Page 32 - Food & Drink Business Magazine September 2018

INGREDIENTS
Spice of life
The turmeric latte trend is in full throttle with startups and small companies leveraging consumer interest in the healthy spice, writes Kasey Clark.
AS consumer drinking habits continue to shift in favour of better-for-you alternatives, several functional beverages leveraging health-promoting benefits are proving their mettle in a competitive market.
One of these is the turmeric latte, thanks to the health benefits of the potent plant from the ginger family, which has for thousands of years been used in food and in Ayurvedic medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and modern medicine.
Its diverse medicinal uses are thanks largely to turmeric’s curcumin content. Curcumin is a bioactive compound, meaning that it makes an impact on living organisms. The compound contains essential nutrients that the body needs for growth and development.
With lattes, turmeric has more recently found its way into
the mainstream – and into drinkers’ coffee mugs. Hot on the heels of popular chai lattes, this recent player in the tea-and-coffee-alternative game is a hot-water additive with health properties. A new breed of golden blends, such as the following three offerings, are finding themselves on more and more store shelves, café menus and kitchen benchtops.
GOLDEN MILK
Harnessing the health- promoting properties of turmeric, Golden Milk by Golden Soul is a blend of turmeric, premium coconut milk powder, cinnamon, honey, and black pepper. The recipe,
RIGHT: Golden Milk by Golden Soul.
FAR RIGHT: Golden Grind’s Turmeric Latte Blend.
combining with milk.
“It’s the ideal natural drink
for the health-conscious, the time-poor, and those looking to shake things up a bit from their traditional cup of coffee, caffeinated tea, or chai,” says Bartlett, Golden Milk’s managing director.
Bowling, the company’s general manager, doesn’t see interest in turmeric lattes waning anytime soon, either.
“At April’s Naturally Good Show, the response from visitors far exceeded our expectations,” he says. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the subsequent interest in the world’s first instant turmeric latte.”
Made in Australia, Golden Milk is available online in 100g sachets at goldenmilk.com.
GOLDEN GRIND
Another recent entrant in the turmeric latte space, Australian- owned and -operated Golden
Golden Grind with their choice of milk or dairy-free alternative. Golden Grind’s turmeric latte blends come in 15g and 100g (40-serve) sachets and are available at goldengrind.com.au and select stockists.
GOLDEN LATTE
Based in Currumbin, Queensland, Nutra Organics offers a range of colourful superfood chai latte infusions, including the turmeric-based Golden Latte, which also includes Australian manuka honey (with its own healing property claims), coconut milk powder and chai spices. Drinkers can again choose their preferred milk or dairy- free alternative and consume Golden Latte either hot or chilled over ice.
All of Nutra Organics’ lattes come in 6g, 90g, and 500g sachets and are available at nutraorganics.com.au. ✷
the brainchild of Golden Milk by Golden Soul co-founders Naomi Bartlett and Michael Bowling, suits a range of dietary lifestyles. It’s 100-per-cent-natural, preservative-free, additive-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and Paleo Diet-friendly.
Another unique selling point of Golden Milk is that it’s an instant, just-add-hot-water turmeric latte mix, whereas other mixes often require
Grind produces a number of turmeric-based products. The Melbourne-based company’s three turmeric latte blends are caffeine-free, gluten-free and vegan; have no refined sugar; and contain more than 60 per cent turmeric. All feature organic products sourced from fair-trade farms in India and Sri Lanka. In contrast to Golden Milk’s blend, the company encourages drinkers to mix
“ We’ve been overwhelmed by the subsequent interest in the world’s first instant turmeric latte.”
32 | Food&Drink business | September 2018 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au