Impressed Juice Pops Up Downtown

From left: poi shot (taro, coconut water, dates and toasted coconut), Taelson Larrow getting ready to juice

If ever there were an example of opposites attracting, this is it: a farm-to-glass juice joint operating out of a downtown alley bar. Here, you can spend your nights boozing and your days de-toxing.

Partners Taelson Larrow and Kale Furuya of Impressed Juice Hawaii take over the Mercury Bar on weekdays, and instead of grabbing the Makers Mark and Jager, they’re filling pint jars with fresh pressed juices made from locally-grown produce. The juices, which change daily based on produce availability, are cold-pressed, which means instead of being pulverized by blender blades, the produce is forced through a press that, according to Larrow, better preserves the cellular structure of the fruit and veggies, making the resulting juice and its nutrients more readily available for absorption by the body.

But the real question is: Is the stuff drinkable? The answer is yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Impressed’s signature juice blend is the “Nalo Press,” their take on the ubiquitous green juice, made with pineapple, cucumber, mixed mustard greens, tatsoi and Nalo greens. It’s earthy and satisfying with just the right amount of fruity-sweet from the pineapple to keep you from fixating on the fact that you’re literally drinking a salad. Which is the point. We get it. And we like it.

Keep the detoxing seriously real with the carrot-, ginger- and olena-packed “Fields of Aloha,” or a “Hot Shot” of the Nalo Press mixed with an up-front hit of jalapeno. Or for something more filling, try the Pa‘iai Bowl—like an acai bowl, only this version substitutes the tart acai with ultra fresh and super sweet pa‘i‘ai.

At this bar, the drinking is truly good.

Impressed Juice Hawaii also sets up shop at the Honolulu, KCC and Kailua Farmers Markets. It plans to be at Mercury Bar until they find a permanent spot somewhere downtown.

Impressed Juice Hawaii’s pop-up juice bar at Mercury Bar, 1154 Fort Street Mall, 7:30-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, pints of juice are $10, 16-ounce cups of juice are $6, impressedjuicehawaii.com