Ever since Meghan “Jam Is My Jam” Markle announced that a berry jam would be one of the first products released under what was then known as her America Riviera Orchard label, the world has eagerly wondered what the groundbreaking pantry goods actually taste like.
Today, The Post can exclusively report that the Duchess of Sussex’s “keepsake” packaged $14 raspberry spread — now branded As Ever, due to trademark issues — has a very familiar flavor.
“It tastes like the same kind of raspberry spread/jam/jelly/preserve that you can buy in any supermarket in the United States,” longtime Post food critic Steve Cuozzo said in an official taste test. “It tastes fine. Raspberry jam always tastes fine. There’s nothing unique about this.”
It’s one of nine As Ever products that the duchess launched last Wednesday.
The line, which also include teas, honey, baking mixes and flower sprinkles, sold out in less than an hour and created havoc for those desperate for a taste of Markle’s Montecito — by way of a gritty stretch of Hollywood that is home to the As Ever LCC offices, by way of parts unknown. (Meghan, your loyal subjects want to know: Will you be hit by tariffs?)
Wherever it comes from, the sweetness level of the “runny” fruit spread — as it must be called according to FDA guidelines for sugar content — polarized taste testers.
It “has a really high acid profile, making it completely unenjoyable,” griped editor Zachary Kussin.
“I like [that] there’s not a lot of sugar, like with a Smucker’s brand,” said commerce reporter Emma Sutton-Williams.
The As Ever Shortbread Cookie Mix with Flower Sprinkles ($14) also garnered mixed reviews.
“I’ve tried a lot of shortbread cookie mixes out of a box and I’m always disappointed. I’m not disappointed with these,” said Sutton-Williams, declaring the treats an “A+.”
Still, she noted the cookies were time- and labor-intensive — requiring an hour in the fridge and two sticks of butter. (Has anyone checked Prince Harry’s cholesterol levels lately?)
“Did Meghan consult with Paula Deen? Because these are very butter forward,” said Post senior writer Jeanette Settembre, who baked them.
Kussin, for one, declared the cookie “brittle,” “insipid” and void of flavor: “It has the consistency of a hockey puck and the flavor of a hockey puck.”
But Cuozzo had some encouraging words, saying, “Meghan, Duchess, you’re in the ball park.”
For columnist Kirsten Fleming, there was one big letdown: the now-infamous flower sprinkles that Markle cheerfully employs on her Netflix show “With Love, Meghan,” perhaps to distract from her abysmal knife skills.
As Ever’s $15 jar of edible dried flowers — which looks uncomfortably close to the potpourri you used to see next to bathroom sinks in the ’90s — was sold out within minutes. But hallelujah, a small packet of the flower sprinkles are included in the cookie mix!
Unfortunately, they were dull and too small to lend any legitimate pop of color.
“There was such a big deal made about them that I expected them to be like this pinata coming out of the cookie, and it just looks like a few colorful crumbs,” said a disappointed Fleming.
“Janky,” declared Settembre.
One thing all the taste-testers seemed to agree on was that the herbal peppermint tea ($12) was as bland and beige as the oatmeal-hued Jenni Kayne sweater Markle wears on her show — and promotes on her new ShopMy page. (Noting in small print that she may get a cut of the proceeds, natch.)
It’s “understated, just like the royal family,” a diplomatic Suttton-Williams said of the hot beverage.
Kussin, a self-described “peppermint tea enthusiast,” called it bland and said it “could be a lot more minty.” He prefers the free Harney & Sons peppermint tea available in The Post offices.
“It’s not very strong, the flavor isn’t really there … it’s quite ordinary,” lamented Cuozzo of Markle’s tea. “If all it takes is making a product like this, then I want to be a duchess myself.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
