Abdelrahman SarayrehAçai bowls are a sweet snack from Brazil similar to thick smoothies in texture, made out of frozen açai berries. Açai berries are indigenous to the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and are found on the Açaí Palm Tree. The berries taste like an earthy blueberry with notes of dark chocolate. The bowls are typically topped with a wide variety of fruits, granola, and sauces. As a self-proclaimed açai bowl connoisseur, I am more than qualified to tell you where to get the best açai bowls in Edmonton! The following list is in no particular order.
1. Live Bowl’d
Live Bowl’d is a locally owned small business with one-location at the Bountiful Farmer’s Market and a food truck located on the south side of Edmonton. At the shop, I highly recommend getting the High Tide bowl. It has an açaí base topped with gluten-free granola, banana, raspberries, almonds, Nutella, coconut, and honey. The shop uses quality ingredients and the staff are super friendly. Additionally, they use ethically sourced açai from Brazil, which is certified organic and fair trade. It’s worth noting that the portion sizes are a bit smaller than what you can get for the same price at other stores and there’s minimal customization options. Additionally, this shop is relatively hard to take public transportation to and is only open on the weekends.
2. Heal Wellness
Heal Wellness is a Canadian chain from Hamilton, Ontario, with one location in Edmonton and another in Sherwood Park. I highly recommend getting the Nutella Açai which has an açai base, topped with granola, strawberries, banana, coconut, cacao nibs, and Nutella. They often run buy-one-get-one sales on Uber Eats, which is perfect for a student’s budget. Heal Wellness also has a wide range of options and big portion sizes. Additionally, their new location is very close to campus — only a 10-minute walk from the Students’ Union Building (SUB) which is super convenient. The shop is open decently early and relatively late, so it makes for the perfect snack whether you’re going to or from campus. Unfortunately, it is relatively expensive, and I couldn’t find any information about the sustainability or ethics behind how they source their açai. There’s also only minimal customization options.
3. Oakberry Açai
Oakberry Açai is a chain store originally from Brazil, with locations now across the Americas and Europe. At this store, I highly recommend designing your own bowl, as offering fully customizable açai is one of their signature items. With that, you shouldn’t skip the chai pudding, as it is really good. If you can’t make up your mind or simply do not know what to get, don’t fret — they also offer predesigned bowls. Oakberry also offers many sizes, so if you’ve never tried açai before, this is a great store to start with.
The location in Edmonton is super convenient to get to from campus, as it is just down Whyte Ave, and has lots of seating. They also have a wide range of toppings and do not charge for getting extra topping portions. Additionally, Oakberry puts an emphasis on organic food and uses sustainable açai, which is a huge plus. The only real downside is that the açai is served in a cup rather than a bowl. Though convenient for taking it to go, it can make it hard to mix the bowl and get a bite of everything all at once.
4. Tupí Açai
Tupí Açai is a Brazilian-owned local small business with two locations, one in Sherwood Park and another in Calgary. At this store the açai bowls are fully customizable, with six different types of bases and 12 different toppings. So for this store, I would recommend just getting whatever you feel like in the moment or asking the staff to pick for you if you can’t decide. Besides açai, Tupí offers a range of hot food, drinks, and rotating gelatos. They also import premium açai pulp straight from Brazil to guarantee authentic flavour and quality. Sadly, Sherwood Park is quite far away from campus, making this option not that accessible to many.
5. kb&co
kb&co is a women and Indigenous-owned local business. It is a plant-based casual cafe with two locations in Edmonton and one in Sherwood Park. Since açai is not the main focus, kb&co only has one option and offers limited customization to the bowl. The bowl is topped with bananas, strawberries, vanilla macaroon granola, and raw cacao. Though I recommend getting the açai bowl, you should definitely check out their smoothies and sandwiches as well. The multiple locations, use of quality ingredients, and aesthetic stores with a lot of seating are huge pros. They do have rather limited hours, as they are typically only open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Depending on your schedule, it could be rather hard for you to visit them on a weekday.
