The Carton Court: Supermarket Apple Juices Put Through a Very Unfair Blind Tasting

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who buy apple juice because it is the least controversial drink in the fridge, and those who buy it because they have opinions about tannin. We are firmly in the second camp, which is why we spent a recent Saturday blinding ourselves to supermarket labels and conducting a taste test that was neither scientific nor particularly dignified.

This is not a laboratory. We are orchard nerds with a notebook, a jug of water and a growing suspicion that some cartons are basically apple-flavoured syrup in a nice font. But if you are standing in the juice aisle wondering whether the posh cloudy bottle is worth the extra pound, this should help.

The rules of our unreasonable court

We bought a range of own-label and branded apple juices from UK supermarkets, covered the labels, poured them into identical glasses and tasted them blind. We scored each one on four things: orchard character, sweetness balance, value for money and whether it tasted like an actual apple rather than a dessert topping. Each category was worth five points, giving a total out of twenty.

We did not test every juice in Britain. We tested enough to make our kitchen smell like a cider press and our opinions feel briefly important. Prices are approximate and will vary by shop and region. If your local supermarket has a different version, do not write to us with legal energy. Write to us with tasting notes.

The scoring, briefly

Orchard character means the taste of skin, blossom, a bit of earth and the faint suggestion that a wasp once had a stake in the business. Sweetness balance means it does not cloy. Value means you would buy it again without wincing. Apple authenticity means it tastes like fruit rather than a chemistry set wearing a green hat.

The ranking

1. The surprise champion: Waitrose cloudy apple juice, not from concentrate

Score: 17/20. This was the carton that made us sit up. It had proper apple skin, a gentle tartness and enough cloudiness to suggest someone had actually met an orchard. It is not cheap, but it is the one we would buy for a Sunday lunch when you want the juice to feel like a small event. Orchard character 4.5, sweetness 4.5, value 3.5, authenticity 4.5.

2. M&S Food cloudy apple juice

Score: 16.5/20. Rich, rounded and dangerously easy to drink. It leans sweeter than the Waitrose bottle, but it still tastes of fruit rather than perfume. Good with breakfast, good with pork, good with a straw and no witnesses. Orchard character 4, sweetness 4.5, value 3.5, authenticity 4.5.

3. Copella apple juice

Score: 16/20. The old reliable. Copella has been doing this for long enough to know what it is doing, and the result is clean, appley and consistently pleasant. It is not the most exciting glass in the line-up, but it is the one you can serve to a crowd without anyone asking what went wrong. Orchard character 4, sweetness 4, value 4, authenticity 4.

4. Sainsbury's Taste the Difference cloudy apple juice

Score: 15.5/20. A solid posh-cartoon contender. It has more body than the standard own-label and a decent balance between sweet and sharp. We would happily buy it again, especially if it is on offer. Orchard character 3.5, sweetness 4, value 4, authenticity 4.

5. Tesco Finest cloudy apple juice

Score: 15/20. Pleasant, rounded and slightly sweeter than we wanted. It tastes like a good supermarket apple rather than a farm-gate one, which is not an insult, just a fact. Fine for the fridge door; not the one we would build a picnic around. Orchard character 3.5, sweetness 3.5, value 4, authenticity 4.

6. Aldi own-label cloudy apple juice

Score: 14/20. The value champion. It is not subtle, but it is appley, cheap and perfectly drinkable. If you are buying juice for a children's party or a large breakfast, this is the sensible choice. If you are buying it for a tasting, it is the one that makes you say ah, fair enough. Orchard character 3, sweetness 3.5, value 4.5, authenticity 3.

7. Innocent apple juice

Score: 13/20. Smooth, sweet and very easy to like. It is more of a soft drink than an orchard experience. We would drink it cold on a train and feel fine about it. We would not write a poem about it. Orchard character 2.5, sweetness 3, value 3.5, authenticity 4.

8. Asda clear apple juice from concentrate

Score: 10/20. This is the one that tastes like the idea of an apple described by someone who has never met one. It is sweet, thin and faintly metallic. It will do in a jug with ice and lemon, but as a straight glass it is a sad business. Orchard character 1.5, sweetness 2, value 3.5, authenticity 3.

9. Lidl clear apple juice from concentrate

Score: 9/20. Similar story, slightly less metallic, slightly more forgettable. It is cheap and it is wet, which are two genuine virtues. But if you are buying apple juice for pleasure rather than hydration, leave it on the shelf. Orchard character 1, sweetness 2, value 4, authenticity 2.

10. The cartoonish clear juice in the plastic bottle

Score: 7/20. You know the one. It has a picture of an apple on the front and the word orchard somewhere near the bottom. It tastes like sugar water with a green colouring pencil dipped in it. We finished the glass out of politeness. We would not do it again. Orchard character 0.5, sweetness 1.5, value 2, authenticity 3.

What we learned, besides the fact that blind tasting makes everyone say tannin too often

Cloudy is not automatically better, but it is usually more interesting. Not from concentrate is not a guarantee of greatness, but it does tend to taste more like fruit and less like a syrup delivery system. The sweet spot is a juice with enough sharpness to wake up your mouth and enough body to remind you that apples are not just a vehicle for sugar.

If you want the best everyday carton, go for a supermarket own-label cloudy juice and check the offer shelf. If you want the best glass, buy the Waitrose or M&S version and pretend you planned a picnic. If you want the best value, Aldi will do the job. And if you want the best orchard experience, skip the carton entirely and find a farm-gate stall with a tin for coins and a bag of russets. The juice will be better, the conversation will be stranger and you will have to shut the gate on your way out.