The new Jamba Juice at Penn State is raking in a lot of customers, but is it really all that it’s cracked up to be? When the HUB started undergoing construction at the end of last year, many new places were rumored to appear, including a Jamba Juice. This ultimate smoothie shack, now open, is a hit with Penn State students.
I decided to take a look for myself and see what the hype was all about. Mind you, I’m a Tropical Smoothie kinda girl, so this was stepping outside of the box for me. One of my favorites of theirs is the Island Green smoothie, so when I got to the counter at Jamba Juice, I ordered the Apples n’ Greens smoothie. I must say, I was not very into it. It was chalky and had a weird after-taste.
Photo by Bari Blanga
That being said, one of my friends ordered the light Caribbean Passion smoothie and loved it. Make-It-Light smoothies contain 33-43% fewer calories, 35-50% fewer sugars and 33-45% fewer carbohydrates than the regular Classic smoothies of the same name. Jamba Juice smoothies contain no added processed sugar, no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial flavors or preservatives.
The line went way faster than Starbucks, which everyone knows moves at a glacier pace, and the prices aren’t too bad. The sizes are 16-oz., 22-oz. and 28-oz., and the prices rang from around $4 to $6. For the quality and size of the smoothies, I think these prices are fairly reasonable. They are open Monday-Friday 10 am-7 pm.
Photo by Bari Blanga
For now, the line for the new Jamba Juice is way shorter than I thought it would be, but we all know word spreads like wildfire in Happy Valley, so get your smoothie before the line is 2 years long.
For your reference, here are the nutrition facts for the two most popular types of smoothies:
The 16 oz. Make-It-Light Smoothies – 160-200 calories, 31-41 grams of sugar and 36-48 grams of carbohydrates
For the 16 oz. Classic Smoothies – 260-320 calories, 53-70 grams of sugar and 61- 78 grams of carbohydrates