Longevity Dehydrated Sea Grapes, 4.23 oz of 6 packs, Umibudo Green Caviar, Lato Seaweed, Precious Gift From The Sea | Enhance Health, Boosting Immune System.

When I opened one of the individual packages, I was expecting a dried (dehydrated) sea grape. Instead the pouches contain a partially dehydrated sea grape that was moist. I wish this had registered with me but it didn’t. Followed the instructions, watched the tendrils unfurl (pretty cool actually) and placed a bunch on my rice and chicken bowl for lunch. The flavor was very mild, almost tasteless with a crunchy texture to the little grapes that pop in your mouth. So far so good.

About halfway through my stomach started to feel funny and then was full-on nausea. I stopped eating them and grabbed the box to read it. Under Instructions, there was header labeled Precautions with 5 bullet points. The first 4 are pretty benign until you get to the 5th one stating: “Some small organisms may be mixed with the Sea Grapes, but it is very safe for consumption and no effect on quality.” I freaked out. What organisms pray tell?! Now my stomach was in a full on revolt, it felt like I had gotten food poisoning. Like when I had eaten something bad in a foreign country. Side note, the product is manufactured in Vietnam. The nausea and stomach upset lasted for several hours even after a trip to Urgent Care since this felt like food poisoning. Since travelling a fair bit, I never take these things lightly and they can last depending on whether you’ve ingested bacteria, viruses or parasites. The fact that the sea grapes were moist in their pouches allows for the possibility of contamination by water-borne organisms that are carried in the sea grape and/or in the processing at the facility in Vietnam. Either way, it doesn’t inspire confidence.

Conclusion: This product has a statement on their packaging stating there may be organisms in their product but not to worry. I would strongly disregard that. This tidbit of information is not mentioned anywhere on the product description on Amazon. You’d have to see this physically on the box in your hand. In addition, this is labeled “Longevity Dehydrated Sea Grapes” which is misleading. When people see a product is “dehydrated” they expect the product to be thoroughly dried, devoid of any moisture content. The product labeling should have said, “partially dehydrated” so you would know that the product still contains native liquid or has water content in it.

Now I’m taking naturopathic herbs to kill parasites and bacteria since that is what I’ve probably gotten from eating this stuff. I would avoid this at all costs!

I was really excited to receive this product, as I love all things seaweed. And these looked like fun. I rehydrated as directed, and it was entertaining to watch the sea grapes spring to life and move around as they quickly absorbed the water. I’ve found that I prefer the taste with only one rehydration/rinse, as doing it a second time leaves none of the briny flavor that I like. One packet is a large serving when rehydrated. They definitely need something to add flavor, but they make a cute garnish. Once you chew a piece and all the little “grapes” pop (the fun part), what you’re left with is pretty unyielding, and nearly identical to chewing on a wad of paper. It’s just flavorless, dry, and without any give or texture.

I am so sad to say that these were not good. I am a big shellfish and seaweed lover. I followed all of the instructions besides dipping them into a sauce. I didn’t hesitate to pop one straight into my mouth after the ice water soak. It tasted like a mixture of the ice water and dirty ocean. I spit it out. It was not fresh and briney like I was expecting. I was almost expecting the same brine flavor from an oyster. These sea grapes taste like someone collected ocean water with a dirty tennis shoe, let the grapes sit in the hot sun in the shoe for 2 days and sold them. I am soaking them in sushi vinegar and soy sauce to hopefully draw out that flavor before I try them again. Sorry to be harsh but these were my thoughts as I was eating them!

Me hacen acordar cuando viví en Perú 🇵🇪 que las consumia frscas. Se conservan con la misma frescura una vez remojadas como indican. En realidad me encantan. Las recomiendo!