Ah-sigh-EE, the three-syllable word that troubles most of the human race.

The acai phenomenon is similar to the gluten epidemic, everyone’s heard about it, but few actually know what it is.

The nutrient-dense bowls incorporate the acai berry, found in the rain forests of the Amazon, with other fruit to make a smoothie-like texture.

The bowls are usually topped with granola and tons of sliced fruit along with peanut butter or any other nut-butter.

I went to the three closest places to get an acai bowl to find out which was the best.

A few deciding factors went into choosing which bowl was worthy of that title.

First, I looked at how much you get for your buck. Acai bowls can be quite pricey, so people often want it to be big enough to count as a meal.

The next thing I looked at was the overall taste of the acai bowl.

I included factors like granola to acai ratio and quality of granola as well as the fruit portion.

Like I said earlier, an acai bowl comes with different options on what is mixed in, so I went with the most popular bowl from Jamba Juice here on campus, Raw Delicious in Coconut Point and The Bowl in Naples.

I started off with Jamba Juice, probably the closest to all students and by far the most convenient to get to before or after class.

The Acai Primo Bowl, Jamba Juice’s most popular, had a great presentation and was topped with a lot of fruit.

There was a little too much granola compared to the acai mix itself. The total, only $7.79, makes the bowl very affordable and considered cheap in the world of acai bowls.

I headed over to Coconut Point where Delicious Raw Juice Bar stands in a little hut alongside the sidewalk.

It’s small, but packed with fresh fruits and veggies displayed along the back wall for customers to see. I ordered their most requested bowl, the “Acai Bowl.”

This bowl had a generous serving, but landed on the pricier side at $9.95.

This bowl definitely had the most flavor and nutrients with acai, kale, banana, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, Matcha hemp oil, almond milk and dates.

It’s a jam-packed bowl with delicious granola.

Lastly, I took a highway ride over to The Bowl in Naples where the portions are more than generous.

Their most popular bowl, “AB&J” landed in the middle with its price of $8.02, well worth it. Their bowl comes in two different sizes.

The bigger one was $10, which is the perfect size for sharing.

While their fruit distribution was weak, I prefer The Bowl’s method of layering granola on both the bottom and top of the bowl.

When I sat down and considered price range and proximity, Jamba Juice came in first place.

It’s not too expensive, and the bowl has a more-than-generous amount of fruit.

I would place Delicious Raw in second place because the overall taste outweighed all others.

The Bowl ended up in third place.

I still have lots of love for their famous “AB&J,” it was a huge portion for a fair price, the granola just didn’t hold up to Delicious Raw.

I can’t exactly give a concrete answer as to which bowl is the best for your taste buds, but you now have three great places to check out and decide for yourself: what is the best acai bowl?