Juice culture is here to stay
Juice culture is here to stay
Yes, Shakespeare
had said, "What's in a name?" A look at the menu of juice centres and
beverage lounges will tell you, a lot! The juice scene in the city has
undergone a sea change.
Juice revolution
Inspiration from the West and encouragement from the ever-growing fitness trend are the ingredients of the HAS juice bar that came into being around three years ago, says Avinash Bharwani. "Around that time, I was getting into the whole fresh and raw eating phenomena for keeping fit. I happened to come across juice bars abroad and realised we didn't have such a concept in India." Agrees Sumit, one of the partners of Juice Lounge, "Most places serve fresh fruit juices loaded with sugar. There wasn't much for the calorie conscious in this segment." Borrowing the idea from Australia and Switzerland, they went ahead with a cafe model targeting a health conscious generation.
Options galore
The idea is not merely about pressing a fruit for juice, but fruits! Usually three or more fruits some available round the year like apple, oranges and bananas are blended with the seasonal and exotic kinds apricots, kiwis and a variety of berries. Even veggies and spices are being added, with honey playing the sweetner.
When Bharwani first started his place, it had around 70 options to choose from! Though now the menu has been downsized to a couple dozens to cut down the confusion, every six months it's upgraded with two-three seasonal varieties.
One of the longest standing, the very popular Haji Ali Juice Centre has also innovated itself by bringing on their menu exotic and seasonal varieties. Says Asma Noorani, who now works along with her father who started the place 35 years ago, "With new fruits coming into the market, why not have their juices too." So along with the rich regulars, this centre now also offers juice of New Zealand cherries and plums and a host of other imported varieties.
Anees Khan, who recently opened his eatery Star Anise, which boasts of some unique fresh fruit drinks that use aromatic condiments, says, "People want something different. They are bored of the same old apple juice." The drinks you get here have mint, spices like star anise and even wheat germ, to lend them a distinct taste along with health benefits.
Name game
How do these sound: Silk Feel, Guiltless Pleasure, Euphoria, Chic-Go-Wild, Sexy Berry,Liquid Oxygen Vying for your attention, these organic drinks are being titled with yummier names.
With many ingredients now going into the making for fresh juices, a sort of a group name needs to be given to the drinks, and Anees sees it no other way, but that, "The name has to be catchy." Agrees Avinash, "Names play a very important role. They make a brand out of the juices."
As the idea is make patrons out of the health conscious people, most juices go by the name that suggest the job the cocktail of fruits and vegetables are intended to help with, like Memory Booster, Immune Booster, Hang Over Cure, Flu Fighter and Citrus Cold Buster. Sumit explains, "The fruits and vegetables used in most of our health drinks have distinct nutritional values. Like those who have iron deficiency, carrots, beetroot and apples are great. So we have a drink called Iron Booster that is made from all the three."
Even the Haji Ali Juice Centre's menu has seen some changes. "Though we still endorse standard names, we also have something like Triveni, a blend of strawberry, mangoes and kiwi," informs Asma.
So important it has become that long hours are dedicated to brainstorm for a suitable name. Some even hand over the baton to an outside agency, like Sumit and his friends did. And it doesn't end here. Now the race is to trade marks them too.
So...
Thanks to the influential winds from the West, and increasing fitness consciousness, certain changes have now made fresh fruit juices enticing enough even to those who like the burpy experience of colas. From being a small part of menus to menus that only have juices, it's a sea of flavours out there now worth tasting.
Fresh blends out there
A family of fruits, vegetables, herbs and diary products are now what make your juices more exiting. Wild berries, cinnamon, wheat germ, mint, star anise, broccoli, ginger, honey, mogra flower and even muesli are going into your juice now.
Juice revolution
Inspiration from the West and encouragement from the ever-growing fitness trend are the ingredients of the HAS juice bar that came into being around three years ago, says Avinash Bharwani. "Around that time, I was getting into the whole fresh and raw eating phenomena for keeping fit. I happened to come across juice bars abroad and realised we didn't have such a concept in India." Agrees Sumit, one of the partners of Juice Lounge, "Most places serve fresh fruit juices loaded with sugar. There wasn't much for the calorie conscious in this segment." Borrowing the idea from Australia and Switzerland, they went ahead with a cafe model targeting a health conscious generation.
Options galore
The idea is not merely about pressing a fruit for juice, but fruits! Usually three or more fruits some available round the year like apple, oranges and bananas are blended with the seasonal and exotic kinds apricots, kiwis and a variety of berries. Even veggies and spices are being added, with honey playing the sweetner.
When Bharwani first started his place, it had around 70 options to choose from! Though now the menu has been downsized to a couple dozens to cut down the confusion, every six months it's upgraded with two-three seasonal varieties.
One of the longest standing, the very popular Haji Ali Juice Centre has also innovated itself by bringing on their menu exotic and seasonal varieties. Says Asma Noorani, who now works along with her father who started the place 35 years ago, "With new fruits coming into the market, why not have their juices too." So along with the rich regulars, this centre now also offers juice of New Zealand cherries and plums and a host of other imported varieties.
Anees Khan, who recently opened his eatery Star Anise, which boasts of some unique fresh fruit drinks that use aromatic condiments, says, "People want something different. They are bored of the same old apple juice." The drinks you get here have mint, spices like star anise and even wheat germ, to lend them a distinct taste along with health benefits.
Name game
How do these sound: Silk Feel, Guiltless Pleasure, Euphoria, Chic-Go-Wild, Sexy Berry,Liquid Oxygen Vying for your attention, these organic drinks are being titled with yummier names.
With many ingredients now going into the making for fresh juices, a sort of a group name needs to be given to the drinks, and Anees sees it no other way, but that, "The name has to be catchy." Agrees Avinash, "Names play a very important role. They make a brand out of the juices."
As the idea is make patrons out of the health conscious people, most juices go by the name that suggest the job the cocktail of fruits and vegetables are intended to help with, like Memory Booster, Immune Booster, Hang Over Cure, Flu Fighter and Citrus Cold Buster. Sumit explains, "The fruits and vegetables used in most of our health drinks have distinct nutritional values. Like those who have iron deficiency, carrots, beetroot and apples are great. So we have a drink called Iron Booster that is made from all the three."
Even the Haji Ali Juice Centre's menu has seen some changes. "Though we still endorse standard names, we also have something like Triveni, a blend of strawberry, mangoes and kiwi," informs Asma.
So important it has become that long hours are dedicated to brainstorm for a suitable name. Some even hand over the baton to an outside agency, like Sumit and his friends did. And it doesn't end here. Now the race is to trade marks them too.
So...
Thanks to the influential winds from the West, and increasing fitness consciousness, certain changes have now made fresh fruit juices enticing enough even to those who like the burpy experience of colas. From being a small part of menus to menus that only have juices, it's a sea of flavours out there now worth tasting.
Fresh blends out there
A family of fruits, vegetables, herbs and diary products are now what make your juices more exiting. Wild berries, cinnamon, wheat germ, mint, star anise, broccoli, ginger, honey, mogra flower and even muesli are going into your juice now.
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