Move over, cocoa powder. There’s a new drug on the scene. The other day I had a shot of something so strong, so fast acting, that I couldn’t sit down or catch a breath. As soon as it touched my tongue, my vision became clearer, the world became lighter, my sinuses emptied, blood started rushing to my head, and I felt alive. What was this wonder-drug? A pure ginger shot (called Satan’s Pipi) from bJuice, the cold-pressed juice bar on Kollwitzstrasse, P-berg.

Like any good drug dealer, BJuice soon had me coming back for more. Shots turned into cold-pressed juices, juices turned into… what they call a “cleanse”, which is the juice equivalent to a hotel suite, a briefcase full of cocaine and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Director’s Cut boxset. A cleanse amounts to 3-5 days surviving on juice alone. It’s cold-pressed nutrient overload. You’ve never felt so healthy. You can jump over trees, you can burst clouds with your mind… Only, I’m a man of many addictions: I could only last till day 3 before buying a 6-pack of beer and ordering a pizza.

I spoke to bJuice owners Suzanne and Beshar about the juice bar.

You started bJuice roughly six months ago. What was your inspiration?

Both my husband and I had very successful careers in the automotive industry but… these careers took a great toll on our health. Hard work, stress and the constant traveling took most of our energy and, in the end, a part of our wellbeing. At one point we asked ourselves: Are we happy? Was this the way to live? Was this life?

I decided not to make such a great sacrifice for corporate success. I wanted to find a new way. So I started juicing. Feeling the effects of what juice can do to your body, I wanted to pass this wonderful lifestyle on to others. I always wanted to do something in life that would make a difference for others. So, making cold-pressed juices seemed the thing for me to do.

Quite early on, I discovered it doesn’t just take a creative mind to start a business, it takes business know-how. So I called in my husband. I knew I could count on his expertise. So we started making juices, haha! From car parts to juices, what a beautiful transition.

How has juicing changed your life since?

Juicing is a great way to live a busy life and still live healthy. We are living a life ‘on the run’ and whether we want it or not, the time spent buying, preparing and cooking is getting scarcer. In the morning, I get ready, I feed my baby, dress her, and I run out to go to work. Do you really think I have the time to sit and eat a kilo and a half of fruits and veggies? Hell no! But in the car, I drink my juice and that’s that. I feel fit and healthy and my body is happy. Would it be better to actually eat that amount of fruit and veggies? Of course, but I don’t think many of us have the time and focus to do so.

What is the difference between bJuices and the juices bought in every café/supermarket?

Our juices are cold-pressed, which are the highest value juices you can give your body. Truly nothing is comparable.

Cold-pressed juice is pressed slowly without the creation of heat. This way, the maximum amount of nutrients are kept. Compare this to a centrifugal juicer, the regular home juicers, which use heat and speed, destroying the plant structure of anything you throw in. What’s the result? You only retain about 45% of juice compared to approximately 90% of juice with a cold-pressed juicer. So in short, a cold-pressed juicer presses much more of the good stuff out of the plant. To go down to the nitty-gritty, it has been shown that cold-pressed carrot juice holds 15% more Vitamin A than normal (centrifugal) carrot juice.

Can bJuices be stored once you buy them? How long do they last?

While extracting the juice, very little air is mixed in, which slows the degradation of the juice. As a result, the juice can be refrigerated for up to five days without a loss of flavor or nutrients. The juice can even be kept in the freezer for as long as six months without noticeable degradation.

Let’s talk ‘cleanses’. What is a cleanse and why should we do it?

Cleanses are the new thing to do… because they are so fantastic.

During a cleanse, you only drink juice. This is something highly criticized these days; people argue that a cleanse has too many nutrients, that not all nutrients can be absorbed, etc, etc. Whenever different approaches and concepts appear, people always tend to criticize and disapprove because the unknown makes us nervous. But rather than calling it a cleanse, let’s call it a fast. Let’s not only focus on what you eat – or drink in this matter – let’s focus on what you don’t eat, which is the real strength of a cleanse/fast. By cutting out all the mistakes you make in a day, the late night snack or the processed food, you treat your body well by giving it a break. It is what you leave out of your body that allows you to cleanse.

Give your body that break to clean itself out a bit, and you will feel how much energy you all of a sudden have. You will feel absolutely great and focused.

How do people receive their daily juices from bJuice for a cleanse?

We have an online shop and people can find us on Foodora and Lieferheld. Whenever people do a cleanse for 3 days and longer, we also deliver to their house. It has to be in Berlin though. And soon, we will offer our juices on our own website, which we will send nation wide.

Let’s say one of our readers passes your beautiful store on Kollwitzstraße, what should they buy?

Satan’s pipi (that life-affirming ginger shot) is indeed a must. It burns in the mouth and will hold you back from getting a cold. Or will try to at least. We have the largest choice of cold-pressed juices, so everyone will find a favorite. We have everything: green juices, red juices, sweet juices, spicy juices… come by, try a juice, and ask us whatever it is you want to learn.

Where do you source your fruit and vegetables?

Our goal is to offer the healthiest juices possible. That means using the finest produce. We closely control our suppliers, getting to know them personally and constantly re-evaluating the quality of their produce. Whenever we can, we go local. Last week we bought beetroot from a farmer close by that wasn’t able to sell his produce in the supermarket because his beets were too large. I have honestly never seen such big beets, they were the size of babies’ heads… but I have never tasted such delicious beets!

Why did you decide to come to Berlin?

Who doesn’t love Berlin? After my husband and I lived and studied in California for six years, we moved to Switzerland, working for a big company in the countryside. Needless to say that this was quite boring, especially after living in one of the most beautiful places on earth. So, during our stay in Switzerland, we traveled pretty much every weekend. For Valentine’s Day, my husband took me on a weekend trip to Berlin and we both fell in love instantaneously. The culture, the architecture, the history, the people. We returned numerous times and the city started to feel like home, something we hadn’t felt for a number years (and something that felt unbelievably good).

Competition time!
***Competition closed***

Does your filthy body need a bJuice cleanse? We’re giving away a free three-day cleanse to one lucky reader. If you’d like to be entered into the prize draw, simply email win@staging-berlinlovesyou.kinsta.cloud with the subject “bJuice Competition”.

bJuice
Kollwitzstraße 51
10405 Berlin