What Does Trader Joe's To The Power Of Seven Red Juice Taste Like?

Trader Joe's has an extensive line up of bottled juices including everything from standard apple juice to complicated blends like its To the Power of Seven beverages. It's easy to guess what spicy jalapeño limeade or fruity mango lemonade might taste like, but a longer list of flavors will combine in unpredictable ways as their characteristics blend together. The Power of Seven red blend has some familiar components — apple, cranberry, strawberry, and watermelon are all flavors we can predictably pick out by themselves — but in combination, all bets are off. Things get even less identifiable when unfamiliar flavors like hibiscus, elderberry, and earthy beet get mixed in, which is what you'll find in that Power of Seven red jar.

Strawberry candy is the predominant aroma you'll notice when you sniff a glass of the mixture, a bit like pink Hi-Chew or Starburst. That's likely due to the very sugary nature of the drink. There are 29 grams of sugar in 8 ounces of To the Power of Seven red, all from the fruit juices and purees. The juice also has a pleasant lightly floral nose, which might be the elderberry coming through. Otherwise, the flavor could be described simply as sweet fruit. There is a hint of bitter tannin from the cranberry and hibiscus noticeable, but it helps balance all that sweetness a bit. And if the thought of beet juice makes you shudder — no worries, you won't even know it's there!

If you have a sweet tooth, you'll enjoy drinking this juice as is, although you should note that you won't be getting a lot of vitamins in the glass if that's what you're looking for in a fruit drink. The label gives 8 ounces of the juice credit for only a mere 2% of the RDA for iron and potassium. A little squeeze of lemon in the juice both brightens up the flavor and gives it a tiny hit of vitamin C.

Not every juice is meant to drink solo, and we think this sugary option would be best used in combination. It would make a perfect base for a smoothie with some Greek yogurt to ease the sweetness. It could also be shaken up into a summery cocktail — for example, substituted into a fruity rum runner. The intense sweetness of the juice and its slightly thick texture make it a great addition to enhance sparkling water, or as a pretty pink stand-in for peach nectar in a sparkling, summery bellini. To the Power of Seven red juice would even make the perfect grown-up slushie cocktail with a bit of vodka or rum.