I am not one to rush the seasons. There is something fundamentally not right about pushing all the things we love about fall while the weather is still warm and humid. But I suppose if you're a Californian or a Floridian, it's no problem. So as much as I want to RESIST caving into buying and trying new fall stuff, I can't. It's here (fall Trader Joe's products). It's coming (actual autumn). And it'll be replaced by holiday stuff before you know it (probably in the middle of the October). We've got to slow down (I'm still trying to catch up on Terrace House y'all). Thus commences the season of reviewing as many non-pumpkin spice Trader Joe's products as possible.*
*I think pumpkin spice is like the Ugg boot of the food world. I can't deny the contingency of loyal followers, I suspect many of them bandwagoners. Certainly, I can't deny that pumpkin spice, like Uggs, done correctly and in moderation serves a purpose. Both are warm and comforting physically, especially if you live in a cold place, and emotionally in a fuzzy nostalgic way. But...who likes actual pumpkin minus all the sugar and spice? Are Uggs actually that cute? Does real pumpkin have an actual enjoyable flavor??? I can't stand overrated marketing social media hype. Precisely why every year when everyone goes crazy over Trader Joe's pumpkin spice everything [bagel seasoning] (My goodness - that would be my worst Trader Joe's nightmare. A marriage of the thing I love to hate and the thing I love love love. Pumpkin Spice Everything Bagel Seasoning. Gross), I double down on my a personal challenge to boycott all things pumpkin spice, moderately speaking. Moderate because I hate to admit that I don't hate pumpkin spice entirely - in fact I like it, maybe a little, in small doses. Like in baked goods. I hate that I don't hate it entirely because then I can't hate on it wholeheartedly. Moral dilemmas y'all. :P
Which leads me to - TEAM APPLE. I am team apple. Forget pumpkin spice. Except...omai. Pumpkin spice. Apple Cider. USE THE SAME SPICES. WHAT IS THE BASIS OF MY PUMPKIN SPICE LOATHING???
Existential contemplation aside - can we take a minute to acknowledge the effort to include a critical mass of buzzwords to get me to buy this product? Organic. Cold Pressed. Fuji. Apple. Spiced. Cider. Even though in my mind, I had a hunch that this would be glorified apple juice? TJ's take my money. You're too good. And the packaging is slim and beautiful and aesthetically pleasing in my hand.
My goodness - now that is A TON of sugar. Basically the same amount of sugar as a regular pumpkin spice latte. And more than some sodas. Just sayin. And how do I know that the organic apple juice is made out of actual Fuji apples? I don't. So...trust?
It's very clean tasting. It's basically an apple juice but with a bit more oomph. A says it tastes like apple pie juice, thanks to a healthy amount of cinnamon and clove. And there's an ever-so-slight tartness to the juice, so maybe they did actually use Fuji. Who knows? I'll admit it tastes pretty good. It's a juice though, so it's definitely sweet. I wouldn't be downing this all the time or feeding it to children. A used to drink apple juice at the rate that children are supposed to consume milk and ended up with 12 cavities at his first dentist visit. Live and learn y'all. $1.99 for a 12-oz bottle. Take it or leave it.
TL;DR: Trader Joe's Organic Cold Pressed Fuji Apple Spiced Cider. Apple pie juice. It ain't bad. 6 out of 10.
Comments
Post a Comment