Colombo’s got a lot of lovely homespun businesses that save on overheads, premises and staff by making all their stuff at home and selling at outlets like the Good Market or shops that encourage local cottage industries.
Started by Cherine Amarasinghe and her husband Karu, Cherine’s Quench caters bottles of delicious icy beverages – iced coffee, naarang juice, and gingerbeer. Using all natural ingredients and bottled daily, the drinks are fresh and don’t contain any additives. They also have that brilliant tang that comes with undiluted, small-scale production.
The iced coffee is very rich and is available either with or without brandy (the bottles sold at outlets right now are all without). It has a great, creamy flavor and strong undertones. The naarang juice is lovely and fresh on a hot afternoon, but unfortunately is a seasonal product so isn’t available during certain months. It was a little sweet for me after the second glass, but is about right for the usual Sri Lankan palate. The gingerbeer is possibly the most popular of the three, with its heady spicy flavor and fresh aftertaste.
The Amarasinghe’s want to keep their operation small so they can preserve their quality and don’t have to worry about hiring additional staff etc. So for now, you can get their drinks at The Cakery, Paan Paan. Delivery will be undertaken only for orders of 10 or more bottles and anything less could be collected from No. 14 Bogala Court, Dickmans Road, Colombo 5. Ginger beer orders will require minimum of 4 days notice.
We’ve heard they do some great catering for functions(like weddings), given a bit of notice and booking!
The big bottles go for Rs. 300 each, and the small bottles at Rs. 180.
