I am a very proud friend right now. I was very lucky to be given an entire range-worth of shakes this week from Soak; a truly wonderful dairy-free shake company run by my friends Roxy and Emma.
Since returning from Thailand last February 2014, where they’d learned to coconut milk by Mina of Mina’s Cooking Classes, they’ve been working on producing handmade shakes in small batches using organic nuts and real, fresh fruit, herbs and spices — with no refined sugars, additives or preservatives in sight. Like many food entrepreneurs; they simply couldn’t find the same freshness they’d experienced while they were out there – and the UHT alternatives tasted awful.
So, they got to work, mastered making coconut milk by hand – and then moved on to cashew. Soak Shakes contain filtered water rather than purified water to retain naturally occurring minerals, and have no nasties in them. The girls stand proudly behind their 5-day shelf life, because they “don’t see any sense in inactivating all those good enzymes through energy-consumptive processes like UHT or HPP”. Amen to that.
On top of all this, they’re giving something back as well. They give 10% of profits from each shake sold to elephant and rhino conservation in Kenya, having partnered with Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Spanning 61,000 acres in northern Kenya, Lewa is home to 13% of Kenya’s rhino, and hundreds of elephant that migrate through every year. Find out more about #ShakeforLife here.
The newest addition to the range is the Cold Coffee Brew, which is made using Volcano Engine Oil (a small batch, specialty coffee roastery based in South London) mixed with filtered water, organic cashews, juicy dates, a pinch of Himalayan sea salt and organic, fair-trade vanilla. It’s quite frankly, banging.
This is what a pure, fresh shake should taste like. None of the sickly sweetness you’d expect, or that cloying sensation that comes with it. The simplicity of ingredients shines, and it’s delicious.
You’ll find others in the range that will tickle most taste buds; from Peanut Butter & Banana (good for protein fiends), Strawberry & Mint (with a pinch of cinnamon to give it a kick), Cacao & Chilli (hooray superfoods!) and Classic Cashew, which you can take with cereal or porridge, or froth up for cappuccino or such yummy things.
Stockists here (watch out for HUGE news about a London institution joining the list very soon), or if you’d like Soak to stock your office, get in touch here. Either way, get your gums round these bad boys soon – you won’t go back!
