Chunky Aloe Beverage Produces Surprises

Published on Friday, July 1, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

ALO

ALO

I Paid: $1.49 for a 16.9-ounce bottle (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 5 stars

Marketing: 2 stars

If you were to say to me, "I have an idea for a new beverage," I'd counter with, "OK, tell me that idea." And if you said, "My idea involves taking aloe vera pulp and mixing it with a bunch of other stuff and giving every drink a vague, adjective-driven name," I'd say, "Please tell me the best way to avoid investing in your new company."

And yet, that's the ALO game plan: chunky, chewy, drinkable aloe beverages. Very strange. Stranger still: They're damned tasty.

The basic flavor, Exposed, contains water, aloe vera pulp, aloe vera juice, aloe vera pulp, cane sugar, honey, citric acid, vitamin C, and natural grape flavor. It's refreshing, mild, light, cooling, and, well, kind of chunky. It's a little like drinking the world's most sophisticated and understated green gummy bear. Overall, though, not a bad experience.

Enliven (aloe plus 12 fruits and vegetables) is a bit more radical. It's got the same soft, chunky aloe texture as Exposed, but something of a spinach-pineapple–orange juice flavor up front and a celery aftertaste. This sounds horrible—and it is, in fact, a little off-putting at first—but the taste gets more pleasant and approachable as you drink more, and it's ultimately quite refreshing.

Elated may be my favorite of the three varieties. It contains aloe, green tea, and olive leaf tea, and the cane-sugar-sweetened green tea flavor is both the front and back of the experience. I'm not sure what olive leaf tea tastes like particularly, as no jarring or novel flavor notes really come through. The texture on the aloe is a little less pronounced, and overall the drink is a zingy, refreshing flavor rocket.

Americans feel ambivalent about chewable beverages. On the one hand there's Orbitz (RIP), and on the other there's the ever-popular bubble tea. It remains to be seen whether this chunky quaff will make the cut. Just in case, I'm stocking up the fridge.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |11 Comments

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  • Join ALO Drink on Facebook and you get a coupon for 50 cents off! www.facebook.com/alodrink.

  • This is not strange to anyone who's spent time in the bev aisle of a Wal-Mart lately...they sell 2L bottles of it

  • My kids loved this stuff! They bought it for each other as a dare to drink from Whole Foods and then wanted me to keep it on hand now at home! We all love this stuff. The different flavors are different, so try as many as you can to find your favorite. My 11 yr old son prefers the wheatgrass one (tastes a bit like watermelon) while my daughter prefers the regular alo drink (more of a light white...+READ

    My kids loved this stuff! They bought it for each other as a dare to drink from Whole Foods and then wanted me to keep it on hand now at home! We all love this stuff. The different flavors are different, so try as many as you can to find your favorite. My 11 yr old son prefers the wheatgrass one (tastes a bit like watermelon) while my daughter prefers the regular alo drink (more of a light white grape taste). All I can say is that it is refreshing!-COLLAPSE

  • My boyfriend loves aloe juice, and has become a fan of some of the mixes. His daughter, a very finicky young girl, took a drink from his bottle when I wasn't paying attention. I turned just in time to see her learn forward, extract something from her mouth, and then flick some pulp out of the car window. She looked at me, and said, "It tasted good, but *that* was . . . weird." She summed it up...+READ

    My boyfriend loves aloe juice, and has become a fan of some of the mixes. His daughter, a very finicky young girl, took a drink from his bottle when I wasn't paying attention. I turned just in time to see her learn forward, extract something from her mouth, and then flick some pulp out of the car window. She looked at me, and said, "It tasted good, but *that* was . . . weird." She summed it up pretty well, I thought.-COLLAPSE

  • Aloe chunks in bottle drinks and yogurt are fairly common in Japan. They love the texture/mouth feel with the smoothness of the drink or yogurt. Flavors are never in your face nor too sweet. I liked them. Refreshing on a hot summer day.

  • As others note, this is not strange to anyone who's spent time in the bev aisle of an Asian market.

  • Gives a whole new meaning to the expression "blow chunks."
    I prefer my alcohol not so textured.

  • Olive leaf tea or extract is one of the most revolting things you can ever drink, think Chinese herbal medicine on steroids. Glad that it doesn't come through in the drinks... we can actually get these in Australia so!

  • Many years ago I bought a can of aloe beverage in a Japanese grocery store, assuming it would be aloe FLAVORED, not aloe TEXTURED. I quite nearly vomited as the first chunk slid past my uvula. Never again.

  • I enjoy the chunkiness of the aloe drinks I can get in Chinatown bodegas, bet I'll like this as well.

  • I still have nightmares about the medicine my mother was told to make for me involving Aloe and Molasses. I don't think I'll try this.. though I'm all about the bubble tea.