"concentrate" news and stories

Just what it sounds like, Java Juice is a .5 ounce packet of "liquid coffee concentrate," meant to be mixed with water when you can't brew a proper cup. Each packet makes one 10 to 12 ounce cup of joe. Java Juice's site also suggests making a "red eye" by adding a packet of Java Juice to your gas station, sex-in-a-canoe, cup of coffee. Surprisingly, they don't advocate slurping the stuff straight out of the package. It's unsweetened, so that might be kind of intense. Still, I'm sure there are college students somewhere pounding this stuff without a coffee mug in sight. Another suggestion from the manufacturer is to use it as a baking supplement when a recipe calls for a few tablespoons of coffee. Assuming the stuff tastes decent, and you don't normally have fresh coffee on hand, it might not be a bad cooking back-up.

[Via Cool Hunting]

Some sort of aptitude testing is done in just about every school in the country, mandated by the city or state government, to check on the progress of the educational system. This testing time can be stressful for students because, though they are not actually "graded" on their performance, they still have to sit through many long days of math and reading comprehension tests. Having to concentrate for such an extended period can be very challenging for students, particularly young ones. Schools try to perk them up by offering snacks, but a Washington State school found something very interesting this year when they decided to give the kids fruits, instead of muffins or granola bars. They found that the students were quieter, less stressed and more focused.

This was by no means a scientific test, but anecdotal evidence from people who spend their lives observing children is not something to be taken lightly. The principal and teachers surmise that not only did fact that the fruits were less sugary than other snacks play a role in helping the children to concentrate, but the fruits were more satisfying and more filling than alternatives.  It if happened to one or two students, it would be harder to believe, but a positive change - no matter how small - in such a large group of children as a result of healthy snacking is something worth looking into.

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The concept of "drinkable fruit" is one that I do not quite understand. I understand fruit juice, but Tropicana's new Fruitwise Drinkable Fruit beverages are just confusing. Tropicana makes good-quality products, so I don't doubt that these drinks taste good, but the marketing concept is weird.

The drinkable fruit line is neither a juice nor a smoothie, but somewhere in between. The products claim to deliver two full servings of fruit in their 8-ounce, 170-calorie containers, but the fruit inside isn't necessarily the flavor printed on the packaging. Take the Strawberry Kiwi flavor, for example. It lists it ingredients as "filtered water, apple puree concentrate, strawberry puree concentrate, white grape juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, raspberry puree concentrate, kiwi juice concentrate and natural flavors." The ingredients are all natural and to increase the thickness it is not surprising that everything was from "concentrate" - but there are more flavors in the bottle than promised, and the kiwi flavor seems as though it was thrown in as an afterthought.

A serving of fruit juice is ordinarily 6-ounces and you could drink 12-ounces of fruit juice for the same number of calories contained n one of these drinks - so why bother with them? Have plain juice if you are looking to get more fruit into your diet or make a smoothie on your own instead of reaching for one of these.

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