Whoever invented this crap needs shooting....
76 of 76 Ciao Users found the following review helpful
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Advantages Bottle is good
Disadvantages Dirty cap, disgusting taste.
Out and about today on a surprisingly warm September day in Birmingham, I felt really thirsty and found a vending machine with various drinks. I am fed up to the back teeth- literally- with fizzy soft drinks so I decided that a bottle of Robinsons Fruit Shoot in blackcurrant and apple flavour and with no added sugar and added vitamins, sounded like an interesting and reasonably healthy-looking alternative.
Fruit shoots are very interestingly-packaged in a small "sports" style bottle with the flip-up and down nozzle that you suck the drink out of and can close again if you want to save some for later.Anyway, I pulled off the clear plastic cap covering the nozzle and got my first disappoitment- despite the cap being sealed over the nozzle, the white nozzle part that you suck the drink from was slightly grimy, with some greyish marks on it- not very hygienic looking and obviously caused at the factory as the plastic seal over the nozzle would have prevented it getting soiled after it left the factory.
Still, it didn't look too serious so I carefully wiped it down and took a drink- and nearly spat it right out again. This stuff is disgusting- sickly-sweeet, stale-tasting and watery. I wondered if I should have shaken the bottle first, and sure enough it does say "shake well" in tiny letters on the bottom of the bottle.I reclosed the bottle and shook really hard for a while, but it made very little difference- it seemed less watery and the blackcurrant flavour came through more, but it still tasted revolting- artificial, stale and sickly-sweet.
Looking at the ingredients list, it's clear this drink is basically a no-added-sugar squash- it's only 5% blackcurrant juice and 4% apple juice, the remaining 91% is water, added vitamins and a whole host of chemical additives, including an acidity regulator, stabiliser, two preservatives, two artificial sweeteners, colour (why?! It comes in an opaque plastic bottle and isn't designed to be poured into a cup, so you never actually see the drink anyway! Mind you, the bottle also states "no artificial colours", so whatever it is, presumably it's "natural") and the generic "flavouring".All the same, lots of drinks contain chemicals like this and I've never come across one that tasted so cheap and artificial- particularly disappointing as a 300ml bottle costs 50p and it's from Robinsons, a name I always thought represented quality- it even has the Royal Seal on it! No wonder the Queen doesn't smile much if this is the rubbish they send her!
Trust me, avoid this- it makes Sunny Delight look a natural product.The full and grim ingredients list reads:-
water, blackcurrant juice, cloudy apple juice, citric acid, acidity regulator (trisodium citrate) , flavouring, vitamins (C, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, D, B12), stabiliser (xantham gum), preservatives (E202, E242) sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K), colour (anthocyanins). Contains a source of phenylalanine.
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| 1 - 5 out of 81 comments
FunkyFaulkner 05/08/2006 09:55
Ha ha, I love your title! And it's sooooo true! These drinks are awful. I have written a big rant on Shoka's review of this product, so will try and kurb myself here. Reading further down, I was interested to read Josh Yew's comment explaining about the natural colours - point 3 probably goes a long way to explaining why this stuff tastes so rough!! Great review by the way!
RACHELRIGHT 16/03/2004 23:45
I buy these for my kids, only to drink the contents and then use the bottles for home-made refills every day for the next few weeks! The lid swists off. x R
Disillusioned 06/12/2003 11:36
Eww horrible. I've tried this once or twice and agree sweet and sickly. I think its disgusting that they try and portray (like Sunny-D do) the product being healthy. Cheers, James.
JoshYew 23/11/2003 17:46
Hi mate, very interesting read to say the least! I too have always considered Robinson's to be a name you could trust to produce above average products - but your review has tainted my opinion! I'll definitely have to try it to make up my own mind! Incidentally, you mentioned that it had 'natural' flavourings. In the list of ingredients, it mentions 'Anthocyanins'. These are water-soluable, terrestrial pigmants found in plants. They come in all colours except green! They serve plants in 3 major ways: 1. They give the plant vibrant colours to attract insects for the purpose of pollination. 2. The pigmants contain a UV screen and so protect the plants from UV radiation and 3 (and more interestingly(!)) Anthocyanins produce a disagreeable taste in order to ward off predatory animals! Paul
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| 1 - 5 out of 81 comments
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Shipping: refer to website Availability: refer to website |
Very good review. I think these fruit shoots are actually quite nice, espescially the blackcurrant and apple ones. Also enjoy the red ones- but only when ice cold. Not a big fan of the orange or apple flavoured ones xx