The Finnish company Aten Marja Oy – ATEN for short – was founded in 1997 and is based in Hietanen, not far from Mikkeli, producing direct berry juices. There is a small outlet with an attached café right next to the production plant in Hirvensalmi.

Besides the popular juices, you can enjoy a cup of coffee and a piece of traditional local cake, jellies & jams, as well as other local products – if you are in the area, a flying visit is recommended.

All berries used by ATEN are frozen immediately after harvesting to preserve aromas and vitamins. In order to ensure this for the finished juices, the berries used for the direct juices are cold-pressed without any addition of water.

In addition to the red cranberries, which are very popular in Finland, ATEN also processes lingonberries and forest blueberries, which are very common there, into juice. In addition, juices are also produced from sea buckthorn, raspberries and both black and red currants.

All juices are available in two versions – on the one hand the 100% unsweetened direct juice, on the other hand a sweetened version with a fruit content of about 90%. Both variants are ideal for mixing with water. To ensure that the juices remain durable, they must of course also be pasteurised at ATEN.

This is done at a gentle temperature of 84°C during the filling process – so even very heat-sensitive vitamins such as vitamins B1, B5, B6 and C, but also anthocyanins and glucosinolates are preserved in the end product.

I personally liked the sweetened forest blueberry juice best – by adding sugar – which is also a natural flavour enhancer – you could taste the great aroma of these berries even more clearly than with the unsweetened version.

I recommend a mixing ratio of 1-part juice to 4-parts water – so you get a very refreshing mixture for everyday use. Furthermore, the variety “Attes Schmacksaft” has a good reputation – unfortunately this mixture of red currants, raspberries and strawberries was not available when I visited ATEN at the International Green Week – what a pity.

ATEN’s chic web presence is clearly arranged, very informative and whets the appetite for their products.

I would be very happy if ATEN would dare to try the great cloudberries (Moltebeeren) – I think this could be a unique juice – let’s see.