There’s a new Kona Ice truck in town and if you see it driving through your neighborhood sometime soon you might wanna flag it down and give it a try. Gone are the days when you’re limited to cherry, grape, and orange. Now Kona offers all the basics plus crazy new flavors like Goobajooba, Godzilla, and Tiger’s Blood. We met up with the owner of Jax’s newest truck at Hemming Park and gave a bunch of Kona’s new flavors a try.
Kona Shaved Ice – Menu
Since the basics bore us we asked, “What’s the weirdest flavor on the truck?” Owner Dave Shubiger quickly responded with Goobajooba. How’s that for a name? Goobajooba is mango, strawberry, and coconut mixed. Somehow this mix of flavors really worked. The best way to describe it is the taste is like someone painted a rainbow across your tongue. Next up was banana. I’m a HUGE banana fan so I’m always excited about this flavor. Unfortunately for me this one was the only let down. Banana really tasted a lot like a diet drink. Kona uses the sweetener stevia to lower the calorie count of their ices. The owner Dave told me the lower calorie content (25-75 calories per ice) makes the ice more desirable to schools and other kids groups than their competitors. I’m sure he’s right. Luckily banana was the only flavor where the stevia was super noticeable.
Kona Shaved Ice – Here Ya Go
Next we tried root beer float. This flavor was the ultimate taste of summer. You got the full taste of root beer with a hint of vanilla which really completed the taste. Tiger’s blood (strawberry coconut) was next, which offered up what tasted to us like a lighter, sweeter strawberry flavor. For the adults Kona can add a daiquiri or colada flavoring to any of their fruit flavors to give the ice a taste similar to an alcoholic drink. We tried a couple of the stand alone fruit flavors and while they were enjoyable our advice is to mix flavors or let Dave create a mix for you. The man knows his shaved ice!
Kona Shaved Ice – Flavors
If you’re looking for a great fundraiser option that’s popular with the kids, Kona can pull up the truck at your event offering 25% back to the charity. That sounds like a sweet deal to us. For a lower calorie alternative to the typical shaved ice Kona is a good choice. You can’t really beat a cool treat on a hot summer’s day!
Kona Shaved Ice
Note: From time to time we’re invited out to try a restaurant. This meal is usually comped, as this one was. We’re under no obligation to write a positive review or any review at all when we’re invited out to try a place. Every review you see on our site will be an honest review of the place whether or not the restaurant provided us with the meal at their cost.
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