With the start of a new year we thought it was time for another taste test at MCG. As the ‘new boy’ currently on work placement, it was my duty to carry out the test and make sure there was no infringement of rules from, well, most of the participants.

As January is the healthiest month of the year and with me personally finding MCG the healthiest office I have ever worked in, with all the soups and salads, we soon decided to taste a healthy smoothie

We opted for strawberry and banana flavour as it crops up in most ranges. We chose to test five scrumptious smoothies and as a surprise for the team I added a sixth contender…a repeat sample of one of the initial five. The brands that were fighting for the title of MCG’s favourite were:

• Tropicana
• Innocent
• Waitrose’s own brand
• Co-op’s own brand
• Sainsbury’s own brand
• The final surprise was Sainsbury’s own brand tested again with surprising results

With the test underway, the futures of these huge brands hung in the balance. Smoothies were marked out of 10 on appearance, texture, smell, aftertaste and the all important taste. Participants were also asked to comment on flavours, acidity and colour with some very descriptive comments such as ‘terrible’ and ‘off?’ from members of the team whose identities must remain unknown.

After much smelling, swirling and swigging the verdicts were in, with the predicted winner rolling in at a forgettable fourth. The title went to a dark horse, here are the results:

• Sainsbury’s – 172/300
• Tropicana – 184/300
• Innocent – 150/300
• Waitrose – 168/300
• Co-op – 79/300
• Sainsbury’s secret repeat sample – 126/300

Yes it is true that the market leader and MCG’s brand of choice, Innocent rolled in a disappointing fourth due to being ‘too bitty’. The winner’s title went to a surprising Sainsbury’s smoothie, although the same smoothie was later judged and rolled in with 126 points putting it in fifth place. However this will be put down to tired tongues and banana fatigue.

Another test from MCG proving to the world that reputation isn’t all that tasty.

Tom Dickinson