Wednesday, May 29, 2019

[India] Bottled with health

May 29, 2019

The G Tap offers 18 varieties of dairy-free smoothies made with either almond,cashew or millet milk and seasonal fruits to maximise their nutrition and flavour.


The G Tap opened two months ago  R Satish Babu

CHENNAI : A rainbow-coloured kart is parked on a corner at the entrance of the Kora Food Street in Anna Nagar, with sample bottles of smoothies along with pamphlets placed on top. Curious visitors stop by to taste the products only to come later and buy it for themselves. The G Tap is a pet project of a nutrition-based brand called Gesund, and run by eight youngsters including Nishanth Radhakrishnan, Praveen Kumar, Bharath Hariharan and Mahesh RB, who wanted to tap the plant protein side of the market. 

Plant protein punch
Launched two months back, The G Tap offers dairy-free smoothies in 18 flavours. The products are categorised by the three bases used — almond milk, cashew milk, and millet milk. All are sourced from local markets and the milk is extracted in-house. We’re told that the recipes are standard to maintain the quality and based on suggestions from mothers and grandmothers. 

Each base has a customised set of flavours under them. “It might look like yet another juice brand from outside. We were particular about plant-based milk. Our people should imbibe conscious eating habits and a healthy lifestyle. The mission behind our brand is nutrition for all, hunger is healthy, and lifestyle is the new you,” said Nishanth, hinting towards their best-seller smoothie called Atom, which is made of dark cocoa and almond milk.
The team has curated the menu in such a way that every smoothie is named after an emotion based on the benefits of ingredients used. For instance, Comfort is an almond milk blend with chikoo fruit. Love is a pure almond and cashew milk blend with figs (considered to be good for sexuality). Positivity is cashew milk blended with saffron petals. “Many have misconceptions when it comes to food. One of the challenges is to ensure that the right fruit is used for the right base.
A watermelon shake can be blended only with millet milk because of its watery nature, while a considerably pulpy fruit can be paired with almond or cashew. People asked if we were vegan but it just happened by chance,” he said. The bottles are available in 300 ml. More options of 200, 500, and 1,000 will be introduced.
Keep calm and sip on
The consistency of milk varies depending on the base used. Cashew is said to have the strongest flavour and thickness. Almond is relatively thinner, and so is millet. Palm sugar is used as a sweetening agent, and only seasonal fruits are used. “Mangoes and cocoa are sourced from Coimbatore, strawberries from Ooty, and pink guava from my garden.
We’ve played on interesting combinations like coconut milk, yellow pumpkin, turmeric, red banana and dates. The smoothie is called Golden Milk. Another one is with sweet potato. Fresh batches are prepared every day as per demand. We make 20-30 on weekdays and 60 on weekends. We’re glad that the flavours have appealed to all age groups, garnering us customers who come again,” said Nishanth, who has a team of eight members. 
The smoothies are prepared at their cloud kitchen in Mogappair. They are prepared at room temperature and stored in ice conditions without adding ice cubes and preservatives. This limits the shelf life to three days. “All the raw materials are expensive and locally sourced. People find it to be exorbitantly priced but we had to cut down on many aspects and come with affordable pricing. However, customers are aware of the dairy-free trend and the amount of effort that goes into making the product. Everything is made in-house. It’s a testing process daily. We will bring solid food and seasonal options soon. Our home delivery and web app will is down the line. Customers can directly place their order and share feedback,” he said.
The G Tap says
 Cashews are said to be the best tasting plant protein. They have mono-saturated fat that helps decrease bad cholesterol.
 Millets are good for weight loss and fight against obesity. It prevents diabetes, reduces blood sugar level, improves sleep and relieves menstrual cramps.
 Almond is brain food. It prevents cognitive decline, boosts alertness and improves memory power.

Priced from `99. For details, visit their Instagram page at Gesundagrolife. The G Tap is located at Kora Food Street, Anna Nagar.
By Vaishali Vijaykumar

Express News Service

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