Try to read about calamansi and you'll end up more confused than before you started. It seems to also be called calamondin, golden lime, Panama orange, and several other names. It is thought to be a hybrid of mandarin orange and kumquat.
Anyway, its juice, as presented here by Trader Joe's, is pleasant enough. This is not, however, anything like a pure fruit juice, as the "beverage" wording on the can sort of warns you. Water is the first ingredient, followed by sugar, and only then we get to the calamansi puree.
Fortunately, it doesn't taste like overly sweetened glop. It's light, citrusy, refreshing. Both Nina and I thought that it would be improved by light carbonation, though. She said it reminded her most of kumquat, but I don't have enough sense memory of kumquat to have an opinion on that. (In fact, I don't even remember ever having eaten kumquats, but Nina insists that she has seen me do so.)
Will I buy it again?
No.
I suspect it's a lot better with seltzer, ice, and vodka... (ok that can be said about most any juice!)
ReplyDeleteTtrockwood