Courtesy of Charles Harris
Are Shroom Brews and Radiant Lattes (made with collagen, ashwagandha, and vanilla) the next big thing? Around Thanksgiving time, just when you’re beginning to feel run down or overwhelmed with all the cooking and cleaning, Eleven TLC will open at Ponce City Market’s food hall, offering tinctures, “lattes with benefits,” effervescent teas, and vegan soft serve designed with wellness in mind. [Update 1/12/21: After a brief delay, Eleven TLC opened on January 11.] Located across from Batter cookie dough, Eleven TLC will use organic, naturally harvested ingredients, such as bee pollen, ginger, and tumeric.
“These ingredients have been around for thousands of years,” says Hea Won Chun Harris, who co-founded Eleven with her husband, Charles Harris. “As people stopped living off the land, these ingredients became less important. We’re taking these gifts from Mother Nature and putting them back into the beverages we’re making.”
TLC stands for teas, lattes, and caffeine. However, Eleven TLC’s beverages don’t actually include caffeine—although you can add espresso or matcha as a “topper” to most drinks. The Harrises came up with the concept for Eleven after Hea Won’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Her sister, an internist, worked to find alternative therapies to support her mother, and saw benefits.
“This is a lifestyle; it’s something we identify with so much,” Harris says. “What you put in the body effects weight management, how you feel emotionally, how you focus, and so much more.”
Courtesy of Charles Harris
The duo hired mixologists and medical practitioners to design drinks that are both tasty and healthy. They contain ingredients like bee pollen (an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immune booster), collagen (for improved skin and hair, and reduced joint pain), and ashwagandha (for managing depression and anxiety).
Lattes are dairy-free, made with a choice of almond, oat, or macadamia “milk.” They come shaken over ice but can be ordered hot as well. There’s a Shroom Brew with chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, and ashwagandha, and a Pink Drink with berry root, cinnamon, and strawberry.
Courtesy of Charles Harris
The EAs, or Effervescent Adaptogenic teas, are sparkling beverages, but, Harris points out, are not kombucha. The drinks are low in sugar and each was designed to have its own dominant color to indicate its primary benefit, from energy (ginger/orange) to calm (lavender). The Detox tea (yellow/green) is made with cucumber, coconut water, dandelion root, milt thistle, and cilantro. The Focus (deep purple) is made with black tea, blueberries, gotu kola, guarana, and lion’s mane.
For something a bit more familiar, there’s sparkling matcha lemonade on the menu and a strawberry balsamic shrub.
Harris describes the vegan soft serve as “just something extra and fun” to round out the menu. It comes in two flavors: vanilla bean with collagen and matcha.
Courtesy of Charles Harris
