Not Just For Sunburns Anymore or My New Addiction

After buying my first tiny bottle of Paldo brand Aloe Vera juice drink from Lin Hing Oriental Market in Peoria, I was hooked. Not fully realizing the rarity of this item, I ventured to Bloomington over the weekend failing to procure an ample amount of my lovely green heroin (well, technically only the bottle is green).

So began on Saturday, the Great Aloe Vera Hunt. Like any good junkie, I started asking around on the streets. No one seemed to know of any decent ethnic markets in Bloomington. Next I scoured the phone book for asian markets. Becka and I went to a cheap little oriental market near her house that dealt in everything from Mexican to South East Asian food. The store reeked of bleach and unknown chemicals, and the shelves were mostly empty as if they were going out of business. I was excited. But after making several rounds through the store, we came up empty-handed. Next stop was the World Gourmet Food Store. They had a lot of nice cheeses, olive oils, and vinegars (even kinda real balsamic), but no tasty Korean Aloe Beverages. Back to the phonebook. I came across a place called Shanghai Market that sounded promising. I called the guy. He informed me that he did carry the Aloe drink and that he had it in stock. I made the short trip only to find petite Japanese cans of a brand I had never heard of. I bought two cans. After they were chilled, I immediately consumed one. It was made with honey and tasted strongly of metal. I was not a fan, but it was a nice fix. I'm still not convinced that honey and aloe make a great combination.

After returning to Peoria on Sunday evening, Lin Hing was closed. They also were not open when I left Peoria on monday en route to Macomb. I was sure that the Oriental Market in Macomb would carry it. Apparently, they went out of business, and I was unable to find another ethnic market in town. I was really saddened by this. I would have expected more from a multi-cultural college town.

So finally, I was able to make it to Lin Hing tonight. I bought four of the big bottles. Alas, the search is over! There was another brand, but it was loaded with high fructose corn syrup so I avoided it. I will stick with Paldo even though it has a high sugar content. The ingredients are as follows: Water, Aloe Vera gel powder (24%), Aloe Vera Crush (8.1%), Sugar, Anhydrous Citric Acid, Calcium Lactate. I can live with that. I normally don't drink things this sweet, but I am terribly addicted. Also, I never drink soda.

Aloe Vera drink is thick and sweet with a mild aloe flavor reminiscent of sunburn gel, but in a good way. You end up kinda chewing the gelatinous aloe pulp that floats around in the drink (think snow globe), but never really falls out of suspension. It's definitely worth the $.60 to sample the little bottle. A large bottle will set you back $2.95.


The 1.5L Bottle


Aloe Vera Drink in a Pint Glass