A Product Review: Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink

I am always looking for novel foods and drinks to try. Our daughter has always really liked Mandarin oranges. So when my husband saw "Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink" in the Asian food section of Hy-Vee, he thought it might be something we would both enjoy. He thinks they were on sale for fifty cents a piece at the time, which was a good deal, even for the rather small eight ounce cans.

"Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink" comes in a bright orange can with green bordered lettering. It is decorated with what looks like droplets, and with bright orange and white, orange slices. The packaging gives the impression that orange flavored refreshment awaits. Above the drink name is an interesting Asian symbol (or connected pair of symbols) about the brand name "Asian Taste". Perhaps they translate into "Asian Taste". (I am always amazed at how beautiful and artistic even mundane words look in the sweeping pictorial Asian lettering.)

The can also tells us that this a drink with "pulp and juice" which made it even more appealing to me as I like think the pulp gives juice an interesting texture and little extra bursts of juice. The back of the can tells us that this product is a product of Korea, so hopefully that indicates a bit of authenticity as far as the drink's claimed Ethnic ties.

"Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink" tasted very good. It was even better than I expected. The flavor was light and a not overbearingly sweet .The Mandarin oranges gave it a very unique flavor. And biting into the pulp gave the drink an extra kick, with little bursts of pure Mandarin juice.

There is quite a lot of sugar in this little drink (thirty grams!) and a hefty one hundred and twenty five calories in "Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink". However, "Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink" also provides tiny amounts of calcium and iron and one hundred and sixty three percent of your daily recommended value of vitamin C. So if you are going to indulge in a sweet drink, this one gives you quite a bit back.

"Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink" has fifty five percent juice, which is quite a bit more than many juice drinks on the market. And the small can makes it perfect for portion control. (Many bottled juice drinks contain two, or two and a half, servings, which always seemed a bit odd to me.) So if you are looking for a novel drink to try, with a bit of a nutritional punch, I recommend "Asian Taste Mandarin Orange Drink" as a sweet treat!

Enjoy!