Coiloverkid's daily JDM drink review thread!

[Coiloverkid]

Okay, so I have come across the means to sample just about every major "jdm" drink there is to offer and i'm going to take advantage of it. Every day or so, i'll buy, sample, and review the major players in the japanese drink market. Some will be quirky and some will be downright disgusting but that's why i'm here, to educate you in the art of picking out that tasty beverage with the pretty graphics you can't read.

***MODS please do not delete this, it is NOT downright silly/outrageous like the others that have been locked***

Ok. So to kick things off, Today we'll start with a relatively new product from the crazy guys at Sapporo. It's called "fruitmilk", loosely. here's what it looks like:



At first glance, you notice the happy little fruit on it with bright colors and cartoony characters stating the contents of well, milk and fruit. well, kind of fruit. you see, even though the ingredients SAY water,sugar,milk,orange,pineapple,applejuice, and skim milk; there are ZERO amounts of vitamins A and C, and no calcium or iron. But once you taste it, you wonder how Sapporo made it taste like it's a good amount of fruit. At first it tastes light, orange seems to be the more dominant taste of the bunch. as you continue drinking it, you feel the sensation like you're drinking fruit flavored bubbleyum. while it's tasty and goes down easy and not extremely sweet, I'll have to give it...



3 out of 5 stars. while tasty, it's not for everyone and I cant see it going well with any kind of japanese food.

Join me later this week for more tasty goodness...coming soon: UCC coffee, Calpis water, Melon drink death battle, and the green tea gauntlet!

[SilverGhost]

very nice, sounds tasty. how much does it cost/ where is it available?

[Coiloverkid]

yeah, it's 89 cents plus tax. It's available at any japanese market, like Mitsuwa or Marukai.

[Coiloverkid]

Alright ladies and gentlemen. Today we're taking a look at a timeless classic in Japanese drink culture; by the OG mega huge japanese coffee corporation, UCC. Of course, i'm talking about UCC coffee.



UCC is basically the inventors of canned coffee in Japan. The Japanese have a love of canned coffee, in 1994 it was estimated that 17.2% of all coffee consumed there was in canned form. The market has grown to an estimated 2.4 million kilolitres or 7.2 billion cans (if my sums are correct) and there are a startling 1.9 million vending machines in the country, which act as the primary distribution vehicle for these canned drinks.

On the can, you can see some small writing underneath that states: "UCC: the pioneer maker of canned liquid coffee in Japan. Come on, and enjoy it's original taste". and original it is, I would rather have one of these than a four-pack of starbucks' drinks in the glass bottle. It goes down smooth, and leaves no funky after-taste like starbucks. It also has real milk added so it has a creamy feel like a coffee with just the right amount of cream.

..And then there's the can. this isnt your typical thin american soda-style can, it's REALLY sturdy, and in several attempts to smash it with my hand, i went for the headbutt and gave myself a concussion. It's bombproof!

In conclusion, if you like coffee chilled, this is THE drink to have. It's the best balance of everything about coffee people like. It's reputation alone preceeds it and it shows. I give it...



out of 5! Excellent in every way. Unless youre someone who doesn't like frappacinos/cold coffee drinks, it's great. even if you DONT like these style of drinks, i'm sure you'd get used to it.

[Minivan_Driver]

I never saw UCC coffe when I was in Japan, the only canned coffe I saw was Boss. Anyways the drink i really liked was Calsonic, need to find out if i can get that here. CC lemon was good too.

[SilverGhost]

that coffee sounds awsome... our fav japanese drink of choice is Ramune...we usualy buy it by the case

[AuspeX]

Ramune is the best, if only for the ingenious way it's bottled. I like lychee flavor ^_^

[emission]

haha John, Great thread. I UCC coffee!!!!! A Great picker upper for those long drives at night.

[REVLIMIT]

Seeing this makes me want some CALPIS now O_o That *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* is good

[Coiloverkid]

...Welcome back everyone to another edition of the ongoing adventures in the liquidy land of Drinks from Japan. Today we take a look at a drink that needs no introduction. It's loved, it's hated, It's Coke's enemy in Japan, and it has the WORST name ever given to a softdrink besides "burgershake" (a REAL japanese drink that was discontinued for GOD KNOWS WHY! :lol: )

I give you Pocari sweat.



Every JDM Initial D fanboy/japanese culture whore knows pocari sweat. It has seemed to have created it's own form of status for the owner, whom ever drinks it seems to become more JDM then anyone else at the trackday.

Moving along. at first glance, this drink gets big points for have the MOST amount of English on the front. You can actually read and understand (mostly) what it says!! The bottle reads: POCARI SWEAT ... "is a healthy beverage that smoothly supplies the lost water and electrolytes during persperation. With the appropriate density and electrolytes, close to that of human body fluid, it can be easily absorbed into the body." .. WOW.

The Simple blue and white graphics on the bottle stand out from the circus drinks along the aisle, proving simplicity isnt always overlooked. Lets take a look at the ingredients, as best translated as i could.

- water, sugar, glucose, fructose, citric acid, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium citric acid, lactic calcium, and natural flavor

..Funny they mention it has alot of 1. chlorides and 2. sodium ... yay!

ok, so what about nutritional value? well, none. following in true JDM drink fashion! the only thing on the list that actually has a substantial is ... you guessed it, Sodium. This baby has 50MG of sodium in a 500ml bottle! So I open this bottle and take a look at it. Hm. so plain. i smell it, doesnt really smell like anything. As I bring the bottle to my lips i'm suddenly reminded of an old drink from the US....

As i take the first couple drinks, I begin to wonder...WHO LEFT MY FRESCA OUT AND PUT WATER IN IT AND MADE IT FLAT? cause this is what it tastes like. Watered down fresca that's flat. There's no doubt in my mind, the sodium will catch up with me, and sure enough a few hours later i'm thirsty again. The taste is OK, it leaves a sprite-like aftertaste, leaving you to wish for a small mint of some sort to take the funky coating of JDM off your mouth.

Dont beleive the hype people. Pocari sweat is OK, but some people will find it to be another Gatorade wanna-be...and that it is. Nothing special, and nothing horrible. Just another BLAH "energy" drink with a soulless taste and ho-hum presentation. I give it...



...2 out of 5 stars. This is only for the Hardcore JDM tYte Fanboi who wants to be cool and not bother actually replenishing yourself.

Join me tomorrow where we'll take a peek inside Sapporo's crazy world again and check out the fabled Melon Soda!

[tonesdef]

its all about the calipco water

[driftersil80]

HMMMMM................What ever happened to these reviews? Im in Japan and would like to know what else is good.

[Coiloverkid]

WOW! even I FORGOT about these!! I never read drifting.com OT, since its dead.

[Valkyrie]

The best tasting drink in Japan is still Coca Cola :P

[WeirdOddity]

QUOTE]The best tasting drink in Japan is still Coca Cola :P[/quote]
IT'S PEPSI! PEPSI PEPSI - NOT COKE!

...ok..got that out of my system. I like coca-cola again.