If Neitzsche was an ice cream

Three tubs of homemade ice cream. Pic/Ayesha Mehra

I and a friend, Sonali, would talk about starting an ice cream brand when we were younger. I thought of the name when I was in Class 9 but I never told anyone about it," said Ayesha Mehra. The 26-year-old fulfilled her long-held wish when she started Philosophice in 2018. She ordered an ice cream machine to churn some flavours for her friends after college hours, despite no experience in baking or cooking. "[Making] ice cream started as a hobby. I made the coffee brownie flavour and my friends loved it, asking for more. It's now of course, my occupation," says the Altamount Road resident about her artisanal ice cream brand, Philosophice.

Derived from the Greek words, philos and soph, meaning love and wisdom respectively, the name has been the brand's biggest strength. "When I thought about selling the ice cream I was making, the name Philosophice came back to me from my teenage years. The idea was to use the names of philosophers who have inspired us," explains Mehra.

Each tub comes with a card that says a little something about the philosopher or world view that has inspired the flavour's name

She now cleverly links positive thoughts shared by thinkers with the happy feeling we experience when eating good ice cream. There is a card that comes with every tub, carrying a quote by a philosopher and a short description of their world view. For instance, the crushed honeycomb flavour is named after Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist known for his hierarchy of human needs and his belief in the inherent goodness of every person.

Mehra makes fresh tubs (500 ml at R450 approximately) every day at her residence, all free of additives and stabilisers. Coffee brownie, rich German chocolate, and salted caramel are favourites with customers. She also creates seasonal flavours to offer her customers a taste of something new every now and then. Strawberry and cinnamon spiced chocolate were the flavours of the month in December. For the health conscious, she is working on varieties free of refined sugar. Currently, her chocolate honey stevia flavour is a healthy one, named ikaria, after a Greek island known for the longevity of its residents.

Ayesha Mehra

Taste Test

We tried three flavours. The coffee brownie ice cream had a blast of coffee, with a smooth brownie texture that was melt in the mouth. The salted caramel was sweeter than we expected but the rich caramel didn't feel artificial. The chocolate honey stevia flavour was full of chocolaty goodness.

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