Juice shops are in abundance on Saudi streets and I could not be happier about it. We have fun experimenting with new fruit combinations and we definitely never speculate which could be enhanced with a splash of rum (if we were in a different locale). Never. 🍎🍋🍓
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Currently I’ve been enjoying Pomegranate + Apple, but Passion Fruit + Pomegranate is my all-time favorite. I go for Avocado + Kiwi when I want something creamy with a little kick, or straight Green Apple if I want a taste of home (it’s basically apple cider). And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the bastion of refreshing Saudi juices – Lemon + Mint. Honestly, you just have to try it. I don’t understand why it hasn’t swept the world by storm yet.
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There are hole-in-the-wall juice shops, large chain shops, and everything in between. They’re usually vibrant and colorful with fresh fruit used as décor. Most restaurants offer fresh juice options too and you can pay anywhere from $2/glass to $8/glass. Along the alleys of Al Balad (old town) they mostly sell orange or sugarcane juice. They feed the long sugarcane stalks into a frightening crushing machine and out drips a sugary liquid delight. Prevent your mind from wandering toward cavities or insulin levels and it’s fiiiine.
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We like to stop by this juice shop in our neighborhood either at the beginning or end of a walk. Other times we pick up jugs of juice for a picnic or gathering, grab cups on the way out of town for a road trip, or swing by a juice shop for our “dessert” after a dinner out.
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If we leave Saudi one day, I’ll definitely be investing in a high-quality juicer to attempt to recreate the beverages we’ve come to love.
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