Verde Juice owner Kelly Egolf stopped by the Los Alamos Daily Post Thursday to talk about her product and its introduction in Los Alamos. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.comVerde Juice owner Kelly Egolf began juicing seriously by necessity. After an operation required her jaw to be wired shut for months.
Products available for a liquid diet were unappealing and she decided to get back into juicing. Soon she was juicing for 10 of her friends.
“Everyone kept asking me why I didn’t start a business,” Egolf said. “I thought, why not?”
So began Verde Juice, the only fresh cold press juicery in New Mexico. It’s now seven months old.
In cold-pressed juicing, vegetables and fruits are slowly crushed with a hydraulic press, extracting the juice. Juice extracted this way lasts longer than home-made juice, up to five days, and reportedly retains far more of the nutrients the body needs.
An array of Verde juices now available. Courtesy photo“Many of our juices are actually a hybrid of juice and a smoothie,” Egolf said. “The greens as well as the seeds and nuts are blended separately then added to the juice so we retain the fiber.”
Verde has two locations in Santa Fe. The main location is 851 W. San Mateo where the juice is prepared in a 3,000 square foot kitchen. Verde also has a kiosk inside Collected Works Bookstore, just off the Plaza.
Now Verde Juice has come to Los Alamos to test the market for fresh juice. Verde is holding a pop-up event outside the Research Park. Thirsty labbies (and everyone else) can get their fix around 11 a.m. Tuesdays. At least six varieties of juice, out of the 15 Verde makes, will be available at the pop-up. There will be tastings!
“If things look promising in Los Alamos, we might get our very own juice bar,” Egolf said.
Verde also is bringing home delivery to Los Alamos and White Rock. While some employees serve at the pop-up event, others will deliver fresh juice to your door on Tuesdays. Minimum order is $36. The juice comes in a min-cooler with an ice pack.
“It’s like the milkman used to deliver,” Egolf said. “We come right to your front door or office.”
At the next delivery, empty bottles will be picked up, just like milk bottles used to be, and reused. Returned bottles get a 50 cent rebate.
“We are a zero waste business,” Egolf said proudly. “We compost 1,000 pounds of vegetable matter every week.”
Egolf also is proud of her record of buying local (100 percent of the kale is local) and paying a living wage to her 17 employees. Even when produce is not local (like pineapples and coconuts, the produce is organic and processed on the spot.
While Verde’s juice is not cheap (12 ounces for $7.25 or $9 for 16 ounces) remember that each bottle contains two pounds of a wide variety of produce, seeds and fresh nut milks. No worries for those who are concerned about the purity of nut milks. All the nut milks are produced fresh at Verde.
One unique offering from Verde is a three-day juice fast package. The six bottles of juice a day in the package provide 1,150 calories, 42 grams of protein and 85 percent of daily fiber.
To give Verde Juice a try, so stop by the pop-up booth outside the Research Park in the late morning Tuesday. You’ll be consuming one of the “freshest and healthiest things you can put in your mouth.”
Visit Verde Juice online at http://verdejuice.com/.
