By Myra Chen & Stephanie Pham
On April 8, Vita Cane Sugarcane Juicery & Acai Bar added another location to their franchise right in the heart of Fountain Valley. Husband and wife, Claudia and Michael Thoi embarked on a new project with big hopes and dreams after falling in love with the Orange County (OC) community.
“We chose this area because we wanted to move to OC. We’re actually from Dawson, LA and we knew that we wanted to end up in the OC area so we can just play around here. We really liked the community,” Claudia Thoi said. “We love it here [at Fountain Valley]. I love the community so much, we’re actually looking at homes around this area, but things are expensive here.”
Upon entrance into Vita Cane, the bright neon lights capture the attention of incoming customers by setting an uplifting and inviting mood. With a combination of fresh orchids, smooth wooden chairs and decorative tapestries, the unique art styles make for an aesthetically pleasing environment.
“[The art] is the franchise’s basic layout, but we chose these drawings. The artist is provided but we just choose the animals on the design,” Thoi said. “My husband wanted the dog and I wanted the elephant because the elephant represents money.”
On display is an array of bases and toppings to choose from. In contrast to other acai bowl locations, customizability is the top priority for the Vita Cane. The Thois offer a variety of ten bases, including an unlimited choice of toppings.
For the lovers of fruity flavors and tropical sensations, a blue spirulina and mango base is the way to go. Pina Colada enjoyers are sure to enjoy this combination, as the pineapple flavor overpowers the mango. Neither taste is artificial, but light and natural, as if freshly squeezed from the fruit itself. Paired with chia pudding, banana, pineapple, mango, hemp parts and mochi, our first acai bowl was not lacking a blend of varying textures.
The chia pudding added for a nice balance between the blue spirulina and mango. The fresh fruits added a sour tinge that blended in nicely with the toppings of almond butter, agave and coconut flakes. And the best part? The mochi. Despite being surrounded by chilly ingredients, the mochi remained soft and chewy. Overall, the bowl was sweet and savory, smooth and crunchy all at once.
Our second order was an aromatic mix of modern matcha, pitaya and chia pudding with a blend of kiwi, strawberry, coconut almond hemp, mochi, almond butter, agave and coconut flakes. Upon first taste, the matcha flavor immediately overpowers the tang of the pitaya. But shortly after, the aftertaste is bursting with dragon fruit flavor, evening out the matcha.
The chopped kiwi and sliced strawberries made for a pretty plating, and did not disappoint. The slight sourness of each balanced the overall flavor, complementing the sweet base expertly. Similarly to our first acai bowl, the crunch of the hemp parts and coconut flakes obtained the complexity point in our evaluation.
Beyond acai bowls, Vita Cane offers a variety of refreshing sugar cane drinks. From their array, we picked three drinks: Mojito Orange Bang, Strawberry Peach and Dragon Fire.
Mojito Orange Bang was a bang for sure. The top notes of kumquat and the zesty lemon flavor went down nicely with the hints of mint. The mint flavor gradually grew stronger as the juice level decreased along the cup. Although sugarcane is an acquired taste, Mojito Orange Bang is sure to be enjoyed by many. It is similar in taste to lemonade, but tastes richer instead of sour.
Strawberry Peach Blast is the perfect for those who don’t like overpowering scents. This light orange refresher had less flavor and tasted more like the mellow tones of sugarcane. The strawberry and peach components were still detectable, however. The strawberry flavor was just slightly stronger than the peach; if you are a fan of the Outshine strawberry fruit bar, this drink is almost an exact replica.
Fire Dragon has the most unique flavor of the three drinks we tried; it was a blend between purple dragon fruit and sugarcane. The bright magenta coloring of the drink was an eye catcher, perfectly matching the strength of the taste. In this drink, the sugarcane was more apparent, tasting sweet and floral. The earthiness of this drink was almost addicting when paired with the kiwi-like taste of the dragon fruit.
Vita Cane has seemingly an endless number of options and all were a fresh combination of organic fruits. If you’re craving something that takes your tastebuds to the beaches of the sunny Bahamas, Vita Cane is the way to go.
