Max Goldberg is an organic food blogger at Living Maxwell opens in a new tab and loves his juice, which is one of the reasons he created the worlds first Pressed Organic Juice Directory opens in a new tab.
The excitement around pressed juice is at an unprecedented level. As someone who follows this industry very closely, I can say one thing with a great deal of confidence: the demand for pressed juice will not be slowing down anytime soon.
Read on for details about a weekend sale on Suja Elements juice.
Pressed juice is hardly a novel concept but has been around for a very long time. Norman Walker, the inventor of the famous Norwalk juicer, created the first hydraulic juice press in the early 1900s and it remains a widely used machine to this day.
A Norwalk, or similar commercial hydraulic juice press, uses thousands of pounds of pressure to extract the juice from fruits and vegetables. This is a very different process than the type of juicer that many of us use at a home — a centrifugal juicer — where the blade spins around at a very high speed. A juice press operates at a much slower speed, which causes less oxidation.
The other factor contributing to pressed juice’s popularity is the application of something called high-pressure pascalization, or high-pressure processing. Widely referred to as HPP, it is an alternative form of pasteurization that utilizes pressure, instead of heat, to kill harmful bacteria. Aside from HPP maintaining a high percentage of the juice’s minerals and nutrients, it increases the shelf life of the product to several weeks.
Pressed juice that has undergone HPP means that it can be shipped without fear of spoilage. More people having access to nutrient-dense, pressed organic juice has resulted in a rapidly growing market. This has also led to additional companies offering pressed juice, which means greater variety and improved quality for consumers. The organic industry is a huge beneficiary as well since the need for organic fruits and vegetables is only getting stronger.
One of the most successful pressed organic juice producers is San Diego-based Suja opens in a new tab.
Notably, Suja is leveraging the popularity of pressed juice as a way to give back. With the recent launch of its Elements fruit and veggie blends, smoothie-like drinks that use pressed organic juice as its base, Suja is donating ¢20 for every bottle sold to health and nutrition, sustainability, conservation and human rights charities. Available only at Whole Foods Market, each flavor of this organic, Non-GMO Project Verified opens in a new tab juice has a different designated non-profit. For example, the recipient of the Mango Fuego flavor (think apple, mango, banana, baobab, ginger, serrano chili, lime, pink Himalayan salt and camu camu) is Whole Planet Foundation opens in a new tab®.
Suja has imposed no ceiling on the amount that will be donated, which means that some non-profits could potentially receive annual checks for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. So drink up to a good cause!
My belief is that we will see a day when pressed organic juice can be found on every corner of America, similar to how it is now with coffee. Until then, expect the euphoria around pressed juice to continue.
Three-Day Sale!
This Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23 in all US Whole Foods Market stores, Suja Elements juices will be 2 for $5. Stock up and save.
Availability and limits may vary by region, so you can contact your store for details opens in a new tab. While supplies last. Most of our stores do not provide rain checks for sales like this.
Have you tried pressed juice yet? What did you think?
