Suja Juice Review

As I mentioned last week, the folks behind Suja Juice were kind enough to send me one of their 3-Day Cleanse Packages to sample and review. I had already heard great things about their cold-pressed juices, so I was happy to jump at the opportunity!

Suja juices are cold-pressed and feature 100% organic ingredients. When juices are cold-pressed, rather than using the centrifugal juicers commonly found at juice bars, it prevents oxidation and helps keep the enzymes and nutrients in tact, so you get more nutritional bang for your buck! Also, Suja sources their organic produce locally, allowing their company to maintain low carbon footprint.

What makes Suja juices especially unique, is their shelf life. Unlike most cold-pressed juices, which must be consumed within 3 days, Suja uses a High Pressure Pascalization process that uses pressure, rather than heat, to preserve their juices and extend shelf life. These juices may last up to 30 days when stored in the fridge! This is a huge advantage if you can’t manage to make your own juice daily, or find the time to run to your local juice bar.

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From Suja’s website:

Q: What is High Pressure Pascalization and how does it work?

High Pressure Pascalization “HPP” uses high pressure instead of heat to inhibit microflora growth in fresh food and therefore naturally extend its shelf life. Unlike pasteurization, pascalization is an external process; the raw product itself is never touched. After the products are in their final packaging, our pressurizing method uses only evenly distributed pressure of cool water (44°F) to short circuit any potential harmful invaders, such as Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella, lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mold. Pressure drastically reduces the overall microbiological contaminant flora and pathogens, eliminating the possibility of recontamination. Because of the chilled temperature at which the juice is treated, alongside the minimal impact that pressure has on the structure of the components responsible for nutrition and flavor, the juice remains raw and the taste remains the same.

Q: Does the pressure destroy any vitamins, enzymes or nutrients?

Because there is so much inconclusive information regarding enzyme activity floating around, we felt the only way to know for certain was to have our juice tested directly. We tested for enzymatic activity in our juice both before and after HPP was applied—the lab result came back: “NO DIFFERENCE.” There is and will continue to be conflicting research on the broader topic of enzyme activity in food after HPP is applied. There are many variables involved, such as the level of pressure applied, the length of time the juice is pressurized, and more importantly, the many different types of enzymes that exist. For our purposes, we identified the specific ones we feel are most critical to our juice, and the test results came back positive for activity. Regardless of when purchased or received, we recommend drinking the juice as quickly as possible to maximize nutritional benefits because the reality is that all enzymes and nutrients slowly deteriorate.

While the HPP technique is still debatable among the juicing community, Suja’s juices do taste better than any other HPP juices I’ve tried. Plus, I love that I don’t have to finish all of the bottles right away! If a juice-only cleanse doesn’t fit into your lifestyle, you can gradually consume the juices as you like, over the course of a month. A great way to boost your daily nutrition and improve your overall eating habits.

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How it works:

Included in Suja’s 3-Day Cleanse package is 18 bottles of juice, so you’ll end up with 6 bottles to consume for each of the 3 days. Suja ships their cleanses nation-wide, so the juice for all 3 days arrives in a big box that’s insulated and chilled with re-usable ice packs. If you live in the local delivery area, Suja will pick up your boxes for re-use, as well!

Each day is set up the same, so you receive 3 bottles each of 6 different flavor combinations. The juices must be chilled at all times, so make sure to clear up some space in your fridge!

In no particular order, you’ll enjoy the following juices during each day of the cleanse:

Fuel: This carrot-based juice includes orange, apple, pineapple, lemon and turmeric for a sweet and refreshing flavor. The tartness of the lemon really helped balance out the sweet flavors of the other fruits, and I found this drink very enjoyable. (Austin did, too!)

Purify: Another carrot-based juice which includes apple, celery, cucumber, beet and lemon. I loved that this juice was slightly less sweet and earthy, and the lemon helped mask the celery flavor!

Green Supreme: This green juice is pretty simple– just apple, kale and lemon. However, the apple was overpowering in this juice to me, and I found it too sweet. Luckily, I have a husband who loves drinking fruit juices, and had no problem guzzling the other two for me. This one would probably be more appropriate for people transitioning into green juices, who need lots of fruit juice to mask the green flavor.

Glow: This green juice includes apple, cucumber, celery, collard greens, spinach, kale and peppermint. I loved that this juice wasn’t as sweet as the Green Supreme, but was still plenty sweet enough to mask the “green” flavor of all the vegetables packed into the bottle!

Fiji: This green juice is hands-down my favorite. Included is Fuji apple, cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, collard greens, lemon and ginger. The flavor was very similar to the classic “Green Lemonade” that I learned to love when I first started juicing, and it remains my favorite flavor combination after all these years. You can’t go wrong with lemon and ginger!

Vanilla Cloud*: While this almond milk drink wouldn’t technically keep you in strict “fasting mode” it’s a lovely treat to look forward to at the end of the day, and would be perfect to include for any first-time cleansers. Made with fresh young coconut meat, almonds, vanilla bean, cinnamon and honey, it’s probably the best-tasting almond milk I’ve ever had in my life! I especially love that they sweetened this drink with honey, rather than agave or stevia, since it’s my go-to sweetener of choice.

*If you’d prefer not to receive the almond milk in your cleanse package, there’s an easy option online to select an extra juice of your choice as a replacement.

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Price: For the 3 day cleanse, the price is $162 plus the cost of shipping. (Shipping costs vary by state.)

Options: The cleanse packages are all similar to the example shown above, but you can choose between a one, three or five day cleanse. If you’d prefer not to have the almond milk each day, you can choose to replace it with another juice. Suja offers other package options as well, if you’d rather not commit to a juice-only cleanse.

Random: I found some of these juice bottles extremely difficult to open. In fact, Austin was out of town last weekend (my professional bottle opener) and I had to wait for him to return to finish off my juices. I seriously couldn’t open them myself!

Where to Buy: Suja juices are popping up in local Whole Foods across the country–> so you maybe able to skip the shipping fees all together! I’ve seen them in numerous stores in our area, found in the refrigerated section. You can use their location finder to find a store near you. Bottles are priced at $8.99 each in our area.

Closing thoughts: Overall, I was very happy with the taste and quality of the juices, and I would definitely consider purchasing Suja juices to travel with on my longer business trips. It’s not easy to find fresh juices everywhere!

In this particular package, I found the majority of the juices to be a bit too sweet for my taste, but they would be perfect for those who are new to juicing and haven’t quite developed the palate for mostly vegetable-based juices. Suja does offer a greens-only drink, called the 12 Essentials, but it isn’t offered in the cleanse packages available online. (You can order it in their Not So Sweet package, though!)

I look forward to finding Suja juices sold individually in more grocery stores across the country, so I can enjoy a fresh-tasting vegetable juice wherever I go!

*Discloure: I received this juice package free of charge, but as always, I am under no obligation to write a positive review.

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Reader Feedback: Have you tried Suja juice yet? Any other delivered juice experiences to share?