Kate Barker is quick to acknowledge how “unique” her juice company, Zen Donkey Farms, is. Each purchase of a Zen Donkey raw cold-pressed juice directly benefits her nonprofit, Zen Donkey Experience, which is dedicated to rescuing donkeys and providing donkey facilitated healing. But recently the wellness company has branched out into the sparkling water market. The new product line is not only one of the few local sparkling water brands but also one of the cleanest (ingredient-wise) you’ll find on the market.
Most of the big-name sparkling waters have syrups, preservatives, artificial flavors and are pasteurized. Due to FDA regulations for water products, the big name brands usually have more than 400 ingredients, many of which aren’t required to be listed on the label.
“[Our sparkling waters] include our clean, organic cold-pressed juices which are not pasteurized, so it goes into our tanks raw,” Barker says. “Then we carbonate it with reverse osmosis purified water and put it in a can, so it’s a much cleaner product.”
Zen Donkey Farms’ waters are high in citrus, and that—coupled with carbonation, a natural preservative—means the waters are able to last up to six months in the fridge. They’re refreshing and infused with the likes of lemon, grapefruit and orange vanilla. Barker plans to drop a new line of flavors this summer and suggests drinking the sparkling waters on their own or using them as mixers in mocktails or cocktails.
Find Zen Donkey Farms’ juices and sparkling waters at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market or order them online to be delivered directly to your home (zendonkeyfarms.com).
