Evolution Fresh: Acai Amazon Blast (2009)

Evolution’s approach to this drink is to blend superfruits and protein into one – and it works quite well. Inside this bottle is a hefty dose of acai, which has been cut with apple, mango, and banana as well as water, evaporated cane juice, whey protein, and an emulsifier. It tastes pretty fresh, although realistically the acai has traveled pretty far by the time it reaches store shelves in the US, so we’re not sure how much that factors into this product. Otherwise, the flavor is good, especially the mix of acai, mango, and banana flavors. The apple, on the other hand, we could live without, especially since it overpowers the other flavors during the finish. Ultimately, we’d like to see more in the way of acai flavor and less of the apple. On the protein front, this product has 14g of protein per bottle, which certainly makes it a credible mainstream protein drink. However, the 480 calories per bottle might be a turn off to someone who is just looking for an acai drink. Packaging looks a bit different than the other fruit-oriented designs, instead using a tribal style illustration that features a small basket of what appear to be acai berries. A different approach is fine by us, especially when it adds some personality to the product. However, the drink doesn’t exactly whet the appetite the way that some of the other flavors do.