Customer Reviews

IZZE Fortified Sparkling Juice, Pomegranate, 8.4-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I must admit that, being the ripe old age of 31 and part-time middle-school teacher, I didn't quite understand the kids' fascination with Izze drinks. They bright juice color and brighter, young-looking packaging caused me to theorize that these drinks were just the same-old stuff with a clever marketing angle.

Then I tried one.

The quality of the product is certainly outstanding. Pomegranate is a trendy flavor these days, yet many of the pomegranate-flavored products on the market don't adequately reflect the fruit's unique flavor. Izze, as it says on the can, "stays true to the fruit" and it is evident in the fact that their pomegranate drink actually tastes like pomegranate. The flavor is full, yet not overpowering, and the flavor tends to stay in your mouth for some time. Although the product is made with carbonated water, there is certainly no "coca-cola" quality to it. There is not excessive carbonation, but rather the light carbonation of the water tends to enhance the flavor of the juice itself--yet another way in which Izze stays true to the fruit.

It appears as if the middle-schoolers have a more refined taste than I gave them credit for. Izze Pomegranate drink is excellent. I highly recommend this product and will be sure to keep it around the house, myself.

Despite the fact that Izze Sparkling Pomegranate juice beverage has 19g of sugar, it is not too sweet. In fact, it has a very refreshing fruity taste, which is enhanced by the light carbonation.

It's made from concentrates of juices, including apple, white grape, pineapple, lemon, cranberry and pomegranate. The rest of the mix is comprised of sparkling water, fruit & vegetable coloring, and added vitamins like C & B6 (very small amounts).
Even though it contains lemon and cranberrry juice concentrates, it isn't too tart.

All in all, it's a nice alternative to soda. And here's a little extra something I experimented with: mixed with a little wine (I used Sangria) it made a great wine cooler! ;)

It's also low sodium and has just 80 calories per 8.4 fl. oz. All this and the fact that the Izze company does philanthropic/educational work for needy kids, and you've got a winning product.

This is a fizzy, refreshing fruit soda with natural sweetening limited to whatever the 70% juice content can provide. So this is a slightly sweet-sour soda with no cloying taste and it tastes exactly like what it is--pomegranate juice. This is more in the tradition of the European "lemonades"--fizzy water and fruit juice with little or no sugar.

The can is the size of one of those energy drinks. (8oz.) If you like a fizzy drink now and then, I can't think of anything better. I don't drink soda, diet or regular (no point to either.) Izze, however, is quite nice. Try it.

This review focuses on the pomegranate and grapefruit flavors of Izze.

Izze's all natural sparkling juice is a nice alternative to soda. There is no caffeine, no processed sugar, and no unnatural ingredients. It is refreshing to read the ingredients and find that I recognize every ingredient! And they are all safe!

The pomegranate juice is mixed in with a bit of grape and apple juice, to mitigate a mild (but not unpleasant) bitter citrus aftertaste, somewhat like grapefruit juice. The sparkle has a feel closer to sparkling water than to carbonated soda -- and I like that. It is a distinctive flavor -- and I like that too. I wasn't sure what to think after just one can, but after trying it a couple of times I have found that it is quite nice.

I liked the ruby red grapefruit flavor all at once -- it has the perfect grapefruit flavor, the sweet tangy delicious zing, without the bitter aftertaste of grapefruit. It is not too sweet, but just right for that grapefruit flavor fix that I like now and again. This is the perfect size container, especially for my kids who also love the grapefruit flavor. Good stuff.

What I also like is that Izze appears to be a company with a conscience. Started by a couple of friends in 2003 who liked the idea of an all natural and distinctive beverage as an alternative to soda, Izze uses their product as a platform from which to promote awareness of the Global Education Fund (and other good causes, both environmental and global) that they support.

Pomegranate: My first sip of Izze's Sparkling Pomegranate was not appreciated by my palate very much; I thought it tasted like someone had mixed a wine cooler with beer. I actually did a double take to look at the can and search for alcohol content. By the end of the can I liked it, and by the 3rd can I really liked it. It's tangy, fresh, with no sweet aftertaste and has a cool looking container design (aesthetics always matter!).

With a total of 80 calories per cute little can, this isn't exactly what you'd call a "diet drink," but I find it to be surprisingly filling, so it makes a great in-between liquid snack, and can stave away the hunger pangs until your next meal without doing damage to your diet.

Overall a nifty drink in a most attractive can. Don't let the first taste fool you. Izze's Pomegranate Fizzy is quite yummy...a very pleasurable acquired taste.
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Grapefruit: Izze's Sparkling grapefruit is absolutely the best drink in a can I have ever tasted. Nothing is even a close 2nd. Tangy and refreshing, its lemony grapefruit flavor is quite strong and tantalizing. It also contains white grape, apple and orange juice from concentrates, but what my taste buds remember most is the lemon and grapefruit. The Grapefruit flavor has 90 calories per can, for those counting calories, but like the Pomegranate, it's very filling, and does well as an "in-between" snack for dieters.

This wonderful Izze fizzy is addictive. On a hot day cold Sparkling Grapefruit is a total delight, and since it does not have refined sugars it truly takes away your thirst, not like those soda pop drinks that actually seem to make one thirstier. Thank you Izze, your Sparkling Grapefruit gets the gold award for canned beverage in my house.
If you're into "hard likker," Izze's Grapefruit would make the perfect mixer, for vodka or tequila.

