Joe & The Juice is a chain of juice and coffee bars that originated in Denmark.
When I first went past the Joe and The Juice stores in London, I actually ignored them as I thought they were a bar or nightclub, and I didn’t clock that it was actually a juice/coffee bar.
The reason for this is that they are extremely dark in design, with large tables and music, giving it a very different feel to rival juice bars in London such as Crussh and Boost, which tend to use bright orange and green lettering to lure in customers.
The mix of coffee and juice is an interesting one, as you would think the sort of people that would want a black coffee or a juice are different sorts, with my first thought being that coffee-lovers tend to be businessmen and troubled intellectuals, while juice bars are something I associate with health enthusiasts.
When I went to Copenhagen I was amazed how popular they are, taking the place of chains such as Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee in the UK. The Danes are a patriotic sort and it is clear they have taken to the brand, which was started by their countrymen Kaspar Basse, who sold the group in 2013 to a Swedish private equity house.
Anyway, back to Joe and The Juice. There is something oddly charming about Joe and The Juice, communicating as it does in a downbeat, subdued manner rather than screaming ‘COME HERE BUY FROM ME’. Another interesting part of the branding are its employees, who are presumably hand-picked to present a certain ‘image’ looking as they do like Abercrombie and Fitch models.
One interesting thing about its menu is that in Copenhagen one of the most popular drinks is ‘avo shake’ which as the name suggests is a shake with avocado and banana. I enjoyed the drink when I was in Denmark however the British stores do not put it on the menu but will make it if you ask for it.
The mystery of why British people do not want the avo shake has puzzled me for some time, and I will hopefully come closer to eventually uncovering this discrepancy in its menu.
Joe and The Juice is a pleasant place to sit down and have a drink, and its nonchalant styling and laid-back staff give it a charming, somewhat bohemian feel despite now being part of a corporate behemoth. I have not tried its sandwiches but its juices are certainly very good.
They also have a range of ‘greener’ juices that are heavier of veggies and contain less sugar, which is useful in an age when we know that many juices and smoothies are surprisingly unhealthy.