With warmer days starting to greet the Champaign-Urbana area, it is perfect weather for a cold, sweet treat.
According to the shop’s website, Just Bee Acai is known for being “the first and only authentic acai bowl shop located in central Illinois, right at the heart of the University of Illinois campus.”
While the restaurant has no real seating, the little corner of the Illini Union is aesthetically pleasing and very clean. The convenient location makes it an excellent stop after a nice day of hanging out on the quad.
The Just Bee Acai menu provides pretty affordable prices, offering a good amount of food for the price paid. Customers may choose from premade bowls or a self-serve acai bar, where bowls are weighed at the end of the process to determine cost.
Just Bee Acai offers a large variety of bowls, so it may be hard to commit to just one order. The shop offers a range of treats and caters to various dietary restrictions and allergies.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Many of the bowls include standard ingredients such as fresh fruit, nuts and superfoods. The shop’s bee theme also lends to unique toppings, such as fresh honey and bee pollen.
Of course, each acai bowl is loaded with a crunchy granola. There is also an option to layer your bowl with different toppings such as chia pudding, Blue Majik and overnight oats.
Aside from acai bowls, there is also a choice of loaded toasts. These toasts are served on either sourdough or wheat bread, both locally sourced. Toasts also come with the option to be served sweet or savory.
On my visit, I ordered the Bee Victorious, an acai bowl decorated with fresh strawberries, pineapple, mango and sweet honey. I ordered a 12-ounce, the smallest size, but still thought that the serving was large enough to feel satisfied.
The composition of the bowl was great to see, as its presentation was aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I was especially surprised by the freshness of the colorful fruit. The mango and pineapple were perfectly ripe — a shock, since these fruits are not yet in season.
While eating the acai, the mixture gradually melted, making the texture soft and compatible with the granola. The honey added a perfect texture as well as sweetness to the bowl.
Overall, the Bee Victorious bowl was an extremely enjoyable treat which made me interested in returning to taste the other bowl options — especially those that include the unique addition of bee pollen.
Just Bee Acai is a great place to grab a sweet treat when you are on the go in between classes, or just hanging around campus.
