Kale! Here in Japan, it’s been used as a primary ingredient in the popular aojiru health drink since around 1983. The rest of the world seems to have taken a couple decades to catch on, but you can now find kale all over the place these days.
That said, despite the cocktail word latching onto the farm-to-table movement, we haven’t actually seen kale in many drinks.
It looks like Mitsubishi Shokuhin is out to change this, teaming up with cosmetics and nutrition supplement maker Fancl to make Japan’s first kale chuhai. Ranking in at 4% abv, it’s fairly weak as far as chuhais go, but chances are if you want kale then you don’t want to overdo it on the alcohol.
It contains 2% kale juice–kale grown only in Japan per Fancl’s exacting standards– and 0.3% lemon juice. The lemon is to balance out the bitterness normally associated with kale. That comes out to 6.4g of fiber per can! Look for this one from April 9 at 178 yen before tax.
We all know how difficult it can be to stay healthy yet also enjoy a drink or two, so I expect we’ll see more and more drinks like this trying to bridge the gap.
Hi there! I created and run nomunication.jp. I’ve lived in Tokyo since 2008, and I am a certified Shochu Kikisake-shi/Shochu Sommelier (焼酎唎酒師), Cocktail Professor (カクテル検定１級), and I hold Whisky Kentei Levels 3 and JW (ウイスキー検定３級・JW級). I also sit on the Executive Committees for the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition and Japanese Whisky Day. Click here for more details about me and this site. Kampai!