Our seasonal lineup changes several times a year. It changes because the produce does.
The same juice isn't the same juice
A watermelon in July and a watermelon in November are different products. One is at the peak of a short local season; the other has travelled a long way to be adequate. The recipe hasn't changed — the fruit has, and you can taste it immediately in something we press raw and don't heat, sweeten or correct.
That's the constraint of working this way. We can't compensate for out-of-season produce, because compensating is exactly what we don't do. So instead we change what we make.
What autumn brings
As the summer fruit goes, the lineup moves toward roots, brassicas, citrus and squash. Carrots get sweeter after the first cold nights. Brassicas — cabbage, kale, broccoli — genuinely improve with cold weather. Citrus comes into its proper season just as everything else leaves.
The juices get denser, warmer in colour and less thirst-quenching, because that's what the season hands us.
Organic, and what that costs us
Because we buy 100% organic, our seasons are narrower than they'd otherwise be. Organic produce has shorter windows and less reliable supply, so a seasonal item sometimes appears for six weeks rather than three months. We'd rather run out than switch to conventional to keep something on the board.
It's the least convenient part of how we work and the part we'd change last.
If you want to eat with the season
- Buy the thing that's piled highest and cheapest at the market — that's what's actually in season.
- Expect variety to narrow in winter. A short list of good ingredients beats a long list of mediocre ones.
- Let the cold-weather vegetables be cold-weather vegetables. Roots and brassicas are at their best now, not in July.
Our seasonal board changes when the market does. If something disappears, that's usually why.
