Review: Bolthouse Farms Blue Goodness

I've been a fan of Bolthouse Farms' drinks for a number of years now. The first flavors I tried were Mocha Cappuccino, Vanilla Chai, and Berry Boost. All of the them are excellent, you can really taste the quality of this brand and as if that weren't enough, they are made naturally and very healthy (the cappuccino contains a lot of protein, the smoothies are packed with fiber, in addition to the other natural benefits you get from the ingredients).

Relatively new to me is the Blue Goodness smoothie, which as the name implies is made primarily from blueberries, but also contains blackberries, bananas, apples, and lemon. I really enjoy fresh berries, especially blueberries and raspberries. In the past 5 years or so they have become a staple of my diet to be enjoyed at any time of day. So obviously I had to check out this flavor.

You can tell these drinks are carefully crafted to be pleasing to the senses as well as healthy. The color of the drink is a sort of rich purple hue. The smell is a hint of what's to come, a subtle and sweet berry scent. Bolthouse smoothies are always, well, very smooth. They have a nice thick texture that's pleasant on the tongue. The flavor is not excessively sweet and seems to be derived entirely from the fruity ingredients. Throwing the ingredients together would not turn out a good result, this formula has obviously been taste-tested extensively,

Overall, I think I still prefer their Berry Boost variety, but this is certainly among the best, healthiest fruit drinks on the market. Compare Bolthouse Farms smoothies with V8 VFusion (which also contains many fruit and vegetable servings) to get a feel for the difference in quality. I guess there's a perception that Bolthouse products are expensive, which is true relatively speaking, but compare them with the alternatives. Cheap fruit drinks don't even contain real fruit or are mostly sugar water. Probably the only thing better would be to buy the fruit and make smoothies yourself, which is a great idea if you have the time and interest to do so. Otherwise there's Bolthouse Farms and a few other brands committed to high quality products.