Until I got wise to the ways of the world, I always thought that if juice separated it was time to throw it out.

This meant I thought I was super unlucky when, every time I bought something organic or fresh, it separated 20 minutes into entering my fridge.

Turns out I was just an idiot, because the juice is supposed to separate – that’s how you know it’s fresh.

Let’s take a moment to look at why. The dark part that sinks to the bottom of the bottle is called the sediment, AKA the good stuff. That’s where all the nutrients are (the parts of the fruit or vegetable that aren’t water).

Most fruits and vegetables are comprised largely of water, which means that when you juice these fruits and vegetables, a lot of that nutrient dense water comes out, too.

If left to sit for a while, the water, which is lighter than the vitamins, minerals and all the good stuff, then sinks to the bottom.

Take Sir Fruit‘s juices and smoothies, for example. You’ll notice that they’re always in the refrigerated part of the store, and you’ll also notice that they naturally separate.

That’s because they don’t use stabilisers or any of the other unnecessary, unhealthy, fake stuff which binds juice together.

The only reason that other juice companies include emulsifiers, modified starch, colourants or acacia gum to bind juice is to make it more aesthetically pleasing when you encounter it on the shelf.

It’s basically an Instagram filter that’s used to trick you into thinking the juice looks good, but Sir Fruit would rather provide you with a fresh, nutrient-rich drink than trick you into buying a substandard product.

The same applies to their ice teas. The usual ice tea that you’ll find on the shop shelf is about as close to a home-brewed cup as a Coke – especially when it comes to sugar content.

No thanks, not for me.

Sir Fruit brewed ice tea is made in a similar way to how you’d brew a cuppa at home. Loose leaves are gathered and sealed in a monumental teabag, and then brewed to perfection.

Take their apple and mint ice tea. They’ve imported some actual green tea from China, and then combined it with rooibos from the Western Cape. Finally, they infuse some mint and apple, making it both very tasty and very low in sugar.

Bottom line is, you are what you eat (or drink in this case), so you want to master the tricks that will allow you to become a super shopper or menu scanner who can spot the good from the bad at a glance.

While you’re at it, embrace the separated fruit juices – you’ll thank us in the end.