The Absolute Worst Juice You Can Buy At Trader Joe's

When you're stocking up on the best snacks from Trader Joe's, you might as well snag a juice to pair alongside them. Something sweet and refreshing is called for to wash down those spicy and tangy Chili & Lime Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips! When it comes to juice choices, Trader Joe's offers many different kinds, including refrigerated fresh juices, shelf-stable blends, and even sparkling ones packed in a can. Most are worth the buy, but one you should consider leaving out of your cart: the Sparkling Strawberry Juice.

It undoubtedly sounds intriguing; strawberry is not a common juice flavor, so the novelty of it makes it tempting to grab. Plus, a sparkling juice with no added sugars is a great alternative to drinking soda. But we're disappointed to say that in our ranking of Trader Joe's juices, the canned Sparkling Strawberry Juice came in last place.

For our taste tester, the amount of carbonation was one of the most off-putting features of this beverage. Rather than a pleasant light sparkle, the can supplied some rather aggressive foam and fizz, making it challenging to drink. When the bubbles settled down later, the strawberry flavor was somewhat strange and slightly medicinal.

Chowhound is not the only one that has an issue with this juice — there are some really mixed reviews of this product on the r/TraderJoes subreddit. One poster calls the strawberry flavor "lackluster," while another comments that they find the strawberry flavor incredibly strong. That said, how you find the level of strawberry flavor really just depends on personal taste. Know that even if you find the flavor too intense, it's all natural, with no artificial flavors or concentrated juices.

That is a definite pro about this juice choice — it's made primarily from fresh strawberry juice. Although one can contains 15 grams of sugar, these are all natural fruit sugars. There are 60 calories in each can, which is less than half of the calories of a Coca-Cola. While the sparkling juice has a rather sweet taste, if you're using this juice as a soda alternative, know that it has a fraction of the sugar of most soft drinks.

The bright pink-red hue of the juice is also admittedly beautiful, and it could bring some lovely color to a cocktail or mocktail. If you want to minimize some of the flavor or extreme carbonation, it could be cut with regular sparkling water or soda water. Remember, lime or lemon juice can also be used to balance sweet drinks. If you like the concept of a sparkling juice, Trader Joe's sparkling watermelon juice is a more consistent favorite.