Ribena.... The best blackcurrant juice around! (Ribena Blackcurrant Concentrate)

Member Name: MEL0611

Product:	Ribena Blackcurrant Concentrate
Date:	06/11/09 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Full of flavour, great taste, good Vitamin C content

Disadvantages: High sugar content, expensive compared to other brands

Different people have different remedies for when they have a cold or a sore throat and for some reason whenever I was feeling poorly as a child my Mum would always make me a cup of hot Ribena with a slice of lemon on it, telling me it would help my throat to feel better. Some years later and living in my own place, if ever I am feeling low with a sore throat I am soon down to my local shop to buy myself a bottle of Ribena to make myself feel better and relive those childhood memories!


I have to admit that I really like Ribena, especially hot Ribena even though some people look at me funny when I say that as they have only ever drunk it diluted with cold water! As much as I love this drink the reason I do not buy it on a regular basis is the cost. You can purchase shops own brands of blackcurrant cordial for a fraction of the cost.


In my local Tesco a bottle of Ribena, the 1 litre bottle will cost you £2.72, for those of you that love a bargain it can be currently found on a half price deal of £1.36 for the bottle but there have been many occasions and I am not so lucky and I have to pay full price of for the bottle or sometimes even more if I am buying it from my local convenience store. In Tesco you can also buy the bigger 2 litre bottle for the price of £4.49 or the 600ml for the price of £1.70.


So we have established that this is not the cheapest brand on the market but in my opinion it is the best for flavour and taste. I tend to buy the 1 litre bottle so will describe this for the remainder of the review. The bottle itself is made from plastic and is recyclable. You can instantly spot it on the supermarket shelves as the plastic is transparent and you can see the blackcurrant drink through it. The bottle has the Ribena logo on the front, which is red in colour and quite bold. The paper label, which sits at the top of the bottle, has a picture of some blackcurrants on. The front of the label also tells you that the product contains Vitamin C.


The back of the bottle gives you instructions on how to dilute the product. It is very simple, 1 part Ribena to 3 parts water to make your drink. It may sound technical but in my opinion it is down to personal taste and you soon learn how you prefer to drink the product, some prefer it stronger / weaker to others. To dispense the Ribena there is a bronze looking cap at the top of the bottle. You un-screw this to reveal a ring pull, similar to what you would find on a can of pop and you need to remove this to allow the Ribena to pour.


When it comes to the flavour of the drink it really is full of flavour. I guess you could say that the Ribena has a unique taste, as it is slightly richer in flavour in my opinion than other blackcurrant drinks. It has a very smooth texture when it comes to drinking it and is also quite thick in its consistency. The product contains no artificial sweeteners colours or flavours so it really is a great drink when it comes to what it contains and I would much prefer to drink this compared to fizzy pop.


The nutritional information on this product is as follows: (Per 100ml after dilution)


Carbohydrates ~ 11.4g (1.1g sugar)
Fat/Fibre ~ 0.0g
Protein ~Trace
Vitamin C ~ 40mg.


In summary I really like this drink. It is refreshing and tasty and I like that I can drink it either hot or cold. It is slightly expensive compared to shops own brands of blackcurrant cordials but in my opinion it is worth paying the extra as the taste is far better. The sugar content is quite high in Ribena (you can buy the sugar free option) but as I only have this drink once in a while I don't think it hurts!

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Go get a bottle !!!