Photograph by: Christopher Griffith
Trendy Exotic Juices Exposed
America has become addicted to exotic juices -- supposed miracle potions that offer health and happiness by the pint. But with the newest natural wonder shaping up to be the biggest seller yet, it may finally be time for us to kick the habit
Reported by: Bryan Smith
They arrive early and join a line that stretches out like a Sunday morning communion queue: flip-flopped tourists in madras-print vestments, joggers ashine from their early-morning canters, locals burning off the fog of a few too many. One after another, they belly up to the counter at the Rum Jungle Cafe in San Diego and plunk down $4.50 for an acai (ah-sigh-EE) smoothie or $6.50 for the house special: a bowl of chilled, mushy, raw acai topped with a handful of the purple berries, some granola and banana, and a drizzle of honey. Why acai? I ask Bobby Hawke, a lean, tanned 27-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep with a sun-streaked brush of stylishly mussed hair. He thinks for a moment, glances at his girlfriend, and shrugs. "From what I hear, it's one of the best antioxidants you can buy." Hawke pauses, and then starts to grin. "I guess I don't really know all that much about it, other than it's refreshing, it's good for you, and it tastes good." Jay Swain, a 22-year-old Web developer, says a buddy turned him on to acai as a hangover cure. Beyond that, he's heard something about healthy properties -- antioxidants, too -- though he's not sure where. Oprah maybe. Oh, wait. "I think they gave me the lowdown when I came by and asked what it was," he says. "They told me it's good for you," he says. Like Hawke, he smiles, a little uncertainly. "It's a berry from the Amazon," Swain finally adds. "It's kind of like a gem; you have this fruit imported from a different country, it only grows on the Amazon river. It's special."
Men's Health
