Sugar water! (Ribena Blackcurrant Concentrate)

Member Name: anwar7

Product:	Ribena Blackcurrant Concentrate
Date:	24/03/09 (248 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

I have recently been suffering form a cold and feeling a bit sorry for myself. Whenever I am ill I always have to drink hot Ribena. I think this comes from my childhood when my mum would give me Ribena to drink whenever I was ill. When I am well I find Ribena far too sweet and never touch the stuff.

Ribena is made by the giant GlaxoSmithKline.They have invested heavily in the Ribena advertising campaign and would have you believe that this deep purple drink is full of blackcurrant goodness, remember those rivers of blackcurrants heading for the Ribena factory? The truth is a little different! If you take a look at the ingredients panel on the back of a Ribena bottle you will find that Ribena is mainly sugar, in several different forms and water! Each bottle contains just 5% of concentrated blackcurrant juice. The bottle shouts that Ribena is rich in vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant. True that vitamin C is good for us, but any benefits are far outweighed by all that sugar! Just to really emphasise my point, a 250ml glass of Ribena will give you 115 calories and a massive 27.8 grams of sugar! That's 31% of the recommended daily amount for an adult! This drink is aimed at children who are more prone to tooth decay than adults! At least the manufactures say that Ribena is not recommended for children under 3 years old!

However being aware that this is no healthy drink doesn't stop me liking it when I feel the need! Ribena is a lovely dark purple colour; maybe that's the attraction? It needs to be diluted, 1 part Ribena to 4 parts water. As I have said I like to dilute with hot water, but cold is fine too. The taste is really sweet. I can honestly say that the taste of blackcurrants does come through even with the small amount of blackcurrants that this drink actually contains.

Ribena can also be used as a mixer. I like it mixed with Pernod,water and ice.

Ribena is also available in a light version that doesn't contain sugar but does contain artificial sweetners, something I avoid at all costs! I think Ribena is very expensive for what it. At the moment Tesco have a 1-litre bottle on offer for £2 or a 600ml bottle for £1.88. I do like to drink Ribena occasionally, but would not drink it on a regular basis due to the high sugar content.

Summary: Ribena