In the days when the cola invasion had not taken place, we were hooked onto nimbu pani (homemade lemonade) and ganna juice (sugarcane juice) to quench our thirst. It kept us going in the hot summers of North India — cool and refreshing. I loved the cane juice but hated the unhygienic way in which it was prepared by roadside vendors. So, I stopped having cane juice. Lemonade can at least be made at home unlike sugarcane juice. But, luckily for me, I chanced upon this outlet of Cane-o-la in Bangalore a few months back.
The place is so neat with everything done by machines. The people wear gloves and cover their hair. They give you a beer glass full of freshly squeezed cane juice — natural or with juices of ginger, lime etc. to add flavor. It costs just Rs. 10 and is yummy. They also provide good quality ice in an ice bucket with tongs. And, you are free to take a walk in their preparation area, even though you are able to see the entire operation through a glass partition.
It satisfies my finickiness of a hygienic, refreshing, natural, cooling, typically Indian thirst quencher. Beats having a cola hands down! My kids love it too ( after all it is all sugar :)).
Next, I am awaiting someone launching an outlet, which serves hygienic golas or chuskis — just like the vendors (unhygienic) on the beaches or streets of Mumbai do.
There are families who still avoid colas and depend on “ganne ka juice”.It is really up to the parents and schools to keep the children informed of the ills of fizz drinks.I dont remember when was it that I had a fizz drink.
Do you know of any such outlets in Hyd..? I would love to get that to my kids…I have just talked to them of Ganna juice, they it for reasons u just mentioned. I would rather they stay healthy with Neha just out of the hospital.
they haven’t gotten to taste it, for reasons u just mentioned 🙂
@BK Chowla We are trying to do that. But, I have to say, I enjoy the fizzy drinks once in a while ;).
@Gayatri Didi, I understand your concerns! You could try Cane Xpress in Hyderabad. I googled and got this link. But, I haven’t been there personally, so you would have to check it out and see
http://hyderabad.burrp.com/listing/cane-xpress_kukatpally_hyderabad_juice-parlours/1165373693__UR
Ice should be avoided And yes cleanliness – The priority always.
hey u dont mean colas are prepared in very hygenic conditions …do u?
And colas tastes aweful…nothing better than a soda water and they destroy the health too
But Cola is COOL….or that is what the hip crowd says
Do we bother about the environmental imbalance caused by this company?
colas are horrible. and sugarcane juice yummy! i used to walk miles for one particular outlet in colaba..
my son hasn’t tasted cane juice because of hygiene only but I still do it often cause there is a place in pune where you can get it.. although it is not as hygenic as you just described but quite popular…
@Appu Ice should normally be avoided, but they have a declaration saying that it is made out of mineral water. Yes, cleanliness is THE priority.
@Jon No Jon, I don’t mean any of those things for colas. I am aware of the health hazards and the environmental concerns associated with them. But, like everything else, consumption in moderation is the key.
@wise donkey Which one in Colaba? Now, there are so many juice parlors along the same lines mushrooming in Bangalore. At least, 5 differently-named cane juice outlets, I’ve seen. I think, it is a great idea and more people must get into these areas of offering reasonably priced and hygienically-prepared juices.
@jaanvi Yes, unhygienic cane juice is a sure-shot way to diseases. So, keep your child away. I once read somewhere, that a snake had got crushed with the sugarcane at one of the roadside vendor’s stall. Imagine that, how yucky!
Consumption in moderation!!wow…
I am sorry i would beg to differ
These guys have poisoned the waterbeds of a locality and thus denied them their right-drinking water. We buy something that is illegally seized from some other!
But that is my own opinion! And I do drink colas…but I believe it’s nothing but evil and try to avoid them
@Jon I understand, you feel strongly about this issue. And, when I said in moderation, I meant the same — have it very rarely. So, we are essentially saying the same thing.
You reminded me of the time, when as a child in East Block Bulgaria, we would mostly drink ‘sherbet’ and ‘lemonade’.
