WORKING -- Regina Ramirez

-- Story by Young Chang, photo by xxxx

SHE IS

A juicer to the core

BLENDERS AND BOOSTS

Regina Ramirez is one of those people we watch from behind the counter

-- the juicers who seem almost like machines themselves as they move

swiftly from the sherbet buckets to the juice dispensers to, of course,

the little trays of powdered nutritional boosts.

Ramirez, 26, of Huntington Beach, can make a Jamba Juice smoothie in

under two minutes at the Costa Mesa location where she works. She says

they’re all pretty equal to make, as the Peach Pleasure is no easier or

harder to concoct than the Orange Dream Machine. And after four years of

blending juices, Ramirez is still quick to say she likes her job.

“It’s different everyday, and it’s just really great to be in a food

atmosphere but to not really have to deal with regular restaurant type of

things,” she said. “So it’s more of an interactive thing with the

customers ‘cause they see what we’re doing.”

PASSION FOR FRUITS

Her personal favorite is the Caribbean Passion. Without even thinking

about it, she rattles off its components -- peaches, strawberries,

passion mango juice and orange sherbet. She says they never add any sugar

to the drinks.

Ramirez gets one free meal per shift, and when she says “meal,” she

means a juice.

“Whether I’m working or not, it’s a real easy meal, plus it’s better

than working at a coffee place or going to fast food ‘cause it’s

healthier for you,” she said.

A BREEZE

Ramirez says it’s an easy job. The ingredients for each of the more

than 20 drinks are fairly simple to memorize and the blender isn’t as

heavy as it looks when she has to bang the juice into a cup.

Some prefer theirs extra chunky. Others request a smoothly blended

mix. Whatever the customer’s preference, Ramirez gets to know who likes

which flavors, which boosts, which size. She tries to get familiar faces

to try new drinks, but it’s hard when it comes to die-hard fans of one

flavor.

“A lot of people come in on a regular basis, and I become friends with

the customers too,” she said.