Activated charcoal seems to be everywhere!
It's gone from being used in water filters, indigestion capsules, and ER overdose medications to DIY teeth whitening tinctures, face masks, and lemonades.
Well, now you can add charcoal lattes to the mix!
Over the past few weeks, my Instagram feed has been populated with photos like the one above and the one below:
(Screenshot of Loit Cafe IG)
Intrigued by the black liquid, I decided I had to try it for myself and see what all the fuss was about.
So, I drove to DTLA to check it out.
Loit Cafe
301 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite CDE, Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 372-5102
map
The place is spacious and computer friendly with free wifi and multiple table outlets.
They offer food and drinks.
Sorry, there was no way around the reflection and this is the best shot I could get
I decided to try one item from every category: sweet, savory, and of course the charcoal latte.
Sweet
I am obsessed with passion fruit desserts!
When I was in Australia it was everywhere-and trust me I ate it anywhere I could-but in Los Angeles, it is, unfortunately, more of a rarity.
So when I saw the Exotic on display, I knew I had found my sweet.
This is a pistachio sponge, mango, banana, passion fruit insert with Caribbean cocktail (pineapple, coconut, lemon, and passion fruit) mousse.
It offers the perfect balance between sweet and tart, which is one of my favorite flavor combinations.
I will definitely come back to Loit for this.
Savory
You can’t go wrong with a quiche!
I am used to Quiche Florentine (spinach) or Quiche Lorraine (ham and cheese), but I’ve never seen one like this Quiche Agean
It has roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, feta, mozzarella, and parsley.
It reminded me of a Mediterranean salad. Very flavorful and very filling. Even though I loved it, I couldn’t finish it; so, I took half home for my mom to try.
Charcoal
I am a cold brewed coffee addict turned tea aficionado
I used to be an avid coffee drinker.
My favorite style was cold brewed because it was less bitter and jam packed with caffeine. Unfortunately, my tolerance became so high, I could drink half of a large bottle of Chameleon and pass out.
I had too many caffeine receptors and I knew the amount of coffee I was ingesting was way too high; so, I cut myself off and now I only drink tea.
Given this, my options were simplified from any charcoal drink to a charcoal tea drink.
After discussing possible options with the barista, I settled on the Black Matcha
This is made with charcoal, matcha powder, and your choice of milk.
It was delicious! Earthy from the matcha, creamy from the milk, and surprisingly a tad sweet!
Charcoal must not have a flavor, because if this were a blind taste test, I wouldn't know it wasn't a traditional matcha latte, apart from the black/grey coloring.
So what do I think?
Would I recommend Loit Cafe? Absolutely
Will I be back? Most definitely
But is charcoal a fad or is their truth behind it?
The science
Activated charcoal can aid in detoxifying.
In a water filter, the charcoal adsorbs elements that pass through it, thereby making it more pure for consumption.
Similarly, in a medical setting, it is given to overdose/toxic patients to adsorb the substance they ingested, thereby preventing absorption by the GI tract.
But can it be used in smaller doses added to food/drinks for detoxification of the whole body?
Although I would love for this to be true, and contradictory to people like Gwyneth Paltrow who put their stamp of approval claiming it’s the best juice cleanse, In my opinion, I do not believe there is enough evidence out there to say YES.
In fact, this article claims that:
Activated charcoal doesn’t discriminate between the healthful chemical components of food, and any unwanted chemicals in the digestive system. Activated charcoal appears to bond vitamins like ascorbic acid (vitamin C), niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B6), thiamine (vitamin B1) and biotin, so it has the potential to make food and drinks you consume actually less nutritious, not more.
If this is true, it is unfortunate because I don't see it becoming the popular opinion any time soon.
Regardless of whether others believe it or not, what the article states makes sense to me. Thus, while I will not abstain from tasting something because it has charcoal, I will avoid consuming charcoal drinks with food, so that my GI tract can absorb all the nutrients.
So what's your opinion?
Are you seeing "black"?
Have you hopped on the charcoal bandwagon?
Leave your comments and opinions below.