Acai Bowls – A Complete Guide to Consistency and Texture

If you’re an avid acai consumer like us, you’re probably seeking out and ordering a lot of acai bowls at cafes and restaurants everywhere you go. Every time we try somewhere new, we’re never sure what ‘condition’ the bowl will be in when it’s presented. Even if you’re not going to a lot of different places, the first time ordering a bowl from a new place can be a little daunting if you’re used to making them how we like them.

“Will it be soupy or sorbet-like?”.

“Will it be creamy or littered with ice chunks?”.

“Will it have mostly acai in the base or overridden with frozen filler fruits?”.

These are all questions that run through our minds as we anxiously wait for our acai bowls to be made. So whether you’re in the food industry or just want to know the best way to make amazing acai bowls at home, this is our memoir to you.

There are a few key elements we’ll need cover straight away. To ensure best results, you’ll want to have the following items on hand:

1. Vitamix Blender with manual Tamper
This may be an investment initially, but this machine is absolutely necessary for achieving the best consistency and texture. We’ll explain more on why, below.

2. Tambor Acai
Because our acai is of the highest grade available on the market, every frozen pack is full of the best acai you can get, without odd soy fillers or added ingredients that would effect it’s naturally smooth texture. Acai powder just won’t do the trick here either, you’ve go to get your hands on our premium organic frozen acai purees.

3. Frozen Bananas
We’re big believers in the significant benefit of having frozen bananas vs. fresh bananas in our acai bowl blends and smoothies. We’ve blogged about it here, and here

Now we’ll get into our step-by-step guide and walk you through the dos and don’ts of making acai bowls.

Step 1. Ingredients

For one serving, start with 2-3 Tambor Acai packs. Rinse the frozen packs under warm water for about 3-5 seconds to then easily slice and empty them out into your Vitamix Blender. Toss in your frozen banana pieces, about 1/2 full size banana, or 1 whole small banana. Splash in a minimal amount of liquid; about 1-2 Tablespoons. The type of liquid is your preference, though we like utilizing non-dairy milks like coconut or almond, and we sometimes even use cool water. We like our blends creamy, not icey, so you won’t find us adding any ice cubes to our acai bowls.

Step 2. Blending

Once all of your ingredients are in, place the top on your Vitamix and put the manual tamper through the hole at the top of the lid. Start with the mode on ‘Variable’ at a low speed of 2-3. While holding the blender steady with one hand, utilize the manual tamper in the other in an up and down motion to mash all of the ingredients toward the bottom of the blender. This will help all the ingredients catch on the blades. To us, having the tamper is where Vitamix really sets itself apart from other blenders. Gradually increase the speed of the blender as the ingredients begin to breakdown. Continue to utilize the tamper to mash down all sides, corners, and center areas of the blender until you’ve reached the highest speed of 10. If you don’t have a Vitamix, you will have to pause blending periodically to spatula the ingredients off the sides of the blender towards the middle. You may also need to add more liquid if your blender isn’t as powerful, though this will ‘soften’ and change the consistency of your acai blend significantly.

Step 3. Check It Out
Opening the lid to the blender, take a look at the blend and the tamper. Does your blend look smooth and creamy? Have you eliminated all solid chunks of acai and fruit? If so, you’re all set to spoon out your blend into your bowl to be topped with coconut shreds, granola, fresh fruit, and all your favorite acai bowl toppings. If your blend looks a little textured, you may want to give it 5 – 10 seconds on the ‘High’ speed mode, and again utilizing the tamper to ensure all parts of the blend have reached the blades.

We hope this acai bowl guide helps you achieve the best blends ever! We’re happy to answer any questions about this blog story or our acai, so feel free to shoot us an email at info@tamboracai.com.