DRIVE-BY DINING

A new honeydew list

By Dog Davis
Special to The Times

August 3, 2006

YEARS from now, some will remember this scorching hot summer as the time they realized that maybe Al Gore was right: Global warming is real and human folly could be leading to the destruction of our planet. Others will remember it for its abundance of honeydew drinks.

Both Jamba Juice and the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf have added refreshing honeydew drinks to their menus, but the beverages are quite different.

Jamba's is called Melon-ade Wave. Chunks of frozen honeydew melon are blended with lemonade, passion fruit-mango juice and ice. Meanwhile, the Coffee Bean is pushing its Honeydew Ice Blended, which is a flavored powder, blended with milk and ice.

But which is better: the one with real honeydew or the one with honeydew-flavored powder? You may be surprised.

_________________________

Taste

Melon-ade

**
This drink is delicious, but the lemonade overwhelms the other flavors. The honeydew is most noticeable as an aftertaste. It's like Marlon Brando in "Apocalypse Now"; the melon gets top billing but plays a small, supporting role.

Ice Blended

***
If you love the taste of honeydew, this drink's got it. Yummy. The chemists who no doubt created the powder's taste should be very proud.

___________________________

Portability

Melon-ade

***
The foam cup helps keep your drink cold.

Ice Blended
***
The clear plastic cup shows the drink's artificial honeydew color to full effect.

__________________________

Diet Watch

Melon-ade
****
This is where Jamba excels. The 16-ounce Melon-ade Wave has only 200 calories and half a gram of fat, while providing 70% of your daily amount of vitamin A and 45% of your vitamin C.

Ice Blended
*
Coffee Bean couldn't provide the exact stats for this limited-time offering, but it's probably similar to their older Pomegranate Blueberry Ice Blended: 16 ounces contained 450 calories, 8 grams of fat and no vitamin A or C.

____________________________

Hype-o-meter

Melon-ade
*

Jamba doesn't spend much on advertising, so they make the Melon-ade Wave stand out by positioning it at the top of their menu and giving it a stupid name.

Ice Blended
**

Coffee Bean doesn't advertise much either, but they've done a good job with large, pun-happy "Honeydew This" posters in their stores.

Winner: The Coffee Bean's drink may look and taste more like honeydew, but Jamba wins this bout because of its lower-calorie, vitamin-rich recipe.

•  Ratings are on a scale of one (lowest) to four (best).