Juicerarista for a Day

The other day I got to spend some time learning how to be a Clean Juice Juicerarista! Normally I wouldn’t get out of bed before 9 a.m., but there I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (not really) at 7 in the morning ready to learn about making juice. The first thing I did was put on a Clean Juice T-shirt and hat so I looked like a real juicerarista! BTW: Clean Juice sells these shirts and hats!

The first thing I learned how to make was the So Basic One smoothie. Before I started, I washed my hands and struggled to put on a pair of gloves, which is a lot harder than Jason, the manager, made it look. I poured almond milk into measuring cups. Normally I would have been able to do this without any problems, but put on a pair of gloves while being watched, and I spilled it all over the counter. I hadn’t gotten off to a great start. Luckily Jason was patient and kind, otherwise, I think I would have frozen up. Sometime I will have to tell you about the time I spilled apple juice on to an old lady, but that’s not today. I quickly got the hang of scooping fruit, and I learned that almond butter is super drippy. With all the ingredients in the blender, I hit a button on the machine and waited 30 seconds. After the blender made a somewhat concerning noise, I added just a splash of almond milk, before giving it another quick pulse on the blender. I called out an imaginary customer’s name, just as practice, and it felt really exciting to have learned to make the smoothie. 

Next I learned how to make the Immunity One juice. As I experienced with the smoothie making process, gloves make everything harder. I fought a pair of gloves on to my freshly washed hands, and got to work pulling out the fresh fruit that I would put into the juicer. The juicer is this machine about the size of one of those office water bottles you flip upside down. I know this isn’t quite right, but it’s like a paper shredder that squeezes juice out of fruits and vegetables. The machine makes a buzzing noise when you turn it on, and you feed the different ingredients into and all of a sudden juice comes out at the bottom. The oranges and pineapple went through no problem, but since carrots are more fibrous or dense you have to cut them up a bit. Cue the gloves and a small knife. Jason showed me how to do the first one, chopping quickly and with ease. When it was my turn, I could not for the life of me, get the knife to cut the carrot (turns out I was holding it upside down.) After I had all my juice, I added some turmeric, whisked it all together, and poured it over some ice. I then called out some imaginary client’s name and pretended to serve it. 

After making the Immunity One juice, we took a break. Jason told me about how they really try to make everyone feel welcome when they come in, and that they really get to know their customers. He told me that they have a guy who comes in early most mornings, but he just became a dad so he hadn’t been there in a couple days. It was touching to know that they really care about their customers. One of my life goals is to be a regular at a place, where I can say, “I’ll have the usual,” and they actually know what I mean.

All of a sudden a large group (maybe four people) came in, and Jason trusted me enough to make someone’s drink for real this time. I was no longer making drinks for imaginary people, this was the big leagues. When I was much younger I used to play “Starbucks” with my best friend Callie, who lived across the street. We went all out. There were menus, aprons, cups, and my grandmother’s old adding machine. Playing make believe really helped prepare me for this moment. Now working for real, I quickly checked the recipe again before grabbing a new blender. I had figured out how to grab the almond milk so it wouldn’t spill everywhere, I also poured over the blender in case there had been a spill. 

Since going gluten free for health reasons, I find that most restaurants in town do the bare minimum to accommodate food allergies, and I understand why. It’s expensive, time consuming, and people have to be paying attention or they literally could kill someone. One thing I learned was that Clean Juice is very accommodating for people with food intolerances. I say intolerances instead of allergies because it isn’t 100% allergen free. But say you have an allergy to bananas, they will use a special blender that is strictly used for food allergies. For me, I try to avoid gluten, because I know it will cause my joints to get inflamed and hurt more than they already do, but some times this girl really wants a donut. But at Clean Juice, a lot of their menu items are already gluten-free. Also with their protein smoothies, you have the options of whey protein or hemp protein, so if you’re lactose-intolerant or something like that, it’s a moo point (If you haven’t seen Friends, what are you watching on Netflix?)

When Trevor came back, we discussed how Clean Juice is a great place to work. When a juicerarista is taking someone’s order, they are the one calling all the shots. They trust their employees are going to do the right thing for their customers. Another thing we talked about was how they use scripture in their business plan to support their goals. I appreciate that they are practicing what they preach.

The last thing Jason taught me to make was the Beach Bowl an açaí bowl. I wrestled the last pair of gloves on and grabbed a different type of blender that they make the açaí bowls in. I put almond milk, pineapple, coconut oil, and açaí powder into the blender, then turned it on. While it was blending, I used a thing to push the fruit down into the blades. After realizing I didn’t need to stand on tip-toes, and I could move the blender closer I was able to get the açaí mixture to the right consistency. Then I grabbed a bowl to pour it into and smoothed the top over so it looked pretty. Jason had already cut up some pineapple to go on top (I’m starting to think people don’t trust me using knives, and honestly I don’t blame them.) I scooped granola onto half of the bowl, added the pineapple, then coconut flakes. Jason said he likes to make the ombre effect, and I was ready to eat this beautiful treat.

Of all the things I made that day, my favorite thing was the So Basic smoothie. A smoothie is my go to in the morning. I loved getting to learn how they make juice right there in the store and learning to make the Beach Bowl one of my favorite frozen treat. The food, the employees, and the customers all make it the wonderful juice bar I love. 

With Love from the East Coast,

Elaine