Cool Yourself With Refreshing Japanese Beverages This Summer!

Summer is here! Visits to the beach, barbeques and cool beverages become an integral part of our every day. Let's check out some of the unique Japanese drinks that help us refresh, making our summers more enjoyable.

Ramune

Looking for something cool to drink on a hot day? Try the refreshing, fizzy, and fun Ramune soda! This beverage is very popular in Japan, where it comes in a variety of unusual flavors, including wasabi, kimchi, bubble gum (!?), and curry (!!).

Ramune soda is one of the most popular brands of carbonated beverages in Japan, famous around the world for its assortment of fruit flavors and unique glass bottle design.

If you are new to Ramune, you might have trouble opening the bottle; it comes sealed with a fun marble that acts as a stopper. Push the marble inside and you can drink it! Sure worth a try for its fresh taste as well as for the fun of opening it.

Chilled Beer

The Japanese love their beer every season, but a chilled beer on a summer evening after work is refreshing and exciting finish to the day. Many vending machines have chilled beer for those who'd like to enjoy it on the go.

Beer Gardens are a popular summer time favorite of families, workers and everyone else. They serve chilled beer from Japan, Germany and from all over the world. There are many options to choose from. Don't forget that beer is best paired with hot sizzling barbeque! This is the simple yet easy and refreshing choice for everyone as it is available everywhere in Japan.

Mugicha

This is a type of tea made with roasted barley and is a very popular summertime drink in Japan. It is usually drunk iced and without sugar. What's more, this drink is healthy too! The flavor is strong and reminiscent of black tea though it contains no caffeine.

The other benefits of Mugicha are that it cools down your body, it's suitable for proper hydration, protects your stomach, prevents cavities, improves blood circulation and lowers blood pressure. Easily available in supermarkets and at vending machines, mugicha is a popular cold beverage to sip during the summer.

Cold Brewed Green Tea

Green tea is a staple drink everywhere in Japan. You can have it hot or cold, but as summers in Japan can get pretty humid, cold brewed green tea can be a very welcome refreshment. You can buy bottled tea from the supermarket or vending machines, or make your own tea at home and enjoy it on the go.

It's really easy to make! Look for the type of tea that can be prepared as "mizudashi", which means "cold brewing" in Japanese and is an easy way to brew your tea without heating the water at all.

1.First, measure the volume of water that your jar can hold, so that you can calculate how many cups of tea it can serve.

2. Use the same amount of loose leaf required normally for making tea. But if you want a stronger taste, feel free to add more tea leaves.

3. Add the tea leaves to the jar and fill it up with water. Now all you need to do is place the jar in the refrigerator and leave it for 8 hours or overnight.

4. Finally, discard the tea leaves. You can now enjoy your iced tea, and it can last for about a month if you keep it refrigerated.

Do It Yourself - Japanese Sangria

Perfect in the summer, Sangria can be stored in the refrigerator and served anytime. The more it is stored, the more flavorful it becomes. Sangria is one of the special beverages made with fruits infused in traditional Japanese sake. This simple drink is just ideal to enjoy during a day at the beach.

Ingredients:

1. Japanese sake (any brand)

2. Fruit: strawberries, blueberries, oranges, peaches, apples (any two types of fruit or all of these can be used)

How to make:

1. Add strawberries, blueberries and sake into a pitcher.

2. Let the berries and sake mixture sit in the refrigerator for at least one day. The alcohol will take on the pigment of the berries and turn into the color of cherry blossoms. This Japanese sangria is perfectly sweet and is a good option for those who aren’t used to drinking alcoholic beverages.

3. You can also make another type of sangria with oranges, peaches and apples cut into bite size pieces and mixed with sake. As with the berrie version above, keep it in the refrigerator for a day.

Japanese sangria is just so easy to make, it is the perfect drink to sip on after a day of work. You can even add pineapples and oranges for a pleasantly sweet and sour taste, or any other type of fruit for that matter. Give it a try! We’re sure you’ll love it.