Trader Joe's Carrot Juice and Organic Carrot Juice

Depicted are the 16-ounce bottles. The same products also come in 32-ounce bottles.

Nina and I tried these side by side. I could taste no meaningful difference between them. Both were perfectly fine examples of carrot juice, but nothing that got me excited. Carrot juice seems to me better suited to blending than drinking on its own.

When we have tried both regular and organic versions of TJ's products, including things like orange juice, we have noticed a trend toward the organic versions tasting better, though not always. I swear that this is not because of a bias in favor of organics generally. It's a finding that has surprised me every time, because I don't expect organic products to taste any better than non-organic ones.

This was an example of my expectation being fulfilled. The organic version costs a dollar more ($2.99 versus $1.99), but has no corresponding advantage in the product itself. If you like your extra dollar going to support organic farmers, knock yourself out--but don't expect better-tasting juice for it, in this case. The organic version was a little bit brighter orange, but that's more likely to be batch-to-batch variation than a consistent product difference.


Will I buy it again? 

No.


Nina’s View

It’s odd what people focus on. I didn’t see any difference at all in color, but I did notice a meaningful difference in taste. The organic was a more complicated flavor, with a significant bitter-carrot note. The non-organic was just a mono-flavor, bland and relatively sweet. I found it more drinkable but less interesting.

I’m pretty persuaded as well that the results might be completely different from batch to batch of carrots.