The sherbet – flavored fruit sirup with plenty of sugar!!!! yes!!! 🙂 was simply mixed with cold bubly water, but the stands were on about every corner – it was so easy to get one, and pick a diferent flavor every time.
Same thing we could make at home too.
The lemonade was only from the store – light yellow fizzy drink, not too sweet, PERFECT for the hot summer days. It also had a very distict flavor…and it took me about 26 year to read somewhere that they used bergamon to flavor it – lemon and bergamon! Sooo good! 🙂
Thanks for the lovely story, Rachna! …from iliana
if u cross VT station in Mumbai v used to get ganna juice for rs 4 just 10 yrs ago..dunno whats the scene now..but realllll yummmyyy yar..y do u remind me of cane juice..bahhh:(
I too avoid ganna juice for the lack of hygiene. At least you’ve found a good place to enjoy and refresh from freshly prepared juice. A friend told me snakes house inside sugar canes and can be crushed while taking out the juice. Since then I avoid cane juice…get that giddy feeling…friend maybe wrong or right…
To do away with colas is the thought of the day for many Moms to their children…bringing about some good effect.
Rachna, I love sugarcane juice. I have a juicer, I wonder if I could just make it myself…?
@IGBG Hi Iliana, Welcome to my blog! Ah sherbet! Yes, that was in vogue when we were growing up. It was a sugary syrup diluted with water and served to guests. We used to put it into milk too and make milkshakes. But, its popularity declined when the colas came in. At that time, we did not know the ill effects of colas. But, today, all of us are trying to wean our kids away from it. Thanks for telling me this wonderful story of your childhood. In some ways, our cultures are so similar :). I have never been to Bulgaria. Is it one of the Soviet-bloc countries?
@Ramesh wow, each one of us has a favorite sugarcane outlet. Next time, when you are in Mumbai, go for it.
@Gouri I don’t think that snakes live inside sugarcane. There was an incident where a snake had got crushed in sugarcane. Maybe, because it crept where the sugarcane was stored. It was positively yucky to read about it.
@Agnes I really don’t think you should risk breaking the blades of your blender :). I think the process here is crushing and not blending. You must try to have some on your visits to India or Pakistan.
I believe in the notion, what you don’t eat/drink makes you sick.
People accustomed to very high quality hygiene are the one’s who grow sick more as the mind also plays trick. Having said that I wish not to conclude that unhygienic is the way to go.
And yes, moderation is the key – so cola rocks for me!
Btw, ty Rachnaji – I shall know which store to hit to quench my thirst when I hit bangalore this weekend 🙂
@tangy Being a college student, street food and colas is the way to go for you. Till you get typhoid, cholera or some such disease; you will continue to think this way. Just today, there was a report in the TOI about harmful bacteria being found in all samples of bhelpuri and pani puri tested in Bangalore. So, exercise caution when consuming raste ka khana.
wow sugacane jusice its yummy….specially in winters ..u cant resist it…even if it is made y roadside vendors..although now a days..i have to coz neil is too young to digest the unhygenic of its prepatation..so i heve been controlling myself for three yrs…
now as u have mentioned the new outlet of cane juice …i will surely visit this place once i visit banglore..infact i will come to banglore just to drink and relish the juice:)
@Rohini That’s really sweet of you! And, good that you are keeping Neil away from all these unhygienic things.
Sugarcane juice, I haven’t tasted from years because of unhygenic way it is prepared.
I liked the last line of article.
I so love the header photo-beautiful! And the juice sounds sooo good.
Hi Rachna, I too love sugar cane juice, cold.
And love fresh coconuts….old days used to go fishing on deserted islands, and we’ll have a ball of a time, eating young coconuts, and drinking the water.
These are healthy drinks, provided like you mentioned, prepared in hygienic environment.
Have fun, and keep well, Lee.
@Chandrika I hope that you will be able to try some hygienically prepared sugarcane juice soon.
@Cheryl Thanks!
@Uncle Lee Oh yes, I love coconut water too 🙂
excellent beautifully written,.
http://veeravista.blogspot.in/2013/06/health-benefits-of-sugarcane-juice.html
Thanks Veera!