Three sprigs of asparagus and 16 ounces of water won’t set you back six bucks at one Whole Foods store — well, at least not anymore.
Los Angeles magazine’s Marielle Wakim noticed the so-called asparagus water at one of the grocery chain’s locations in Brentwood, Calif. on Tuesday.
She took a photo of clear 16-ounce water bottles with stalks of raw asparagus semi-submerged inside.
“Somewhere in L.A., Whole Foods executive are laughing at all of us,” she wrote in an Instagram caption.
The photo set off a chain reaction of rollicking headlines, ridiculing the high-end eco-minded company and its effort to sell raw vegetable water to its customers for six dollars.
But the benefit to the asparagus water lies in its nutrients, according to a Whole Foods produce department associate contacted by Eater. The liquid absorbs them from the stalks, he said, elaborating customers are supposed to drink it.
The health perk didn’t impress headline writers at Salon, who called the product, “This week’s overpriced yuppie Whole Foods diet trend garbage.”
Spokesperson Liz Burkhart told The Huffington Post the asparagus water was only on shelves “briefly” at the Brentwood store.
She said it “was meant to be water with the essence of vegetables and/or mushrooms, which is typically made over a long period of time soaking in water.”
“It was made incorrectly and has since been removed,” she said.
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