Natchan なっちゃん

I picked up this bottle of Natchan! at the same time as the Vitamin Water in my previous post.

It too, was only ¥98. The front of the bottle claims that there is Vitamin C and 20% juice. This is the original orange flavour and is a childhood favourite of Yasu's. I kind of feel guilty having it while he is not here!

The side of the bottle states that Florida Oranges were used for the juice contained in Natchan!

There are 39 kilocalories, and 16~60mg of Vitamin C.

I love the bottle for it's cuteness. The smell when I open the lid is kind of a very weak orange scent, but when I take a sip I get the taste of freshly squeezed oranges, some sweetness and kind of tart. The aftertaste is a slight watered down flavour, the majority of the taste of orange is when it is in my mouth. It is not overly sweet either, like some juice can be. I'm not so much a fan of the aftertaste, I've never liked watered down orange juice. I do like the taste of the drink though. It reminds me of sunday morning, drinking freshly squeezed juice with eggs on toast.

This is a great children's drink, and great to revisit as I haven't had it for over 5 years. I am not sure if the taste may have changed since then, but I like it the same as I did then.

If anything, if you don't like the taste, I am sure you will like the bottle, I give it 10 points for cuteness!

Suntory Vitamin Water ビタミンウオーター

I picked this up at Apita this evening for ¥98. It was on special, I am not sure how much it usually costs. I am currently in Japan for 2 months so I have lots of different snacks and beverages to hand, and I intend to make the most of it for my blog while I am here.

I was looking for Volvic actually, but because there wasn't any, I chose this vitamin water because I thought it would be similar to a flavoured water. I wasn't wrong.

On the website, it boasts that there is Vitamin C, B Complex, and Royal Jelly contained in this bottle of water. There is also Lemon juice (the second ingredient on the ingredient list) and it is a major player as far as taste goes.

At first taste it is like a lemon cheesecake taste, strong at first, but then subsides to more of a lemon juice flavour and then becomes weaker, like watered down juice. I like the flavour, and unlike other flavoured water, it doesn't make me feel thirsty.

I drank this at room temperature and it was very refreshing. I don't feel any different, even for all those vitamins it contains, but I really enjoyed the flavour and the taste. I guess if you drink this every day you may show some improvement, I am not really sure.

As a refreshing drink in the middle of a humid, sticky summer, this goes down a treat, and I will definitely be buying it again.

The bottle states this has 20 kilocalories, 200mg of Vitamin C, and 0.3mg of Vitamin b6.

Natchan Fruity Soda Grape

Yasu is a huge fan of the original Orange Natchan! so when I saw this at the Japanese supa I quickly grabbed it as it was the only one left.

Suntory make a huge range of drinks from soda's, to wine, and chuhai, mineral drinks and beer. And their whisky is famous.

This soda, when poured into a glass does not contain much fizz. Even when I shake it up in the bottle, it does not create bubbles.

It has a very dark red colour, almost like a wine. The aroma of the soda is very grape - but more of the fake grape scent as in bubblegum. However, it's a scent that reminds me of my childhood, the candy we used to get for 5 cents each at the local deli.

The flavour is quite strong. A burst of grape flavour in my mouth. However, after it starts to go from the front of my mouth to the back, I notice that it's mellowed out somewhat, almost like weak cordial. The flavour explosion is at the beginning, and the aftertaste is a watered down grape juice.

If I could keep this in my mouth without swallowing, it would be the perfect drink. I like the fact that it's not too fizzy, it's easier to drink. Though I don't like the watered down aftertaste. I wish it stayed fully flavoured throughout. After drinking this, I now have a flavour in my mouth that is reminiscent of chewing bubblegum for a long time and then spitting it out. It's like the taste of the flavour that once was.

Yasu however thought this flavour was excellent. Maybe it was specifically for Japanese taste buds. Who knows.