Comments on: Orange Juice Snobs

By: OJ FAN

OJ FAN — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:37:12 +0000

I agree, Hale’s is the best tasting orange juice in the world … because: IT IS NATALIE’S ORCHID ISLAND JUICE!!! Orchid Island juice bottles their amazingly delicious juice for lots of private companies nationwide. Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, Balducci’s in NYC. Hey, why reinvent the wheel when Orchid Island Juice already makes the best orange juice on the planet? They take an orange, squeeze it, bottle the juice that comes out and send it to market. Nothing more, nothing less. Most OJ companies cook their juice to death and then add flavor and nutrients in an attempt to resurrect it! Other companies, like those in Brazil, cook and vacuum the juice to suck out all the liquid to make concentrate. Again, flavor and nutrients are added back in the juice to try and simulate the original flavor. Orchid Island Juice makes juice like the Creator intended. Pure and Good.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:42:03 +0000

No concentrate for me.Ever.
I do enjoy Tropicana premium with pulp (some) for the most part it is my regular OJ. What I don’t like about some of the other brands of premium OJ is they lack consistency, sometimes amazing, often sour. At least tropicana is consistent in flavour.
Simply Orange is good. I think the key is consistency. I had some Florida’s Natural last week that was amazing, in a side by side taste test, it was so much sweeter than Tropicana Premium, but again Like many premium OJ’s it does not offer consistent taste. I’ve had Florida’s Natural before that was not that great. I prefer a sweet OJ, low Acid, in essence a taste like your eating a great orange. I did not care for indian river select. If squeezing my own, Florida oranges our perform california oranges in my opinion. I look forward to trying Natalie’s OJ.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 08:48:45 +0000

Hale is the best orange juice on the planet. Been there many times for free juice. Glad to hear the sign for it is still up on the highway. Vero is a great area and can’t wait to to back next summer.

By: Pam Rathke

Pam Rathke — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:50:34 +0000

We found Hales over 12 years ago on vacation in the area. There is nothing better anywhere! We pack coolers and bring 6 -8 gallons home to freeze for later. Even our children don’t want to drink any other orange juice. Simply Orange is good but really there is no comparison. Hales is by far the best!

By: Dulce

Dulce — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:42:01 +0000

Dear Jason & Ames,

I didn’t grow up in Vero but my sis in law lives there and took us to Hale Goves years ago. I totally agree that it it is the BEST OJ ! I live in Miami and have done the same to try all OJ’s to try and compare with HG’s OJ. NO COMPARISON. I was in Vero in June and could not find the store. The address I got was ther offices. I was sohappy to find your website and hear I am not alone.

By: Theresa

Theresa — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:06:38 +0000

Dear Jason,
My husband and I are new fans of Hale Groves orange juice! We recently tried their juice for the first time and it really is superior to any citrus juice that is available in grocery stores! My husband and I are graphic designers and we also own a gourmet spice business. Hale Groves is now carrying our line of Lucky Onion all-natural dip mixes and recently, we spent the day at their Wabasso store for Customer Appreciation Day. What a great, family store! In addition to citrus fruit and juices, Hale groves is now offering all kinds of fresh produce and gourmet foods. They are concentrating on carrying local, all-natural foods and from the huge crowds at Customer Appreciation Day – I think the new concept and the expanded product lines will be a big hit!

By: Jason Beaird

Jason Beaird — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:54:12 +0000

We’ve tried Simply Orange before. I’d recommend it over Tropicana, but it didn’t really impress me enough to write a blog post about it. I believe we actually have some Simply Apple in our fridge right next to the Natalie’s OJ. :)

By: Maria

Maria — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:56:11 +0000

Just before we moved to Charlotte we found Simply Orange, based out of Apopka, FL. I guess that makes it outside of the Indian River citrus family, but I’d be curious to see where it would rate on your scale.

A bit from their “Our Company” page:

Something refreshing is happening in the orange grove. Oranges, left to their own devices, are ripening in the sun. When they’ve convinced us beyond all doubt that they’re truly, sweetly ready, we pick them from the trees and gently wash them.

From there, our recipe is simplicity itself: Do not sweeten. Do not concentrate. Just let oranges be oranges. And let their taste speak for itself.

We don’t have Publix up here, but luckily we’ve had no trouble finding the juice in other major grocery stores. Since the fall, they’ve also introduced Simply Apple, Grapefruit, Lemonade, and Limeade.

I’m not trying to open a my-oj-is-better-than-yours war, but I’d encourage you to try it out if you haven’t already.

By: Nathan Bird

Nathan Bird — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:44:48 +0000

I’ve been trying to convince Russ for a couple years now that pulp isn’t something anathema but in fact part of the goodness that is OJ.

By: Jason Beaird

Jason Beaird — Sat, 03 May 2008 00:09:57 +0000

It's a little out of the way from I-95. Why? I'm not really sure. The address is
9250 US Highway 1 Wabasso, FL 32970
and it looks like this. :) We went while we were home over Christmas.