From Fizzy Yuzu to Milky Tea, These Japanese Drinks Are Full of Surprises

This past October, I hit a milestone birthday approximately 6,218 miles from where I had planned to be: wandering the streets of Tokyo on a full-blown ramen-yakitori-takoyaki bender.

大流行可能取消这些计划,但我的wanderlust for Japan remains intact. One of my favorite travel activities is surveying convenience stores to figure out the flavors and textures different cultures value most, and I have long dreamed about eating and drinking my way through Japan's many greatkonbini, or convenience stores. Some time ago, I started keeping a list of Japanese beverages I wanted to try on said trip, but I soon realized there was no reason I couldn't tackle this list from home.

I set about scouring the refrigerator cases of local Asian grocery stores, as well as online importers and retailers likeYummy Bazaar. After a lifetime of consuming beverages flavored with high-fructose corn syrup, generic citrus, and whatever flavor Mountain Dew is supposed to be (green?), I was floored by the intensely fruity, creamy varieties before me.

Among them were a bottle of milky lychee Calpico, shockingly refreshing despite having no carbonation; round, chubby bottles of Tomomasu sodas in flavors like white peach, watermelon, and muskmelon; the aluminum bottle of Mango Creamy Soda by UCC that delivered on the promise of its name; a bottle of pineapple Ramune, where the drop of a marble located in the cap triggers an eruption of bubbles; and minimalist bottles ofKimino soda, puckering with yuzu, plus its gentler cousins, sparkling water flavored with ume or ringo, a Japanese apple variety.

Japan also appears to have no fear of canning dairy, an attitude I wish America would adopt. There's something so satisfying about cracking open a can of bright pink strawberry milk or aRoyal Milk Tea. Suntory, one of Japan's greatest beverage companies, introduced canned Japanese coffee to the American market in 2019, and I was charmed by the velvety Boss Cold Café Au Lait, flash-brewed directly over ice.

仍有许多饮料,我想试试aren't yet available stateside. So until I can travel to them, I'll be flooding my brain with serotonin and sugar thanks to a fridge full of Calpico, yuzu soda, and all the canned coffee I can handle.

It might be from a can, but it hits all the notes of great milk tea: smooth, not too sweet, slight tannic aftertaste.

Sangaria Royal Milk Tea, $18 for 6 atamazon.com

This sweet-but-tart drink gets its pucker from yuzu, a Japanese citrus.

Kimino Drinks Yuzu Sparkling Juice, $24 for 6 atus.kimino.com

It has all the sweetness of a bowl of freshly cut ripe melon, balanced by strong carbonation.

Tomomasu Muskmelon Soda, $2 atyamibuy.com