Smoothie King Tasting – St. Johns

But first, coffee.

But for this tasting, coffee was really what I sampled last. I downed a yummy peanut butter and caffeine beverage. It was a full 20 ounces of the “Get Fit Coffee High Protein Add Peanut Butter” smoothie, as recommended by Smoothie King’s Sebastion.

The coffee was truly satisfactory after the parade of fruity teaser smoothies we tried. Let me tell you how this all began.

The Super Special Smoothie Sampling Invite

Last Sunday I attended a tasting event at Smoothie King as a media guest. The exclusive tasting took place on April 25th at 1pm at 550 Durbin Pavilion Drive.

A few weeks before, I received an intriguing email from Restaurant Publicist Amanda Leesburg. She invited me to “a seated 5-course smoothie tasting at the Smoothie King in Saint Johns.”

The private event promised gift bags and swag. They also planned for COVID precautions and peanut butter allergy prevention.

I said yes, to this, yes.

Say Yes to Media Guests

All ready to sip and savor, I arrived that afternoon along with three other tasting guests for the one o’clock hour. The event included four sessions of one hour tastings for each set of media guests.

After a brief mingling, we gathered around the sampling table. Amanda Leesburg, who traveled all the way from Atlanta for the event, introduced us to the individuals hosting the tasting.

Jason Luther, co-owner of Smoothie King Jacksonville, and Tricia Robson, Field Marketing Manager East, welcomed us. They shared a little bit of the Smoothie King story and its longstanding success. The franchise was founded in 1973 by Steve Kuhnau and Wan Kim is the current CEO.

Sip, Sweet, Try Cherry

After a slice of the company history and explanation of the committment to healthy beverages, we got to the good stuff, sipping smoothies.

5 New Blends

We tried the following new summer flavors:

• Get Fit – Stretch & Flex Tart Cherry
• Stay Slim – Strawberry Blueberry Greek Yogurt
• Be Well – Lemon Ginger Spinach
• Take a Break – Carribean Way
• Get Fit – Peanut Power Plus Chocolate
• BONUS: Sebastion’s Key Lime Pie Creation

My Take on the Tastings

Stretch & Flex Tart Cherry – Subdued tartness with strong cherry flavor. Even though there is no added sugar, the treat tastes sweet. (Also pretty cool about their recent partnership with gymnast Gabby Douglas.)

Strawberry Blueberry Greek Yogurt – A very nearly savory taste to this smoothie, most likely from the Greek yogurt. I can definitely see how this low calorie option can be a good meal replacement. (Although, I personally make it a rule to do some chewing with every meal).

Lemon Ginger Spinach – This tastes like a glorious, icy swamp of healthiness, zen, and ginger. It’s green and wholesome. It made me want to burst into sun salutations and then do a 100 meter dash.

Carribean Way – This pink drink made me think of apricot flavors. But that was probably actually papaya, which I have had less often than apricot, and makes way more sense because papaya is one of the ingredients. A tropical treat, just missing an umbrella.

Peanut Power Plus Chocolate – This is the Reese’s Peice’s of Power Plus Smoothies. It has a wonderful peanut butter creamy texture. Some tasters detected the banana, but I was too lost in chocolate nutty heaven to notice.

Sebastion’s Key Lime Creation – I don’t know what was in this one and it’s not on the menu, but I do recommend it. Let’s just say that if you like key lime pie, you should head to the St. Johns location and ask for Sebastion.

I left the event super charged with my caffienated yummy coffee smoothie. I had also learned about the Smoothie King Healthy Rewards App, keto-friendly options and collagen add-ons.

Robson and Luther made sure we didn’t leave empty handed. They passed out exclusive swag bags, complete with sunnies, a beach ball, thermos, and gift card.

This refreshing, flavorful exploration of healthy drinks was the perfect way to prepare for summer. Thank you Leesburg, Luther and friends!