I've tried both the pomegranate and the blackberry. Of the two, I prefer the pomegranate.

I don't mind that is only 70% juice, that seems fine and they seem sweet enough. But, unlike the 100% sparkling grape juice I have had in the past, these two Izze flavors leave my mouth feeling somewhat dry...in a way I have not experienced with other drinks. These 8.4 fl.oz. cans contain Izze Fortified which means fortified with 10% of the USRDA of Vitamin C, Vitamin 6 and Niacin. It appears from the Izze web site that Izze in 12 oz bottles is not fortified so I might one day want to try the non-fortified Izze and see what that is like.

However, the 100% sparkling grape juice I can buy locally, although it comes in a much larger bottle so may not be as convenient, seems more economical so, if I wanted a sparking juice, I'd probably buy that instead. Or I might sometimes, but not often, want a sparkling water. But usually I am more than content with tap water. If I want fruit, I can alway eat fruit.

First impressions of IZZE Pomegranate (that's a funny word if you say it too many times):

Attractive packaging and accurate descriptions on the labels with one exception. On the logo side of the can it says "Pure Fruit Juice", and I know this is childish, but then it says "& sparkling water fortified with vitamins." Well, that's hardly pure fruit juice. It has other stuff in it too. However, IZZE Beverages redeem themselves by actually not adding refined sugars or caffeine to the drink. This is something I can give to my children and not worry about Child Protective Services hunting me down. I was surprised to see that pomegranate (funny word!) is not the main ingredient. It's sixth on the list. Apple, white grape, clarified pineapple, lemon, cranberry and then pomegranate (teehee). I guess "Sparkling Pomegranate" sounded better to the marketing department than "Bubbly Clarified Pineapple Juice" (not funny sounding at all, which is also a definite negative in my personal selection of a thirst-quenching beverage).

Taste. This is the good part. It's clean with a little sweet-tartness. Very nice balance and engages quite a few taste buds. It's fizzy and crisp. It kind of reminds me of the grape juice that I used to sneakily drink during church as a child, but with vitamin C, Niacin and B6. It has a nice, easy after taste that is not offensive like a few other drinks in this category.

The profits. The company claims to be in partnership with the Global Education Fund "to help provide educational opportunities and resources to needy children around the world." And there's a kicker.

The kicker: A lot of companies tout their philanthropic ventures. But with IZZE it appears that they actually do benefit humankind through a compassionate capitalism. The put their money to work! Employees, if the report is true, actually donate personal time for fund raisers and collect books in an IZZE vehicle. Those books are sent internationally to orphans and other needy children for their educational benefit. If you are involved with a school, you can partner with the Global Education Fund and do the same thing as IZZE. They are also involved in improving the "quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions" and programs promoting environmental responsibility and there's even more. Wow.

And my two-year old loves it. She found a new treat. And now I have a new reward for positive behavior! bwahahahaha [pirate laugh]

Great drink. Great company. I'm sold.

At the time of reviewing, I liked the idea of a healthful juice product that isn't "100% juice" (read: acidic or overly sweet). On the other hand, I didn't like overly diluted juices with added sugar - natural or artificial - either. IZZE seemed to be the juice product that I was looking for. It contains no refined sugars or artificial sweeteners. It's 70% juice, so it tasted sufficiently fruity to me. Because it's not 100% juice (with sparkling water added, which gives it a mild "kick"), to my palate it had just enough sweetness (from the juices themselves) and acidity. In addition, pomegranate juice seems to be renowned for its cancer-fighting properties. I considered this a healthful and tasteful juice product.

I've enjoyed Izze drinks in the past and for the past year and a half have been drinking pomegranate juice whenever I get the chance. When I learned about Izze's FORTIFIED ALL NATURAL SPARKLING POMEGRANATE JUICE, I was rather excited at the prospect of tasting some. I was rather disappointed. To begin with, even though this product is labeled as pomegranate juice, it's a misnomer because this is not real pomegranate juice. Instead it's a hybrid containing juices from concentrates of apples, white grapes, pineapples, lemons, cranberries, pomegranates, and a few other added vitamins. The other vitamins don't bother me so much, but when a product is labeled and marketed as pomegranate juice, that's what a person should expect to get, not a mixture of a bunch of juices only one of which is pomegranate. Besides the false labeling, the drink is quite bitter and hard to drink. Drinking the beverage straight from the cans doesn't quite cut it (it tastes a bit metallic) and I've had to pour the stuff in a glass with ice. Perhaps the absorption of the ice takes away part of the bitterness, but I've found the drink tastes much better this way. But, overall, you'd best just avoid buying the stuff altogether.

*****
This Izze Pomegranate Sparkling Juice isn't a soda and isn't a juice---it's a healthy alternative drink that's a bit of a combination of the two. It comes in a small can (8.4 oz) that I enjoy in a wine glass (it's about the amount of liquid in a very large glass of wine).

Some pomegranate juices are sour, but this one is tasty and sweeter than most...actually it tastes like real pomegranate pieces (arils) do---perfect! It is a sparkling juice, and sweetened just with real fruit. Technically, pomegranates are considered a "superfood", so this is a healthy way of improving your diet via beverage choice. It's also fortified with vitamins C and B6 and niacin as well.

Highly recommended.
*****