With refrigerator shelves regularly replenished throughout the day with colorful bottles of enticingly named elixirs like Green Goddess and Afternoon Delight, local juiceries’ cold-pressed offerings have become a go-to pick-me-up for those seeking healthful benefits, an alternative to cola and more.
And for some Bay area juice bars, their cold-press operations evolved from home.
Kristen Thomas is co-owner of the weeks-old Gush Juice along Fourth Street North in St. Petersburg. She began making juice when her husband Gabe, Gush’s co-owner, had an intestinal disease several years ago that required three surgeries. According to Gabe, his disease went away after Kristen, who studies disciplines like Chinese medicine, developed juices and a new diet for him that incorporated healthier eating. With dietitian Amy Shore on board, Gush is more about healthy living than weight loss.
“We wanted everyone to be healthy. We wanted everyone to make sure that they get their money’s worth,” says Gabe. “There’s really just a science behind every juice we have.”
Similarly, Squeeze Juice Works co-founder Kelly Lessem started juicing in 2011 because of her autoimmune condition, and the folks who tasted her cold-pressed creations swooned. Lessem, who has a background in health and wellness, recruited co-founder and longtime friend Amy Losoya, a restaurant industry vet, to help launch Squeeze.
For a while, the pair shuffled from kitchen to kitchen with the homegrown enterprise (Lessem’s front yard even acted as a pick-up hub at one time) until opening their St. Pete flagship in 2013. Their second shop debuted in South Tampa last year.
Though cold-pressed juice can be executed at home with the right equipment, it ain’t easy.
“It’s not like a blender or smoothie… It takes patience and a lot of time to make,” says Ben Turek, operating partner at SoHo Juice Co., which lauched in the summer last year. “A lot of love goes into it.”
There are two main types of juicers, Gabe says, centrifugal and masticating. Unlike centrifugal machines that use a heat-generating blade to quickly demolish veggies and fruits, masticating, or cold-press, juicers take their time sans heat, grinding and then pressing ingredients to keep more of the fruit and vegs’ nutrients intact.
The Gush team suggests buying an Omega 3 juicer, while the Squeeze duo names a few cold-press options, the Breville and the Champion among them. If you’re a juicing newbie, the pros say keep it simple and don’t rush it. It’s a slow process, after all.
Gabe urges beginners to figure out their ailments, or other health-related issues.
“You don’t want to just sit here and throw in kale and cucumber,” he says. “You really want to start studying what homeopathic ways are going to help heal you.”
While Losoya recommends getting familiar with the “variables of produce” (what time of year it is, whether the season’s wet or dry), Lessem says people should set up rituals to help them stick with cold-press. To save on time, soak the juicing utensils and equipment in warm, soapy water, she suggests. Be aware of the veggie-to-fruit ratios being used as well.
“[Beginners] either put too many greens in, or they don’t slowly lower the sugar so they can make it appetizing,” Lessem says. “If you’re gonna keep up with it, you wanna make it palatable.”
According to Losoya, people have tried Norwalk machines, which Turek refers to as “the industry standard,” at home and later asked Squeeze to purchase them since juicing wasn’t what they expected. But one woman who was reconsidering her juicer worked a shift in Squeeze’s kitchen to gain a better understanding of her cold-press, and Losoya believes it helped.
Like at restaurants, “it’s all about the experience,” Gabe says. “We want you to learn and ask questions. We get to interact.”
Within the next four months, SoHo Juice will open a second location on St. Pete’s Fourth Street, and Gush also has another shop planned for the Signature building downtown, which should launch in the next three to four weeks.
To DIY. The gurus tell me organic produce is best. And if not organic, get the freshest fruit and veg possible. Squeeze: Washing produce, and washing it well, is important, even when it’s organic. Also, don’t go straight for all-green drinks. Slowly start decreasing the amount of fruits you juice, replacing them with greens yet still keeping it palatable (think 20 percent fruit to 80 percent veggies). Turek: Research, and use the right balance of fruits and veggies in your juice. Gush: Thick sediment at the bottom of a hearty ingredients-filled bottle (with items like beets, kale or spinach) means you’re getting a good juice. Don’t add other liquids to what you’re juicing. It defeats the purpose. Also, if a banana gets stuck mid-juicing, incorporate something like an apple to push it through. Juicing is like art, Kristen says. Experiment with what tastes good after you study up.
Not to DIY. Aside from Gush, SoHo Juice and Squeeze, here are some spots to score cold-pressed goodness locally: Urban Juice Co., Swami Juice, Intelligent Gourmet and Fresh Kitchen (Tampa); Nirvana Cafe & Juice Bar (Madeira Beach); Locale Market (St. Pete); and Juicey’s Juice Bar (Spring Hill).
What they drink. Turek: “I’m all about balance in my life,” from chocolate milk to beer. He was a smoothie drinker before he got into juicing. Gush: Kristen: “I’m addicted to Buddy Brew. [And] I love trying different wines;” Gabe: “We have [a juice] that’s called Sunrise, and it’s an amazing drink for mimosas. My wife and I drink tons of water, craft beer, lots of Cigar City.” Squeeze: Amy: “I am a tequila drinker, and I prefer to have it with some ice. And that’s about it. But I have had it with our lemonade, and it’s such a good balance when you have to have a mixer with it.” Kelly: “When I entertain, I like to take our seasonal juices and make champagne cocktails with them. I’m real big about that ‘cause they’re a good mommy drink.”
Prepare one of Squeeze Juice Works’ signature drinks.
Galaxie 500
Makes 1
Ingredients
1 cucumber
1 apple
Handful
of spinach
1 small beet, or half a large one
Half a lemon
Directions
Using your cold-press juicer, combine all ingredients, adjusting the drink to taste if desired. If you want your juice sweeter, throw in an apple and a half. And if you want it tarter, use the whole lemon.