Jūrokucha

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A bottle of Jūrokucha, with updated packaging
A bottle of Jūrokucha, with updated packaging

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]

Contents

[edit] Description

Jūrokucha literally means "16 teas,"[4] and the drink is a blend of sixteen teas (from leaves, grains, and fruits): Job's Tears, Barley, kuromame, Brown rice, habucha, mulberry leaves, jiaogulan, kombu, lingzhi, sasa veitchii, persimmon, sesame, mikan peel, eucommia, black rice, and shiso 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.

[edit] 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 Yuki Amami, Satomi Kobayashi, Izumi Inamori, Koji Uehara, Tomoko Tabata, Norika Fujiwara, and Mikako Ichikawa.

[edit] 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 produces a drink call "Sōkenbicha" which has 12 teas combined,[9] and a Korean company produces a drink blended from 17 teas.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ (Japanese) シャンソン化粧品 十六茶. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  2. ^ (Japanese) アサヒ「十六茶」. The Archive of Softdrinks. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  3. ^ (English) The War Comes to a Boil: Chinese Green Tea Arrives on the Scene. Japan Information Network (2002-05-10). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  4. ^ a b c d (English) Yamaguchi, Paul (2006-06-16). Japan's Nutraceuticals Today: Functional Foods Nation (2). NPI Center. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  5. ^ (Japanese) 十六茶. Hatena Diary. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  6. ^ (Japanese) アサヒ飲料  十六茶  食事と一緒に十六茶. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  7. ^ (Japanese) 二十四茶. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  8. ^ (Japanese) サンガリア - 商品情報 - おいしい二十一茶. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  9. ^ (Japanese) 爽健美茶. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  10. ^ (Korean) 음료제품. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.

[edit] External links

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