The ubiquitous matcha latte is making space on the counter for trendy new health tonics.
Your Instagram feed may soon be taken over by artfully styled images of a pretty pink latte: enter the 'beet-chata' - a drink that tastes as sweet as it looks.
The beet-chata is one of the photogenic drinks on the bar menu at new Lower East Side cafe-cum-spa, Chillhouse. Sensing a gap in the market, entrepreneur Cyndi Ramirez and her restaurateur husband Adam Fulton brought their inimitably cool aesthetic together to solve the need for a missing service: where can one really unwind over a drink, get a decent massage or a good manicure in a beautifully designed, and hip space?
The couple are onto a winner. First, at the bar you select whether you want an upper or a downer. The ‘turn me on’ options include your regular caffeinated classics but also the ‘macatte’ - an energising blend of cacao, maca and ginger. Of course, organic wine and beer are also available. The aforementioned are perfect for sipping on while you and a girlfriend catch up as you’re having your nail art done in the manicure section (all products are non-toxic too, in keeping with the serene vibes.)
If a breather from NYC’s hectic landscape is on the agenda, the alternate side of the bar menu is all about winding down. The aforementioned 'beet-chata' is a concoction of beetroot and horchata (a traditional Latin American milk made from ground nuts or rice and spices). There is an option to add kava if you like - and why not, there’s an hour-long ‘Hangover Cure’ massage special available in the private rooms for under $70.
If drinking your beets doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about the 'Ube-Bey' latte: made with yam, ginger and calming valerian root. Now that a summer climate has finally reared its head in New York, a more tropical-inspired version has also made its debut - the colorful 'Beycation'; a creation involving matcha, turmeric, ube and coconut milk for a real vacation in a cup.
Drink up and get zen: as the sign outside says; “walk-in chills are welcome”.
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