Once again we get the scent of raspberry but with a distinct undercurrent of something gross. I compared the tropical mango to the smell of feet; this doesn’t quite reach those levels of grossness but it’s not exactly pleasant either. I just can’t put my finger on it, nor can I fathom how someone tasted it and decided it was fit for market.
This one at least has the benefit of tasting like the titular fruit. The raspberry is sweet, although not really all that tart, the way some raspberries can be. But once again, the flavor serves up a complete curveball by including a secondary experience that just isn’t good. It almost tastes like it’s already expired, but only slightly. Like you’re drinking it a minute after the expiration date. You know when something’s just “off” and you can’t really explain why? Well, that’s how I feel about this one. Something is amiss, but I can’t understand what it is or what’s causing it.
There’s also the momentum-ruining chalky aftertaste. Again, it’s something that I’ve experienced with other store-bought smoothies before, but when your product is full of disappointments, you need every positive you can get. And while the creaminess of the initial consistency is just that, the chalky aftertaste feels like more of a letdown. In other words, if that were its only issue, it would be less of one. But with everything else taken into consideration, it becomes much harder to ignore.
As with others in the line, its biggest draw, far and away, is the $1 price tag. As I’ve mentioned many times before, that is excellent for both a smoothie product, as well as a product that mentions “Keto” on its packaging. Usually you can add $3 per each of those labels on to the total price, so the fact it’s kept so cheap is pretty impressive.
They’re honestly so cheap that you might as well ignore my words and try them all. Just don’t be surprised when you realize why other smoothies are so expensive.
Overall: 5.5/10. This one’s a couple notches above the Tropical Mango, with a raspberry flavor that’s both expected and somewhat realistic. These positives are mostly offset by the other issues we saw with the tropical version, most notably the baffling secondary flavor (and scent) that nearly sabotages everything. I can’t explain it, but it almost tastes like what I would expect an expired smoothie to taste like. It’s only in the background – so the raspberry mostly overwhelms it – but it’s still somewhat of a buzzkill. The most impressive thing going for it: Its $1 price tag, admittedly excellent for a “Keto friendly” product, as well as a “smoothie”. This partially helps to counteroverride the other issues, but even great value can only go so far. I’d say take a pass, but if you must give it a shot, at least you’ll only be out a dollar and some disappointment.
