Trader Joe's 100% Pomegranate Juice

This is a brand-new item from Trader Joe's; see the company's description of it here. $2.99/bottle.

I had every reason to believe that this was going to be a superior product. First, it's exactly what it says: 100% pomegranate juice. We've noted several times before that TJ's plays fast and loose with terms like "100% juice"--probably in ways that are technically legal, but which seem clearly deceptive to me. This one, however, has just one listed ingredient: pomegranate juice. Our experience with TJ's single-ingredient juices has been consistently good. Even better, this one is not reconstituted from concentrate.

It was, then, a huge disappointment to take a few sips and realize that the distinct taste of vinegar was nearly matching that of pomegranate in intensity. Nina and I were drinking it the same day I had purchased it, and it was a couple of months from its best-by date, so freshness should not have been an issue.

I figured we just got one bad sample. So I waited a week, then bought another one. Again I served it with my weekly dinner with Nina.

And it was the same: Pomegranate with a heaping helping of vinegar. Awful.

I don't know if they have some madman has formulated this product this way deliberately, or if I just got super unlucky and managed to select at random two bad bottles while most of the rest are as sweet and delicious as they should be. But you'll forgive me if I decline to keep sampling in order to find out. I'm done with this stuff.


Will I buy it again? 

No. However, if any readers have tried it, I'd be extremely interested in whether your experience was the same, so please leave a comment.

Nina's View

This stuff is baaaaaaad. I know from good pomegranate juice. I've had good pomegranate juice. And Senator, this is not good pomegranate juice. This is juice that is fermenting—not in a fun, bubbly, make you giddy and happy kind of way, but in a nasty, slightly yeasty, sour kind of way.

TJ's needs to destroy every bottle from this batch. And cease selling this stuff if it's all like this. I hope Bob will return what's left of his and demand satisfaction.