# Why doesn't Kool-aid taste like juice?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 21, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010 "2003-07-21T21:14:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![juan2003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@juan2003](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/juan2003)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010/1 "2003-07-21T21:14:41Z")

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Kool-aid is a good beverage, but it’s not as good as actual fruit juice. Besides the fact that they use artificial flavors, why not? Why don’t they have a magic ingredient that you can add to artificial drinks and make them taste as good as 100% juice? Juice is so expensive. And so many juice drinks are only 5% or less juice. What the point of even putting actual fruit juice in it other than to put “made with real fruit juice” on the label?

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010/2 "2003-07-21T23:12:43Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by juan2003 \*  
> **Besides the fact that they use artificial flavors, why not? Why don’t they have a magic ingredient that you can add to artificial drinks and make them taste as good as 100% juice?**

Because magic ingredients are much more expensive than artificial ones.

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**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010/3 "2003-07-21T23:21:11Z")

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So long as people are willing to pay good money for oddly flavoured sugar water, there will be folks willing to sell them oddly flavoured sugar water.

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**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010/4 "2003-07-21T23:24:44Z")

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I didn’t even know Kool-Aid was supposed to taste like fruit juice.

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**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-kool-aid-taste-like-juice/190010/5 "2003-07-22T00:02:30Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> What [is] the point of even putting actual fruit juice in it other than to put “made with real fruit juice” on the label?

I believe that _is_ the point.