I was originally introduced to the yumberry [1] — officially known as yangmei or waxberries— while at the 2007 Winter Fancy Foods Show [2]. The fruit looks a lot like a soft lychee; however, the inside is a solid fruit with a deep reddish hue, similar to a pomegranate. Naturally, since everyone is on the antioxidant train, a company has come out selling the juice of the yumberries. In China the Yumberry Juice company [3] sells everything from syrup to sparkling juice, but in the US they're currently only offering several variations of juice. Recently I picked up a bottle of their Yumberry with the Blues mixture and gave it a try. To find out how it is, .

The juice is a deep ruby color, you first think of pomegranate juice, and then you think of how you can't go anywhere near your white carpet and how you wish you weren't wearing a light-colored shirt.

The juice itself smells much like every other dark berried or pomegranate juice: sweet, fragrant, and a little oaky. And while the taste is much like pomegranate juice, the tart flavor is lightened by a sweet, fruity berry flavor. I chalked the sweetness up to the blueberries, although the aftertaste was slightly sweeter than pomegranate/blueberry juice.

I hate to constantly compare yumberry juice to pomegranate, but they're actually quite similar. So if you're a Pom fan, definitely hunt this stuff down — I found mine at Whole Foods — and if you're feeling adventurous try cooking with it or mixing up a cocktail. After all, a Pomtini sounds divine, but doesn't a Yumtini sound even better?