Bought this drink ages ago, but didn't get a chance to break it out until a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving potluck. I didn't get to take a picture of the unopened Honey Crisp Apple Cider before the college kids got to it. Sorry. They came. They drank. They conquered. And it was delicious.
Notice the one and only ingredient - honey crisp apple JUICE, juice being the operative word. That would make cider the scam word, like "artisan." Add the word artisan to any product, and you can automatically jack up the price.
For example:
(Most of these are hypothetical made-up products)
Trader Joe's Apple Juice
Trader Joe's Honey Crisp Apple Juice
Trader Joe's Honey Crisp Apple Cider - $2.99 (actual price)
Trader Joe's Farm-Pressed, Artisan Honey Crisp Apple Cider - so I could charge at least $5 for this right??
Now as a cider, I was not impressed. There was no hint of any cider spice whatsoever. Not a surprise though given the sole ingredient. Apparently you can serve it cold or warm, but I probably wouldn't do the warm. Anyone ever have warm juice? Kind of gross.
As a juice, however, it was pretty good. It's unfiltered, not from concentrate, and doesn't have any other added sugars. Obviously not quite as good as a honey crisp apple fresh off the tree, but a decent second place. Kids these days are so blessed! I only discovered the honey crisp a few years ago, and now they have it in juice form. So if you don't mind juice instead of cider, I'd recommend this drink.
And maybe if you simmered it with a cinnamon stick or something it might eventually resemble a cider.
TL;DR: Trader Joe's 100% Honey Crisp Apple Cider[less][Juice]. Cider-less Juice indeed. 6.5 out of 10.
I just tried my Trader Joe Honey Crisp cider. I also put a small saucepan of this cider on the stove with Star Anise, Allspice berries and a cinnamon stick to make it more like cider. Then I'll mix with more of the TJ cider and champagne to make a Mimosa! Can't wait until it's done today.
ReplyDelete