Joy Through Juice

JoyThrough Juice

Written by Janea WilsonDesigned by Emma Ruck Designed by Emma Ruck

4 Suns Fresh Juice gives health a different standard

Upon first glance, 4 Suns Fresh Juice might look like just another restaurant in a strip mall. But after stopping in, I left with an experience and juices that were unforgettable.

The juice bar on Main St. has a welcoming atmosphere with colorful artwork and murals on the walls, incense burning and smiling workers. I’ve been a long-time fan of smoothies and fresh-pressed juices, so I was excited when I found out about 4 Suns. That excitement only grew more when I learned it was Blackowned and located close to my house. 4 Suns has an extensive menu stacked with juices, teas, smoothies and smoothie bowls for all taste buds — for those who like leafy green juices and all things sweet. The shop also sells supplements, greetings cards and other merchandise which help add to the experience.

The show-stopper of my trip to 4 Suns was certainly their Sunset juice which has pineapple, red bell pepper, apple, ginger, turmeric and black peppercorn. Although I was hesitant to try this because of the turmeric and black pepper, I loved this juice so much. It was juice so much. It was the perfect comthe perfect comhit. The smoothie bowl had a perfect level of thickness and didn’t instantly melt like other bowls I’ve had. I would love to know how they did it, but I guess that would take the allure away from my experience if I knew how to do it myself.

My favorite smoothie was Mel’s Jazz which was

It can be hard to learn about healthy foods — but not at 4 Suns where the employees were eager to talk about the menu’s to talk about the menu’s obscure ingredients.

bination of sweet and spicy that only got better with each sip. It makes sense for this to be their most popular juice since it’s like nothing I’ve ever had before. I spent the rest of the day raving about this drink to every person I encountered.

I also tried the Berry Bowl which is a blueberry and raspberry based smoothie topped with strawberries, granola and sliced almonds. Just like the Sunset, this was a filled with with pineapple, mango, mango, banana, coconut water, flaxseed and cinnamon. Like everything else I tried, this was delicious and transported me to a tropical island. I’ve found smoothies with similar ingredients as this one, but the cinnamon — a surprising and unusual touch — set this over the top. It mellowed out the sweetness of the fruits and brought a kick of spice to the drink.

While the drinks at 4 Suns are amazing, the engagement from the shop’s workers set experience off the chart. Oftentimes, there’s a stigma around healthy foods and that rich, white people are the ones these products were really made for. It can be hard to learn about healthy foods because much of the information is gatekept — but not at 4 Suns where the employees were eager to talk about the menu’s obscure ingredients like date water, sea moss and bee pollen.

Understanding health foods can be hard, so I recommend paying a 4 Suns a visit if you’re looking for an introduction to those options. ◊

Mics, Music, Memories

Real Ones makes a space for itself in the music podcast space

Written by Janea Wilson Designed by Angeli Mittal

In mid-July, he tweeted a quip about how his peers kept asking him when his podcast was coming out. Little did he know that this moment would actually be the genesis of his podcast. People left comments on his tweet that motivated him to make the podcast a reality. ”The opportunity to connect with artists wasn’t there anymore so I thought ‘what can I do to fill this gap?” Moskow said.

Since last summer, Moskow has been releasing episodes of his podcast, Real Ones, as a part of Project Filo, a media collective agency, where he interviews musicians and content creators about their careers. Before this, Moskow did concert coverage for WNUR which is where he honed in on his love for interviewing musical artists.

His first episode premiered last summer with

Chicago rapper Brittney

Carter and since then, he has produced nearly 15 episodes. The podcast has followed various formats including in-person recordings, Zoom calls and Instagram Lives.

Moskow also works closely with Project Filo founder Brandon Washington, who created much of the social media push for Moskow to start a podcast. Washington said he helps Moskow find a variety of guests and make sure the episodes are released on a consis-

tent basis.

While Washington helps facilitate some of the conversations, he credits the podcast’s success to Moskow’s talent.

“Ben is able to get genuine responses from artists. He naturally has that social behavior that’s required to have a podcast,” Washington said. “Even though the podcast is centered around artists, Ben makes each episode different.”

Although the narrative of Real Ones focuses on the show’s guest, there are a couple things Moskow does in each episode. The first is sharing a list of five songs he’s listening to that he thinks viewers would enjoy. The second is spotlighting a community organization that he thinks is doing great things and encourages viewers to donate to it. All of this information is compiled into a Linktree for the show’s listeners to see at any point.

Moskow said he has learned a lot while producing this podcast and has welcomed criticism. Although he has received a lot of great feedback, one of the most impactful moments was when a guest told him he needed better marketing for the show. “

In response, Moskow decided to dive into developing social media accounts and promotional materials for the podcast.

“I’ll take a one minute clip from an episode that’s interesting and make it something for people to post and share,” Moskow said.

This change happened in midMarch, and Moskow cites it as a turning point in the podcast’s success. Since then he said people have started to reach out to Real Ones through social media channels.

Although most of the podcast planning has been virtual, Moskow has had in-person encounters to recruit guests for the show.

