My husband caught these bottles of Jasmine tea in a vending machine. He couldn't help but make a certain connection between the English name and sexual preference. These are part of a series of very nice tea made by Kirin. The milk tea in this series is excellent, but like many bottled drinks in Japan is full of sugar and quite sweet.
Note that the price on these bottles of tea is 150 yen, which is a usual vending machine or convenience store price for 500 ml. (about 16 oz.) bottles. I rarely pay this price though since most supermarkets offer drinks at a discount relative to vending machines and "conbini".
My local Japanese grocery just started carrying Kirin's "Asian Straight," and it's delicious, and not too sweet... kind of floral.
ReplyDeleteI've been a huge fan of Kirin's Straight Afternoon Tea since I was in Japan... I had two bottles a day. Unfortunately it's $2.79 a bottle here.
Hi, Dennis, and thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
ReplyDeleteI think the jasmine tea from Japanese beverage makers isn't sweetened most of the time. The milk teas and straight black teas are usually sweetened (though not always). So, I'm not surprised that the Jasmine "Asian Straight" isn't too sweet for you. I've had jasmine tea from bottles on occasion in Japan, and they are usually lovely, but I'm not willing to pay for tea which I can make more cheaply and with less waste at home.
The price you mentioned is really expensive! I guess that they're much pricier because shipping heavy beverages abroad takes some scratch. ;-)
It's expensive, but I do not have a problem paying that price once in a while. One sip of that tea instantly brings back memories of all the good times I had during my two weeks in Japan.
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