Juice is yummy, spectacular, flavorful, delectable, and scrumptious. It compliments any meal or is great as a stand-alone drink. Though there is a lot of debate about what juice reigns supreme, I know that grape juice is the best and the others all pale in comparison.

Orange juice is widely loved in America, especially in the mornings, and I think that’s what ruined it for me. I drank it so much growing up that now everytime I think about it, my mood sours. The taste is permanently inflicted onto my tongue, and I will never get that joy or surprise from its taste again, which is only made worse if you dare to drink it after brushing your teeth. 

 It has a tangy taste to it and always has pulp (even if you get it with no pulp, it still somehow makes its way in there) and has a sour bitter taste depending on the brand. 

The only type of orange juice I’ll even consider now is the H-E-B brand that is freshly made. It doesn’t have the strong overpowering fake sugar taste that Sunny D has, nor does it resemble the chemical taste that Minute Maid and Simply Orange have. It’s fresh and has the perfect balance of sweetness. 

The only flaw I can say it has is the overaggressive pulp. I have to strain the orange juice just to make sure I don’t accidentally end up choking on it. And while it is a little pricey, it is also the only orange juice I can enjoy without openly cringing. I rate it a 6/10, simply for the inconvenience of the pulp and the fact that it’s orange juice. 

Moving on to apple juice, I grew up drinking it with my after school snack, but I don’t hold the same resentment towards it like orange juice. I think it’s because it has a much softer taste and it’s more sweet than sour and bitter. 

Apple juice is more widely accepted and truly captures and holds my taste buds. Some find it too sweet, but that’s just because they haven’t really given it a chance. Once you really open your mind to trying it, you will find the love for it like I have. It can easily be watered down and be just as good (if not better) than it was before, so I rate it 8.5/10. 

I also recognize lemonade as a juice since it may not have juice in the name but it contains a fruit in the drink. I do think lemonade is essential to summer, and since we live in Texas it is a part of our culture. It’s perfect on a hot day or when at the pool, the perfect balance between sweet and sour. And no matter how many times I have lemonade it never gets old, just more refreshing the more sips I take. So I rate this juice a 10/10. 

The best though, is my favorite juice, grape. It’s the perfect blend of sugary tartness. That’s the  appeal of it. Everytime I take a gulp of it, the flavors explode in my mouth and my eyes turn into little hearts like you see in cartoons. 

I love it so much that my mom has to hide it from me and prohibits me from drinking more than one glass every three days (but I still manage to track it down, like a Basset Hound with its nose in the air.) It gets a rating of 20/10. 

Juice is such an integral part of my life that I would give up so many other things to ensure that I always have a full cup. 

Though not a fruit juice…pickle juice is a surprising addition to my list of ultimate juices. Yup, I said it, pickle juice is just as good as apple juice, it’s tart but it’s a nice surprise apart from the normal ones you usually drink. And it’s good for you (in moderation), it helps you if you have blood pressure issues or are dehydrated, so drink pickle juice! It will nurse you back to health!

With so many drink options out there and with people consuming large quantities of caffeine, juice is the perfect option to stay hydrated and give a little better kick to your taste buds than water.