BODYARMOR Strawberry Banana 28oz Beverage Review
Purchased at my local gas station in a 2 for 5 sale with the Strawberry Grape one. Truth be told, I am a little apprehensive about the fact that this supposedly has a partial banana flavor. Not because I dislike bananas or even artificial banana flavoring (in fact, they're both some of my favorites in their respective categories), but because it's a kind of creamy flavor in a watery beverage. I hope I am pleasantly surprised!
Cap Strength: Felt like it was gorilla glued shut. No clue why, none of the other bottles were this hard to open. This won't factor into my actual thoughts, but I needed to note it for posterity.
Color: Pale pink, red pink not purple pink. Has an almost peachy orange undertone as well. I suppose that is what happens when you combine pale yellow and reddish pink, so the color checks out. I like it, though it's about what you'd expect. Feels like it should be yellower for more banana representation, like how some strawberry banana smoothies are usually a distinct light pink peach color. Objectively correct, but to my personal tastes it's a bit disappointing.
Description of Flavor: Described on the packaging as "Strawberry Banana Flavor with other Natural Flavors", which is par for the course as these seem to go. The picture on the bottle is, expectedly, a whole strawberry and a slice of banana, which pisses me off a little bit. Why is the strawberry pictured whole and the banana is a single, peel-less slice? They should match, and be a whole banana or a halved and de-leafed strawberry. I don't want to drink strawberry stem! The ingredients table also has a near identical description of flavor, so we'll move on to what really matters.
Flavor: It has a pleasing aroma, which I include here as it seems to be increasingly common knowledge that smell greatly impacts flavor. Very artificial candy, but the good kind. As for the literal taste, it is mostly strawberry with an aftertaste of the typical grainy banana flavor. Both flavors are good. Indeed artificial, sure, but still pleasant to consume. In contrast to strawberry grape, which was a perfect 50/50 split, straw-nana has a powerful strawberry start with a weaker, yet clearly present banana to finish, and it does linger for a bit. This is definitely a strawberry first beverage, which is probably the for the best, but does lead to a bit of sadness at the absence of an equal banana flavoring. However, I do actually really appreciate how the flavor changes over time. Unlike strawberry grape, where it's the same sip in every moment, the flavor of straw-nana changes over time, and I can actually pick out the banana more as I continue to drink it. It provides less of a first impression, but it has increasing returns. I actually really like it, and am, in fact, pleasantly surprised in the end!
Do I prefer Strawberry Grape or Strawberry Banana?: Strawberry Banana will not be for everyone. It has enough of an artificial banana flavor to put some off in the first place, but not enough to make it a "novelty" purchase like Tropical Passionfruit either. If you're going for consistency and expected value, Strawberry Grape is the clear winner for being an above-average blend of two enjoyable flavors. That all being said. I am a freak. I love banana, especially artificial. I like how the flavor changes per sip and over time. I can hear it speaking to me. This is a beverage for people like me. I am sorry for doubting you. I prefer Strawberry Banana.
Overall Impression: number of times banana was spelled incorrectly and then I had to go and fix the amount of n's or a's or both = probably over 20
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