Jamba Makes Smoothie-Flavored Drink Mixes and We Tried Them

If you are of a certain age, as I am, then Jamba Juice (now known simply as Jamba) played a big part in your adolescence. It got to the point where we didn’t say we were going to get a smoothie, we said we were going to get a “Jamba.” Then we got older and realized the massive smoothies we were drinking were far from the health food we thought we were imbibing—they were made with sorbet, so we should have known better. 

And Jamba got older, too.  

First they started selling soft pretzels. That was weird. Then they dropped the “Juice.” And now they’ve expanded into the supermarket with a line of powdered drink mixes. Jamba smoothie-flavored Singles To Go! (the exclamation point is part of the brand) are now available in three varieties—and I tried them all, stirred into 16oz glasses of water, as I was instructed by the packaging. Read on for the full review

Mango-A-Go-Go

Jamba Mango-A-Go-Go

Singles To Go!

Pros: This smoothie-flavored drink mix boasts 3G energy. No, not the kind of 3G your cellphone used to get. In this case, 3G stands for: green tea, ginseng, and guarana, which are all present in this drink mix. It packs 120mg caffeine (about the same as a cup of coffee) and, like all of these Jamba drink mixes, it’s just 30 calories. It tastes fairly mild—like watered down tropical punch—and goes down easy. 

Cons: I’ve had Jamba’s Mango-A-Go-Go smoothie, and while it is sweet it’s not this sweet. I blame the artificial sweeteners. The flavor of this drink mix definitely gives me Bath & Body Works flashbacks. It’s lotiony. But I think some ice and a squeeze of lime could fix it.

Credit: Liv Averett / Singles To Go!

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Strawberries Wild

Jamba Strawberries Wild

Singles To Go

Pros: No caffeine here. The Strawberries Wild and Razzmatazz (below) both are created to support “healthy immune function.” They both include vitamins A, C, and E, as well as zinc. This one tastes a bit like a Capri-Sun—like the kiwi strawberry without the kiwi. It’s much more saturated with flavor than the Mango-A-Go-Go, with a lot of tang. 

Cons: I love a tangy drink, but this one might actually have a bit too much of that artificial tang for me. It kinda got caught in my throat after a few sips. I needed to have some water to hydrate after drinking my Jamba drink. And, once again, it really doesn’t taste much like an actual smoothie.

Credit: Liv Averett / Singles To Go

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Razzmatazz

Jamba Razzmatazz

Singles To Go

Pros: Do you like Ocean Spray cran-ras? Then you’re gonna dig this Jamba drink mix. It tastes like a basic raspberry juice. It’s not too sweet—there’s negligible artificial sweetener flavor. It has a bright zip to it. 

Cons: Jamba Juice’s Razzmatazz is an iconic smoothie, so this drink mix had a lot to live up to. And it simply couldn’t. Why? Because it’s a drink mix. None of these were ever going to taste like a smoothie because they are drink mixes and not smoothies—two very different things. They were set up to fail. Also, it kind of smelled like wet dog. No idea what that’s about.

Credit: Liv Averett / Singles To Go

Rating:

5.5/10

Sporks