More Jamba Juice

Update Review, Baked Goods, 2021

Jamba Juice is most certainly known for, um, the juices.  Or, smoothies to be precise I guess (and more recently, trendy smoothie bowls).  I've reviewed these all many times (original review, seasonals, and below).

Food

"Baked Goods, Flatbreads, Snacks, Wraps. No matter the time of day, whether alone or alongside any of our drinks, each one is better-for-you perfection."

But did you know that they also have some food items?  The breakfast lineup includes breakfast sandwiches, wraps, and oatmeal.  But it is the "Snacks" or "Bites" part of the menu that drew me in, filled with not just any food items, but one of my favorite categories: baked goods!  

Baked Goods

The baked goods lineup is not exactly extensive, just 4 items, 2 styles of pretzel (apple cinnamon or sourdough parmesan), a "twist" - bready stick with cheddar and tomato, and, a belgian style liege waffle.

The waffle looked really, really good, and you know how I feel about waffles, but, I had a ton of flavored honey walnut cream cheese at home to use up, and I thought the apple cinnamon pretzel would make a nice base for it ...

I wish I had picked that waffle.  Next time?

Apple Cinnamon Pretzel.  $2.49.

Yeah, this didn't look good.  But people said they were good, so I still went for it.

I am not sure why I thought I'd like this.  I don't like ... cinnamon (raisin) bagels, or anything like that.  And I knew this would be much like those kind of items.  

And it was.  Basically a bagel, just, shaped like a pretzel.  I did like the shine to it, but inside was really just bread.  Definitely nothing like a pretzel, besides the shape.

It tasted like ... apple cinnamon.  As advertised.  Like applesauce, actually, which makes sense, as it is made with applesauce.

Jamba Juice offers to warm it up, but otherwise, the "pretzel" is served just like this.  No toppings, no dipping sauces, etc available.

I did try toasting it, and adding my own honey walnut cream cheese, but it didn't make me like it any more.

**.

Update Review, 2019

After years, literally, years, of not having, nor even thinking twice, about Jamba Juice, I finally tried it again.

It was a hot day, and somehow, my brain said "smoothie time!" and ... I was walking by Jamba Juice.  That is the only explanation I have for why I went in.

I expect it will be years before this happens again.

White Gummi.  Small.

"Peach Juice Blend, Pineapple Sherbet, Soymilk, Lime Sherbet, Orange Sherbet, Mangos, Raspberry Sherbet."

My first thought when trying this: "Why is it called a white gummi, when .... it isn't white?"

I still don't know the answer to that.  I also don't understand the gummi part either really.  I'd just call it a tropical fruity smoothie ...  I kinda ordered it for the name without really reading what it was.  I thought it would taste like a gummy bear?  (Side note: the source code for the website that lists this drink calls it a "Peach & Pineapple Smoothie", which is totally more accurate!)

It was ... fine.  Sweet.  Fruity.  With so many fruits in there (mango, raspberry, orange, lime, pineapple, peach) no single fruit was very obvious.  Kinda a muddled mix of sweet fruit flavors.  Very sweet.

Add since so many of the ingredients were sherbet, it was very thick.  It melted poorly, with just some juice on the side, and a fairly solid core.  I think it was blended up fine, but ... yeah. I don't really see the appeal to a drink like this.

Original Review, 2014

If you've read my blog for a while, you know that a few years ago I was on a mandatory liquids only diet for a while.  During that time, I had far more than my share of smoothies, many from Jamba Juice.  So I've reviewed it before.  Once I could eat regular food again, I did not return.  But, after several years of eating regular food, I finally did, mostly to check out some of the newer offerings (like fresh squeeze juices) and the elusive Matcha Green Tea Blast.  I'm still just not really into this place.  I don't understand why anyone would choose to Jamba beverage over something else.  Maybe I'm just scared from far too many smoothies.

Creamy Treats

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Matcha Green Tea Blast®

The last time I reviewed Jamba Juice, you may recall that I really wanted the matcha green tea smoothie, but it had been discontinued.  Well, it came back, so I got to try it.

It is made with soymilk, nonfat frozen yogurt, plain sorbet, and of course, the matcha green tea.

I was so eager to try it, but ... I didn't like it, at all.  It was very icy, not at all creamy.  Even as it melted, it never went through a phase of being a consistency I liked.  It did have a slight matcha taste, but overall, this was not good at all.

Sadness, after all that anticipation!

Fresh Squeezed Juices

Orange Juice, Large, $4.89.

This was fresh squeezed.  Decent orange juice.  But still ... just orange juice.  $4.89 seemed very expensive for a glass of juice!

Carrot Juice, Large, $4.89.

And, another fresh squeeze juice.  The fresh squeezed part was legit, I watched her put whole carrots into the juicer, and produce my juice.

It tasted like ... carrots.  I've had a fair amount of carrot juice recently, and this somehow tasted less sweet.  I wonder if they use a different kind of carrot?  I actually prefer it a bit sweeter.

But yes, fresh juiced, nice and frothy on top, but again $4.89 felt pricey for a juice.

Classic Smoothies

Peach Pleasure Make-It-Light, Small.  $4.49.

Made with peaches, bananas, orange juice, dairy base.

Apparently the peach idea has appealed to me before, as I found my notes that I'd gotten this, although not the light version, twice before.  Once I thought it was too sweet, once I thought it was ok.

This one, I really didn't like.  It tasted way too banana-y.  And, I didn't realize it had dairy in it, so I was confused by the sorta yogurty taste, although that part makes sense now.

It wasn't refreshing, it wasn't tasty, and I certainly don't want another.