The Good: Tastes good, Nutritious, Great for virtually any style of diet.
The Bad: Not the most flavorful blend, Not the most nutritious in the Bolthouse line-up, Expensive!
The Basics: Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte is another wonderful beverage from Bolthouse Farms, though it is hardly a thirst-quencher!
As I have gotten back into the habit of eating well, I am finding healthier things to review once again. Today, that takes the form of Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte drink. This was a beverage I picked up on a lark because I like the brand, not because I had any particular love of green tea. I do, however, like chai lattes and being able to try a new flavor of Bolthouse Farms drinks appeals to me. So, I was pleasantly surprised when the Green Tea Soy Latte was good, but unsurprised when it was not great and enough to make me truly consider it one of the more memorable outings in the Bolthouse Farms drink line.
With the Green Tea Soy Latte, Bolthouse Farms continues its tradition of making healthy comparatively expensive. Despite how good the Green Tea Soy Latte soy drink is, the $3.29 (locally) for a 15.2 fluid ounce bottle, makes me ration the drink to the actual serving size!
Basics
Bolthouse Farms Green Tea Soy Latte is a soy health drink, 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 soy beverage that is minimally enhanced with nutrients. Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte comes in a 15.2 fl. oz. plastic bottle that is smooth and very portable. The #1 recyclable bottle is filled with the opaque green liquid, that looks just like pistachio pudding before it sets. Bolthouse Farms is one of the leading manufacturers of healthy prepared beverages and their dairy-oriented line is increasing in popularity and availability.
The 15.2 fl. oz. bottle is intended to give consumers just under two servings, which is annoying for a prepared food. If Bolthouse Farms has a bulk bottle of Green Tea Soy Latte, I have not been able to find it locally.
Ease Of Preparation
Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte 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. The Green Tea Soy Latte bottle 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
The Green Tea Soy Latte smells nicely like pistachio pudding. It is actually surreal and very inviting for those who like the creamy, salty flavor of such pudding!
On the tongue, however, this is a creamy beverage that has the distinctive taste of green tea. The green tea flavor kicks in after the initial milky flavor. This has a dry and nutty aftertaste after the initial milky, creamy texture and flavor fades. Otherwise, this is essentially green tea flavored milk.
The dry aftertaste lingers for about three minutes, but it is not an unpleasant aftertaste. It is nutty, though, and that makes it far from being a thirst quencher.
Nutrition
As a healthy tea and soy beverage, Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte is designed to fill in some of the nutritional gaps one might have in their diet, while tasting good! Nutritionally, Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte is a decent, but not exceptional, option for those who are dieting or are trying to improve their health. 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte is primarily composed of soy milk from concentrate, matcha green tea, and cane sugar. It contains nothing bad and does not have additional vitamins pumped into it. It is gluten free and because it is soy milk instead of milk from an animal, it appears to be Vegan complaint! 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 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte has 3 g fat and 150 calories, 25 of which come from the fat. While there are 25 grams of sugars, the beverage has no cholesterol and a whopping 7 grams of protein! Surprisingly, there are 80 mg (3% RDA) of sodium in each serving. A single serving is a sufficient source of Calcium (30% RDA!) and more than your daily needs for Vitamin C so this truly is a healthy beverage (ironically, more healthy than many fruit juices I have reviewed!).
Storage/Clean-up
Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte comes in a plastic bottle and it keeps for only a few months. The bottle my wife and I bought last month had an expiration date of June 25, 2013. This beverage must be refrigerated, though because it does not contain any actual dairy products, I am not exactly sure why.
This drink is a soy product and light because that is just how soymilk is. If this gets on clothes, it ought not stain them, unless they are white (this drink is green). Consult a care guide for your clothes, though I suspect the drink shouldn’t be allowed to soak into your clothes and stay there. Still, the drink wipes off surfaces easily with a cloth, assuming they are impermeable.
Overall
I enjoyed the Bolthouse Farms 100% Matcha Green Tea Green Tea Soy Latte, but it was not a superlative Bolthouse Farms beverage. It tastes all right, but it is not the most flavorful or distinct flavor in the line, nor is it the healthiest. That makes it easy to recommend, but not one to run out to stock up on.
For other Bolthouse beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Mango Coconut Splash Coconut Water + Juice
50/50 Tropical
Protein Plus Strawberries + Yogurt + Granola All Natural Protein Shake
6.5/10
For other food reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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