#265 Bolt from the Blue Smoothie (9.0/10) – “Session-able balance”.

The Good

“Taste has character”.

“Near perfect acidity”.

“Good balance”.

“Nicely session-able”.

“Natural taste throughout”.

“Pleasant fruity and tangy aftertaste”.

“Good medium mouthfeel”.

“Smooth throughout”.

“Fresh and natural scent”.

“Cheaper than many others”.

The Bad

“Lacking sweetness”.

“Initially weak flavour”.

“Disappointing brand message”.

Packaging

Bolt from the Blue smoothie costs £2.15 per 330ml bottle (65p per 100ml), which is cheaper than Tropical defence (77p per 100ml), Berry protein (77p per 100ml), Berry light (67p per 100ml), and Energise (67p per 100ml).

The brand message in colouring and name refers to “Blue”. This is also the colour of the drink fluid and packaging, also featuring in the name which demonstrates consistency. The bottle however lacks a blurb to articulate a clear brand message, and a hazy slogan of “helps give you some oomph” without clarification, which I felt was a bit disappointing.

Vitamins C, E, and B6 are the most abundant of the drink, with 33,32, and 28% of the reference intake respectively per 100ml. According to the NHS, Reference intake refers to the maximum nutrient amount you should consume on average daily. This means for the 330ml bottle, vitamins C and E are sufficient.

Description below = number of fruit for one of your 5 a day.

Please note though that the NHS suggests smoothies shouldn’t contribute more than one of your 5 a day, so you can only count one of the fruits below. It’s also noteworthy that the juice extraction process can reduce nutrients, compared to whole fruit consumption.

Unfortunately, the bottle only lists the fruits as fruit juice percentages, making the amounts relative to portions, difficult to calculate. With 66% apple juice however, this equates to 217ml, which according to the British heart foundations’ recommendation of 150ml as a fruit juice portion size, is sufficient for one of your 5 a day. Specific benefits with the 3 most abundant fruits can be seen below …

3 Main fruits

Apple

Apple is the most abundant fruit here, which is low in vitamins and minerals, but compensates with it’s high antioxidant and fibre content. This slows sugar absorption, increases feelings of fullness, and improves digestion. The antioxidants are also beneficial for blood sugar control and heart health.

Coconut

Coconut isn’t a nut, but is actually a fruit, since it’s shoots burst out of the pores of the coconut, whereas a true nut doesn’t open to release seeds. Just 100g of coconut meat contains 75% of the Daily Value (DV) of manganese. This helps maintain functioning of the Thyroid gland to assist appetite and metabolism regulation.

White Grape

Green (White) grapes are lower in some nutrients than blue (concord) or red, however they still have a similar nutrient profile to other grapes.

Grapes are a good source of Vitamin C which helps your body produce connective tissues, and Vitamin K which is essential to activate blood clotting proteins to prevent infections. Fortunately though, high levels don’t increase clotting more than normal. It also helps bone strength by assisting production of proteins which bind calcium.

Let’s review the sensory aspects …

Smell

The smell came across as fresh, and hinted natural apple. Scent was very fresh and fruity, and persisted for some time.

Taste

Flavour began smooth, but not overly distinctive or strong.

The taste continued to be very distinctive, and remained smooth and natural throughout. Whilst not my favourite, it provided some character, and was actually quite soothing.

Throughout the bottle, tangy acidity came through at a near perfect level, however this cleverly didn’t dominate. Balance therefore appeared good on this drink between acidity and sweetness, preventing sweetness becoming overpowering. Even the fruity and slightly tart aftertaste was fairly well balanced, suggesting good balance throughout.

No element of the taste was overpowering, which made the drink nicely session-able. This was helped by a good medium mouthfeel.

Sweetness appeared slightly lacking however, due to a distinctive and fruity taste, perhaps resulting from a combination of fruity coconut and other fruit.

Summary

“Session-able balance”.

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