Jūrokucha (十六茶) is a blended tea drink produced and distributed by Asahi Soft Drinks in Japan. The drink was originally created and sold by Chanson Cosmetics as a dry blended green tea.[1] Beginning in March 1993, Chanson and Asahi Soft Drinks released Jūrokucha as a joint venture premade beverage.[2] In February 2007, the packaging and flavor was updated.[3]
Description
Jūrokucha literally means "16 teas,"[4] and the drink is a blend of sixteen teas (from leaves, grains, and fruits): Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen, barley, kuromame (black soybeans), brown rice, habucha, mulberry leaves, jiaogulan, kombu, lingzhi, sasa veitchii, persimmon, sesame, mikan peel, eucommia, black rice, and perilla leaves.[5] All of these contain dietary fiber (mostly indigestible dextrin), and the drink is considered a designated health food in Japan.[4] A decaffeinated version is also available.
Promotion
The drink is sold as "Jūrokucha with your meal" to emphasize its healthfulness.[4][6] The drink is promoted as especially helpful to diabetics who wish to control their sugar levels after a meal due to the sugar-suppressing ingredients contained in it.[4] Celebrities who have appeared in commercials for the health drink include Yūki Amami, Satomi Kobayashi, Izumi Inamori, Koji Uehara, Tomoko Tabata, Norika Fujiwara, and Mikako Ichikawa.
Impact
Due to the popularity of Jūrokucha, several other companies have released similar products. Kyushu Railway Company released a product called "Nijūyoncha" (literally "twenty-four teas"),[7] Sangaria has a drink called "Nijūitcha" (literally "twenty-one teas"),[8] Coca-Cola distributes a drink called "Sōkenbicha" which has 12 teas combined,[9] and a Korean company distributes a drink blended from 17 teas.[10]
External links
References
- http://chanson.jp/16.htm retrieved 2007-01-17^
- http://softdrinks.org/asd0406a/16cha.htm The Archive of Softdrinks, retrieved 2007-01-17^
- The War Comes to a Boil: Chinese Green Tea Arrives on the Scene Japan Information Network, 2002-05-10, retrieved 2007-01-17^