You ever find yourself unable to sleep because you suddenly remember Obi-Wan joyfully enjoying a mug of jawa juice in Attack of the Clones? I sure have lost a few hours of sleep over the question of what exactly is jawa juice?
After a few searches on the good old holonet we can rest easy though as jawa juice IS NOT made from jawas. It’s only informally known as jawa juice.
Jawa juice, also known as ardees, is pretty much a mead. It’s a blend of fermented grains and BANTHA HIDES.
This knowledge just gives me even more questions.
What is Dex doing with this alcoholic drink in his diner?
Just how much reveling is being had in Dex’s Diner? A lot more than Dex is letting on it seems. Diners are for quick, cheap bites, and maybe some under the table business transactions, and from the one scene we see in Dex’s place it fits this mold completely. Maybe jawa juice is a cheap drink, it is possible it’d slide on the menu. There aren’t any rules that diners cannot sell alcohol, as long as they have a liquor selling license, so why not?
But FLO, one of the two waitresses at Dex’s, immediately asks Obi-Wan if he wants a jawa juice as he’s coming in. So jawa juice off the bat gives off the vibe that’d it would be something like coffee. You barely take a seat at any diner on Earth and the waitress is ready with the fresh pot of coffee, ready to sling it. But jawa juice isn’t coffee, they already have coffee in the Star Wars universe. And it’s almost totally unchanged from the coffee we have here, referred to simply as caf.
Something of note as well, Dex also enjoys a mug of this jawa juice during his conversation with Obi-Wan. Now, I don’t know what a besalisk requires for nutrition during the day but if it’s anything similar to the average diner patron, a mug of jawa juice is a treat. Dex straight up drinks on the job when Obi-Wan shows up, but it’s ok because he’s the boss. Maybe every now and then a business meeting might require a little more oompfh than a cup of caf.
Are the jawas manufacturing this and selling it?
It’d make sense. The jawas of Tatooine have a steady supply of banthas. Although, it is puzzling how they would round up and kill a bantha. I’m not well versed in jawa bantha hunting techniques, but I’m sure they have a method.
If they are manufacturing it, it just makes sense to name it after yourself! Was it originally called Jawa’s Juice perhaps? With locally sourced banthas and wild grains, fermented to perfection? Anything is possible. And the jawa that came up with this must be rolling in credits by now.
Why does Dex have this diner at all?
Look this is just a question that I ask myself all the time, even more than the jawa juice question. What a classic 50’s diner is doing in the middle of CoCo Town on Coruscant does not make ANY sense. At least the neon lights in the window fit in with the rest of the Coruscant lower level vibes. Also, how does he know Obi-Wan so well? Was this a place Qui-Gon frequented? Oh no, it must have been. This has stick-it-to-the-council-i’m-qui-gon-jinn written all over it.
(Highly recommend listening to the Dex’s diner score during this as well, a classic piece.)
