"acai" news and stories

Every year there are a handful of ingredients and flavors that find their way onto almost every single restaurant menu in the country. Last year, two of the most popular flavors were pomegranate and chipotle. This year, the menu trend-spotters have already made their top five predictions, some of which are bolder than before and others that are merely extensions of existing trends.

Functional flavors - Beyond green tea and pomegranate there is a whole world of functional food that will become more widely used. Açaí, acerola cherry, red wine and red tea will all step more into the limelight.

More Latin flavors - Chipotle is still popular, as is regional Mexican (from Oaxaca and Jalisco), but new flavors will step up, with more influences from Central and South America.

Sweet and savory- The pairing of salty and sweet (or savory and sweet) really hit a home run with packaged foods last year, but more mainstream restaurants will be offering salted caramels or herb-infused ice creams than in the past.

Expected flavors, unexpected fruits- Why stick with orange when you can use blood orange? The same goes for choosing Meyer lemons, Buddha's hand or other citrus over plan lemon. Twists on popular flavors will make the food seem more exotic, without taking a big risk by radically changing the flavor.

More Spice, Less Heat - Instead of the overt heat of chipotle, ancho, and jalapeño, there will be more Indian and Moroccan spices added to menus, including curry, cumin and cardamom.

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At a recent shopping expedition in Los Angeles, I got to taste Xocai (pronounced "sho-sigh") chocolate, which is being marketed more as a health food product than a sweet indulgence. Chocolate is becoming more closely associated with health because of its antioxidant components, and the addition of acai to the chocolate adds the health benefits of the acai berry, now considered to be a super fruit. According to the website, Xocai will give you increased energy, help you sleep better, decrease joint pain, reduce sugar cravings lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduce allergies and arthritis, and improve diabetic readings.

Good good on all the health stuff, but I was interested in the taste. Each small domed brick piece of chocolate comes wrapped in gold foil, which really makes it look like candy. I love dark chocolate, and the Xocai nuggets have a very high cocoa percentage. However, I have to say that it definitely tasted medicinal, and somewhat powdery. I also didn't feel the antioxidant power of "10 pounds of spinach" that each nugget supposedly has.

Oh well. I think I'd rather eat spinach for antioxidants, and a Teuscher truffle for chocolate.

Attention everyone who either doesn't drink dairy or simply prefers soy milk: Starbucks is test marketing their new soy-based blended drinks in some California markets right now. Of course, this is good news for me since I live in California, but it shouldn't be a problem to get them at your local Starbucks even before they're released.

From what I can tell, the drinks they're offering right now are basically the Pomegranate and Tangerine frappuccinos, but instead of being made with tea, they're being made with soy milk. Since this is a simple change, it means that if you ask your neighborhood Starbucks baristas very nicely, they should be able to make one up for you even if you're not in the current test market!

Since I like the Tangerine tea blends, it's no surprise that I also like the Tangerine Soy. I have to go back to taste the Pomegranate, but I hear that it is even better than the Pomegranate tea frappuccino. I still can't wait to try the soy coffee frappuccinos that Starbucks has had in the works for ages now. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see those on the menu boards, too.

Another drink being tested right now was brought to my attention courtesy of some friends in Texas. Apparently, there is an Acai frappuccino at some stores. Acai is the newest "superfood" of the moment, so there is little doubt that this drink will have a few potential health benefits touted if it hits the rest of the country.

Acai is all the rage these days. The berry that hails from the Amazon rainforest is an antioxidant powerhouse that blows even blueberries and pomegranates out of the water. Fitness-conscious people love acai for its energy-sustaining properties. I have no idea what it is in the acai berry, but I remember the first time I tried it - it was the Acai smoothie at Jamba Juice. I think I was awake for four straight days.

You can add acai berries to smoothies and drinks, but now Belizza has used it as a base for sorbet. That would make it dessert! Belizza's acai sorbets come in three flavors - acai banana, plain acai, and acai mango.

Acai is a Brazilian berry from the Amazon basin (although wikipedia states it is available from Central America all the way down to Brazil). Not that I had heard of it until discovering this page on BevNet. I am asuming it is an American site so available in the States; I have not seen it in the UK.

The berry is 'considered one of the most nutritous fruits on the planet' and tastes like a blend of rich berries with a hint of chocolate. Good for you too packed with plebty of antioxidants of course and fiber plus amino acids. It is available as a Fruit Smoothie, mixed with vanilla for a Protein Warrior, with chocolate flavouring for the Chocolate Protein Warrior or with mango for Mango Uprising.   

The BevNet website allows the rating and entering of reviews of the products it lists. No details of stockists or price are yet included.

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