Juice with bits and five other fruity creations

Simon Balissat

21/11/2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Pictures: Manuel Wenk

Canned fruit juices are mainly found in Asia or Asian grocery stores. We recently added a selection of juices to our range. Today, we’re trying them.

Sour orange juice from a tetra pack, now that’s a childhood trauma. One Sunday morning, a stomach flu struck just as I’d emptied two glasses of that diluted concentrate into my gullet. I still don’t know whether the juice was responsible for my illness that day, but I never drank it again.

Luckily, I never had any problems with freshly squeezed fruit juice – I can even tolerate regular ready-made juice. Those have been around everywhere since the turn of the millennium. To me, canned fruit juices feel like a throwback to the Stone Age of beverage containers.

Vietnamese company Tan Do markets various canned fruit juices under the Tropi label, some of which we recently added to our range. We tested these six flavours as a team before our lunch break.

Admittedly, the test in our little office kitchen wouldn’t pass the highest sensory standards. That place smells a little too much like broccoli warmed up in the microwave for that.

Coconut Water

This is the only drink in our test that doesn’t contain any additives. We all agree it has an intense coconut flavour and tastes pretty sweet. Too sweet for some. The initially very strict grade we give it – three out of five – was corrected to three and a half after we tried the rest. If you like sweet coconut water, you’ll love this.

Aloe Vera

Here’s where opinions started diverging. Visible, tangible pieces of aloe vera float in the drink. While they make me think of boogers, Patrick loves the slimy consistency. Steffi distinguishes a chemical grape flavour she knows from the Brazilian Fanta Uva. And yes, there’s indeed grape flavouring in it. We couldn’t agree on a rating, results ranged from 1 to 5 stars.

Pineapple

There are no artificial flavours in this pineapple drink, but there is added sugar. However, it still smells a little chemical when opened. Luckily, the irritating aroma disappears after the first sip. «I can clearly taste the pineapple,» Lorenz says. Despite the added sugar, the juice isn’t too sweet. Four out of five, a pretty great unanimous verdict.

Lychee

A fruit you either love or hate, and the same goes for this drink. Steffi thinks it tastes like the water from a can of lychees – in the best way possible. The juice reminds me too much of rose water. Most of us find this one too sweet. Three out of five stars.

Mango

This is the creamiest juice among the cans we tasted. The mango flavour is rather subtle, even partly reminiscent of coconut at the end. We the jury are happy it has no artificial flavouring. Mango is a little too sweet for me, but I’m apparently alone in this opinion. Four out of five stars to end on.

Finally, we mixed a few juices and conjured up creations such as a Piña Colada (pineapple coconut) or Multivitamin (all of them together). These juices could also work very well as a mixer for cocktails. However, this was pretty difficult to propose at 11 a.m.

Simon Balissat

Teamleader Editorial

Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.ch

When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast. more

---

Background information

Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.

Show all

These articles might also interest you