely, there are only 15 mg (1% RDA) of sodium in each serving. A single serving is a sufficient source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Manganese, which is more than most fruit juices on the market!
Storage/Clean-up
Bolthouse Farms Acai + 10 Superblend comes in a plastic bottle and it keeps for only a few months. The bottle I bought yesterday had an expiration date of June 8, 2013. This beverage must be refrigerated!
This drink is a fruit product and dark purple. 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 Acai + 10 Superblend tastes good, but is what it is. This drink is a pretty indistinct mix of several berries that tastes like a bunch of fruit blended up together. It is okay, but not extraordinary in any way.
For other Bolthouse beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Mango Coconut Splash
50/50 Tropical
Protein Plus Strawberries + Yogurt + Granola All Natural Protein Shake
7/10
For other beverage reviews, please visit Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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