Moskow was at a protest in Chicago when he ran into Vashon Jordan Jr., a Chicago photographer who has catalogued protests through thousands of photos. When Moskow asked Jordan if could be on the show, Jordan agreed as a way to promote a book he was releasing on the protests.

“It’s been a lot of putting myself out there and asking people if they want to be on the show,”

Moskow said. “The worst thing they can do is say no.”

Jordan wasn’t the only one who took advantage of being a guest on Real Ones as a way to spread their brand.

Wisconsin musician Unusual Demont was a guest of the show and his manager Kyle-Fratello Hakim thinks the collaboration created traction for both parties. Hakim came into contact with Moskow through Project Filo and worked with Moskow to set up the feature.

“Ben’s really on top of things and he’s a really good host for the podcast so we were in good hands,” Fratello Hakim said. “The way they interacted provided some really interesting and engaging content. It’s a good product.”

Fratello Hakim said he thinks Demont was able to leave this experience with new fans and that Real Ones also gained some fans from featuring Demont.

On the horizon, Moskow hopes to secure a physical space to record episodes, sell merchandise and collaborate with bigger media organizations for interview opportunities. Moskow has several recorded interviews that he is waiting for the summer to release when he has more time to dedicate to Real Ones.

“These past couple of weeks have been crazy and I just feel like a lot of things are synergizing at once. I know there are people listening to this, but it’s still crazy to know people are listening,” Moskow said. ◊

Q&A: Coffee with a side of calm

Amasu turns NU alum’s experiences into an herbal coffee company

Written by Haley Fuller Designed by Angeli Mittal

Before she started coffee company Amasu, Xiao Zhang (Kellogg ‘20) worked with pharmaceutical companies for years but sought a career change in hopes she could make an impact on people’s health. She ended up at Kellogg School of Management, where Amasu started. The products at Amasu combine caffeinated beverages with herbs to promote immunity, digestion and calmness. The Daily sat down with Zhang to learn more about Amasu’s beginnings, her goals and running a start-up during a pandemic.

The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

e Daily: How did Amasu start? Zhang: I actually started the company while I was at Northwestern, then I was selected to be part of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program, which is a pre-accelerator for a lot of Kellogg students. You get funding, you get access to this great network and to really work on your business. rough e Garage, through Wild re, I continued building on the business, and today, we have products that are available on our website. We’re a di-

rect-to-con sumer company and we’re available on some other channels as well. Ultimately, our mission is to help people live a healthier life and a more natural life, and the way we do that is with natural herbal botanicals, like plant-based formulas that are incorporated into things that

people use on a regular basis — in this case, premium specialty co ee.

e Daily: How did you come up with the idea for herbal co ee? Zhang: I was really thinking about where were the gaps that existed in the marketplace, and my knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. ere’s a lot of industry. ere’s a lot of bene ts in pharmaceuticals bene ts in pharmaceuticals and medicine, but I also and medicine, but I also grew up with a lot of herbal grew up with a lot of herbal products. In our household, products. In our household, we used a lot of traditional we used a lot of traditional

Chinese medicine. And so Chinese medicine. And so when I came to Northwestern, when I came to Northwestern, I saw there’s a lot of people I saw there’s a lot of people that may be interested in it, but they may not understand how to incorporate TCM into their life. And so it seemed like I was in a unique position, given my background (and) my own kind of experiences to do that.

The Daily: Does it taste any different than normal coffee? Zhang: Not at all. That was actually a big question for us when we were developing the product. We were thinking through, ‘okay, how do we actually figure out if customers want the taste of herbs or don’t want the taste of herbs? What are we trying to maximize for?’ When we were doing taste test sampling, people really liked the taste of the coffee.

We have different herbal formulas that when paired with the coffee, they do taste slightly different, and so with herbs, it can taste a bit bitter. The digestive formula tastes slightly more bitter than the other formulations, just because of the herbs that are in them, but overall customers like the flavor, and so we’re trying to optimize for a delicious product.

The Daily: What kind of reception has Amasu received so far? Zhang: We’re an early startup. We’re still trying to find scale, trying to grow our customer base and really trying to find our most loyal fans. We’ve had a lot of great feedback from our customers. Our Amazon reviews are really good, we have, like, 4.95 stars on Amazon. Granted, our customer base is smaller, but that’s a great sign that people really like our coffee.

The Daily: What has it been like running the business during the pandemic? Zhang: It hasn’t been bad. It’s given me a space to really find a new rhythm and to work virtually. I think we’ve been able to work with people that maybe we wouldn’t have a chance to if everything had to be done in person. thinking about health and what that means. We’re just trying to help people, provide them products that maybe they haven’t really thought about. Part of the pillars of our company is really around that scientific basis and scientific approach. We’re not just randomly throwing a bunch of herbs that we think makes sense. It is part of traditional Chinese medicine. For example, our immune support, that formula is called Jade Windscreen. It’s been around for like 750 years, and so there’s scientific research behind it, rigor behind it, and our products are certified organic as well. ◊

The Daily: What’s next for Amasu? Zhang: We’re just trying to really make people aware of our mission and what we’re hoping to bring to customers, especially