Um Bongo review

Remember this?

Way down deep in the middle of the Congo,

A hippo took an apricot, a guava and a mango.

He stuck it with the others, and he danced a dainty tango.

The rhino said, "I know, we'll call it Um Bongo"

Um Bongo, Um Bongo, They drink it in the Congo !

The python picked the passion fruit, the marmoset the mandarin.

The parrot painted packets that the whole caboodle landed in.

So when it comes to sun and fun and goodness in the jungle,

They all prefer the sunny funny one they call Um Bongo!

Now either, you'll be thinking I've totally lost the plot or, if you're a child of the 80's like me, you'll be grinning with recognition and feeling all nostalgic ! Either way, I highly recommend you watch the original advert from the 80's below but I apologise in advance because you'll be singing it for the rest of the day !

 I remember drinking Um Bongo as a child so, when I was given the opportunity of trying some out on the Madhouse Mini-Testers, I jumped at the chance. I was slightly nervous that it wouldn't live up to my expectations though - I'm loving all the 80's brands that are being brought back but sometimes, they're not as good as you remember (or maybe your tastes change when you're an adult).

We were sent a carton of the Original Tropical-flavoured "Congocoction juice drink" and also a carton of the new Orang-Utan Orange Juice Drink. I'm pleased to say, the original tropical variety is exactly as I remember it so that was a real blast from the past. The new orange version is nice too, but it didn't have all the happy childhood memories that the original flavour brought back so it wasn't quite as good in my eyes. The Madhouse Mini-testers, who had never heard of Um Bongo and were grinning bemusedly at me dancing around the kitchen singing the advert, loved both flavours equally.

I decided to have a closer look at the nutritional content. The orange juice drink (ie not pure juice) contains  Water, Orange Juice from Concentrate (20%), Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Citric Acid, Vitamin C, Flavouring and a 200ml serving contains 82 calories and 20g of sugar. The tropical variety contains Water, Fruit Juices from Concentrate (19%) (Apple, Lemon, Orange, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Mandarin), Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Fruit Purées (1%) (Apricot, Guava, Mango), Vitamin C, Flavouring, Citric Acid and the same calories and sugar content. I'm pleased to see a no added sugar variety will soon be hitting the shelves too. It's also great to see that a 200ml glass contains 64mg of vitamin C which is 80% of the RDA.

If you want a blast from the past in a glass, it will definitely hit the spot. Even without the nostalgia, the Madhouse Mini-testers gave it a big thumbs up too.

Now, get ready to learn the new words ...

Way down deep in the middle of the Congo,

We rediscovered passionfruits and apricots and mangos,

Reminded what it tasted like when they all danced a tango,

We found the knack and brought it back, tropical Um Bongo !

And for the orange version ...

Way down deep in the middle of the Congo,

We found a funky jumping juice a monkey moving mambo,

We left out all the ape ricots, the passion fruits and mangos,

With just the taste of oranges

It's orang utan Um Bongo !!

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £1.29 for 1 litre

for more information : http://umbongo.co.uk/

Disclosure : We received two cartons of Um Bongo in order to write an honest review.

Other reviews you may be interested in :

Rowntrees Fruits Bottles review

Retro Nestle Easter Eggs from the 80s !

A Quarter Of - all the old retro sweeties !