The New Superfruit We Just Had to Try: Coffeefruit
To be honest, the whole superfoods and superfruit thing can get a bit hype-y. And it seems like every day there’s a new super-something coming out that will radically change your health, help you lose weight (with no hunger or exercise, of course!) and probably somehow make your life, like, 14,000 times better. So all of that, we don’t really dig. But what we do dig in these parts are healthy new ingredients. Ones that add a little newness to the healthy mix. Ones that are a little exotic. A little — okay, we’ll say it — sexy. And when a pitch for Bai 5-Calorie Antioxidant Infusions landed in our inboxes, they had us at “coffeefruit.”
What Bai is calling the next superfruit (we like to imagine it wearing a cape), is actually from coffee. As the bottle shows, coffeefruit is the little fruit pod that holds the coffee bean that we all cherish so much. (Hey, seems like we shouldn’t waste any part of coffee. Am I right or am I right?) Turns out, this little leftover nugget of coffee is full of antioxidants.
For the Bai 5-Calorie Antioxidant Infusions, the company mixed the coffeefruit with different fruit juices (contains just 6 percent juice though), organic stevia and erythritol, some white tea (note: there are 35 milligrams per serving — two servings in a bottle) and electrolytes for hydration. Drinking a whole bottle clocks in at 10 calories.
The first kind I tried was Bai’s newest — and seasonal (love that it’s seasonal!) — flavor: Molokai Coconut. With a strong coconut flavor (heavier than a coconut water for sure), my first thought was, literally: “Wow, this would make a great pina colada base!” And it’s true. With just a touch of that non-sugar aftertaste, it’s got a good rich, tropical flavor that’s sweeter than I typically like, but in this case, I really like it.
Packaged in a BPA-free bottle (yay!) and free of gluten and soy, it’s also low-glycemic, Kosher, vegan and GMO-free. And how cute is this little antioxidant-o-meter? It’s hard not to like this stuff.
I also tried a few other Bai flavors, including Malawi Mango, Limu Lemonade and Panana Peach. Mango tasted fresh and sweet like mangoes; lemonade was like a sweet and refreshing lemonade (probably my fave of all the flavors I tried); and Peach was the most earthy of the bunch, tasting more like a super-ripe peach Crystal Light (probably my least favorite of the bunch).
While I wouldn’t have one of these every day, on a warm day when water seems boring or I just want something a little sweet to sip on (or, ahem, mix this with), I would so drink this again. I’m not sure that I can feel the coffeefruits’ super powers surging in my veins, but it’s nice to have an all-natural beverage option that includes antioxidants. No hype, just goodness here.
Had you ever heard of coffeefruit before? —Jenn