We Tried All 5 Açaí Bowls at Kitanda
Energy Blast Bowl, one of five acai bowls at Green Lake’s Kitanda Espresso & Acai.
Since opening last June, Kitanda Espresso & Açaí has been calling my name. The storefront is located in Green Lake Village, wedged next to Menchie’s and Modo Yoga. If the sweet aroma of berry and Brazilian coffee beans isn’t enough for you, these açaí bowls will be.
Kitanda is a family-owned company since 1998, with locations in Kirkland, Redmond and Green Lake. Its cafe offers a wide variety of quality, Brazilian foods, all of which are family recipes. These include naturally gluten-free cheese bread, gourmet coffee drinks, desserts, pastries and of course, açaí smoothies and bowls.
The açaí is an energy-packed, all natural, organic super fruit packed with antioxidants, fiber and heart-healthy fats. So what’s an açaí bowl? It’s a thick smoothie blended with frozen mashed açaí berry with guaraná syrup (another Amazonian berry) in a bowl, commonly topped with granola and other mixes, such as fruits. These bowls are recommended for breakfast, lunch or pre/post-workout meals.
Not only do these bowls look beautiful, they taste delicious. We went ahead and did the hard work, and tried each of the five bowls for you.
- Traditional Bowl (Açaí, banana, topped with granola and banana): Delicious, good for beginners who want to warm up to açaí. Not sure if you like the berry? This is your bowl.
- Energy Blast Bowl (Açaí, strawberry, banana, peanuts, topped with strawberry, banana, granola, and honey): My absolute favorite and pictured above. The combination – fresh strawberries, salty peanuts, tart açaí and sweet honey – is perfection.
- Super Hero Bowl (Açaí, banana, spinach, 10g vanilla protein, and soy milk, topped with granola): I’ll admit, not my favorite. The vanilla protein and soy milk was a nice punch, but the raw, crunchy spinach threw me off. I love spinach as much as the next Popeye, but I would have preferred it blended.
- Tropical Bowl (Açaí, banana, coconut water, topped with dried pineapple, dried mango and granola): The most flavorful of the bunch, the tropical twist is delicious with the açaí. Also, had me at pineapple.
- Festa Bowl (Açaí, banana topped with chocolate sprinkles, shredded coconut, banana, granola, and condensed milk drizzle): Funky and fun, definitely for those of us with a sweet-tooth. The best way I can describe this is a fancy (and healthy) adult version of a bowl of cereal. In fact, your kids will probably love this too.
Kitanda Espresso & Açaí is located at 428 NE 71st St., Seattle, Wash, 98115, open Monday-Saturday 7am-8pm and Sundays 8am-7pm. For more information on Kitanda, visit www.Kitanda.com.
