Taste test

PRESSED APPLE JUICE

Fruit juices are not considered as innocuous as they once were thanks to the high levels of sugar they contain — mostly around 10g per 100ml, the equivalent of two-and-a-half teaspoons in a small glass. Each of the juices we tested contains only apple juice and the antioxidant, ascorbic acid, which stops the juice from going brown. None of the juices tested are made from concentrate.

The Apple Farm Still Irish Apple Juice, 250ml, €2.50, 10/10

This juice is made from seasonal apples grown by apple farmer, Con Traas, on his family farm near Cahir in Co Tipperary. It is the essence of pure, lovely apple-iness with a slight sharpness that cuts through the sweetness — our testers could not fault it. The price makes this a treat for occasional solo consumption though.

Simply Better Pure Wexford Apple Juice, 750ml, €3.89 (offer price €2.89 at time of purchase), 9/10

Produced on the Ballycross apple farm at Bridgetown in Co Wexford — where the apples are grown — this juice is very crisp, delicious and well-priced.

Santa Rosa Pressed Apple, 1 litre, €1.45, 8/10

This juice, bought at Dunnes Stores, may not have the subtle complexity of the winner, but tastes good and the price is hard to argue with. Packed in Donegal, there’s no indication where the apples come from.

Copella Cloudy Apple, 300ml, €1.89, 7/10

Made with hand-picked apples from Boxford Farm in Suffolk — a real farm, not a made-up supermarket farm — this popular juice has a onedimensional flavour profile that’s perfectly acceptable but not exciting.

Innocent, 900ml, €3.25, 6/10

As a sweet drink, this juice is pleasant but unremarkable.

Tropicana Pressed Apple, 950ml, €2.99, 6/10

Our testers said they found this juice from Tropicana to be rather bland.