Ribena Orange
€1.97 for 4x200ml, €2.46 per litre
Tasting this with a blindfold on brought memories of MiWadi flooding back, which is not necessarily a bad thing, although we would have thought Ribena would have delivered a more natural-tasting product. It is refreshing and lacks much of the cloying sweetness in evidence elsewhere, but it tastes nothing like orange juice, which is what we were (perhaps foolishly) expecting.
Verdict: Not so juicy.
Star rating: ***
Dunnes Stores Cool Sun
€2.29 for 10x200ml, €1.14 per litre
We were going to include Capri-sun, but then we came across this Dunnes Stores own-brand version instead, so we thought we would give it a whirl, if only because it has an even more ridiculous name. And boy were we disappointed. This is pretty horrible stuff. It is very sweet, but the artificial sweeteners are not to our taste. The pouch is not the handiest way to package a lunchbox drink, although we were mildly impressed with the straw, which was to be found inside the pouch rather than taped to the outside. It is very cheap, and it tastes like it.
Verdict: Not for us.
Star rating: **
Tropicana Kids
€2.99 for 4x200ml, €3.73 per litre
This was the winner of our blind taste test, with everyone who tried it – adults and children alike – giving it the thumbs up. It has a lovely tart taste that is very refreshing, and it actually tastes like orange juice, which is something none of the others managed. Like almost all other manufacturers of drinks aimed at the school lunchbox market, Tropicana gives us four drinks, not five, which is irritating – would it have killed them to put five in the packet? It is not cheap either.
0 of 4
Verdict: The best of the bunch.
Star rating: *****
Robinsons Fruit Shoot
€2.50 for 6x80ml, €5.20 per litre
Robinsons is a very well-known and well-respected drink maker. Generations of children have grown up drinking its refreshing barley waters. However, the march of time has not been kind to the brand if this product is anything to go by. It came last in our blind taste test by a reasonably hefty margin, and while it may be low in sugar, it is very high in sweetness and the artificiality lingers in the aftertaste (although the little people we tried it on didn't seem to mind in the slightest). Two pluses: the bottle is both easy for little lips to drink from and is resealable.
Verdict: Fake sweetness.
Star rating: **
