Wonder why our juice tastes fresh and best? Well, we believe in the highest standards in what we do. Down to the disco ball and Honestly Organic ingredients. And our juice is never made with high-pressure processing.
Craving some super-fresh juice? Order for pick up now!
What is High-Pressure Processing?
It’s important to know when, where, how and with what your juice is made. Our cold-pressed juice is made fresh daily, bottled on site and then placed right on the shelf (and never processed). Most of our juice only lasts three days — and you GEMs snatch them up and gulp away before the expiration date comes and goes. Yet, you can find dozens of “fresh,” cold-pressed juices that are good for 30 or more days? That seems strange, doesn’t it? Those long-lasting juices are made using high-pressure processing (HPP), a pasteurization process that preserves and sterilizes food by applying very, very high pressure, instead of heat.
The Advantages of HPP
There are advantages, of course: It reduces the level of possible pathogens in the juice — which were there from the beginning but not all of the enzymes and nutrients, like heat pasteurization. The high pressure kills certain microorganisms and enzymes in the food, thereby slowing the food’s deterioration. And it’s the only way juice can be made and sold wholesale (like to a grocery store). Sounds like the perfect solution to having juice last longer, right? We thought so. Unfortunately, we found a few things we didn’t like about the process.
Why We Said No to High-Pressure Processing
- The juice has to be more acidic. First off, our precious juice recipes that we hold so dear would have to be formulated differently for high-pressure processing. WTF. No way. Many of our super green juices would have to change to be more acidic. We didn’t like being told that. How could we face our GEMs if we had to change the recipes to their favorite organic juice or, worse still, as one consultant recommended, we add minute quantities of citric acid??
- The taste worsens. Over time, taste changes. And not for the better we decided. Don’t agree? Try some juice that has a shelf-life of 30 days or more. Then try some GEM juice. The last thing we want is the taste of our Radiant Glow not to be, well, radiant.
- It’s not honest. HPP juice really isn’t “freshly” made or “raw”. It’s pressed and sent to a giant HPP plant, which then treats the juice, dates it and sends it back. In fact, plenty of juice companies have gotten in trouble for calling their juices “fresh” and “raw.” It doesn’t even have to be identified as HPP. So how do you even know if your juice has been processed or it’s truly fresh? By checking the expiration date. HPP can have a shelf life of 30 to 50 days days, 10 to 15 times longer than juice the way nature intended. We think that’s just deceiving. AND, who wants to drink 30-day-old juice?
- Benefits change. The good bacteria is destroyed. Along with the bad bacteria (that’s a good thing), the process kills good probiotic bacteria that play a role in good nutrition. Plus, enzymes only live for five to seven days, and HPP can’t change that. The important enzymes that are still alive may be altered and thereby denatured.
Our raw, organic, health-mentoring pledge: We provide the best juices to alkalize the blood and neutralize toxins in the body. That’s also why we never use high-pressure processing and only use 100-percent organic ingredients — a lot of other “organic” juice makers only do organic when it’s convenient; most don’t even try. And being 100 percent Honestly Organic and non-HPP comes at a price to us. But so does our health!
It is our philosophy that truly raw juice can be our medicine, our energizer. BUT: it must be left unprocessed and in its purest (and tastiest) form. We will guide our GEMs daily through an accessible pathway to optimal health. Therefore, we will NOT use processing of any kind on our juices or produce. We WILL continue to raise the bar at every turn, maintain our organic pledge and continue to create more amazingly healthy and tasty juices, smoothies and green bites. Just. for. you.
