Kokova Magazine

Aloe Vera has been widely proclaimed as a 'must-have' essential for 2015. And for centuries we have been able to catalogue the various uses and benefits of this spiky plant. Well, now it comes in more palatable drink varieties, making it much easier to include in your weekly diet.

Personally, I have an Aloe Vera plant in the kitchen, and have kept it there for many years as it is the first thing I go to for minor scalds and burns. As a skin softener and healer if works wonders, straight from the leaf. I simply split it open to reveal the sticky goo, spread it on the skin and leave it to dry.

But until late last year, in 2014, I was loathe to actually ingest this product, and the lumpy, smelly liquid from the local health food store was certainly doing nothing to encourage me to take a sip. So when we bumped into Alex Lai (co-founder of Simplee Aloe) at the BBC Good Food Show I have to admit that I was not exactly excited at the prospect of drinking the carton of Simplee Aloe he was offering me.

Yet, in the interest of good research, I decided to dive in and try this little carton of 'goodness' - and I was completely converted in an instant. By mixing the pure aloe with grape juice and water, Simplee Aloe have managed to make aloe taste good! A hint of lemon juice, fruit sugars and natural fruit flavouring completes the contents of this ready-to-drink plant juice.

Raymond Pang, co-founder and director of Simplee Aloe assures us that the fruit sugar found in Simplee Aloe "is a sugar extracted from white grapes specifically. It is not fructose or sucrose".

The result - not too sweet, it 'feels' healthy as it goes down and the small juicy pieces of aloe are mixed into a slightly thicker liquid that is refreshing, hydrating and in danger of becoming our new favourite drink.

We tried it out out on our Yoga teacher and he thought it was 'one of the better ones' he had tried. A health conscious friend loved it so much she has already started buying it for herself and was delighted to find it available by the litre in her local Sainsburys. In fact, most of the people who have tried it have come back for a second helping of our fiercely guarded samples!

For more information visit www.simpleealoe.com

Another aloe drink making waves comes from Just Drink, who began in 2009 and brought consumers the first aloe vera drink to be sold in the UK. This family run business has combined aloe vera pulp with a variety of other fruit flavours, including mango, strawberry, passion fruit and lychees. A good range of flavours that should suit most tastes.

The liquid is thinner than the Simplee Aloe but the pulp more substantial. Each carton provided roughly the same calorie content and came in very sweet flavours.

With the sucralose content coming from the natural cane sugar used in these drinks, we have to say the office was divided on the sweetness packed into each of the bottles. The male drinkers liked the extra sweetness that the Just Drink Aloe delivered, while the ladies opted for the more refreshing flavour of Simplee Aloe.

Devin Chohan, director at Thirst Quenchers UK (Just Drink) states that 2015 will see the release of a low sugar line for Just Drink Aloe, which we hope to review. In the meantime, top pick for us is the Simplee Aloe; with its clean refreshing taste it scores top marks from us at Kokova Magazine.

But don't take our word for it - show your support to these companies, and try their products for yourself. And let us know what you think too!

Visit www.jstdrnk.com for more information from Just Drink.