{"id":587,"date":"2012-02-29T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oyatsubreak.com\/?p=587"},"modified":"2012-02-27T01:33:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-27T06:33:32","slug":"587","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oyatsubreak.com\/?p=587","title":{"rendered":"Review: Kirin Chu-Hi Grapefruit STRONG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Review: Kirin Chu-Hi Grapefruit STRONG<\/strong>
\n Purchased: February 2012<\/strong>
\n Review: February 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you arrive at Narita airport, you\u2019re actually about two hours away from actually being IN Tokyo, and that\u2019s if everything goes according to plan. Going through somewhat scary customs, claiming your baggage, having it searched, navigating the airport and your transportation into the city, it all takes like 30 minutes to an hour. When you\u2019re finally on the train you know you\u2019re 60 minutes away from the lights and sounds and everything you love about Tokyo. And then a woman pushes a cart down the aisle of the train and she\u2019s got beer and sandwiches and Chu-Hi. And you buy a Chu-Hi from her, and a fried pork and mayonnaise sandwich. And you watch farmer\u2019s fields and pachinko parolours whizz by out the window and you drink your drink and you eat your sandwich, and you know you\u2019re in Japan.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned in yesterday\u2019s review of the Strong Lemon Chu-Hi, grapefruit isn\u2019t really my favourite flavour of Chu-Hi, mostly because I experience it as \u201cah, jeez, this isn\u2019t lemon at all\u201d because I can\u2019t read Japanese and sometimes citrus fruit illustrations on the can are confusing. But on its own merits grapefruit isn\u2019t a bad flavour, I guess, or maybe I\u2019m just getting older. ;)<\/p>\n

And as mentioned yesterday, thanks to my friend Becca for hooking these up.<\/p>\n

Packaging:<\/strong> Virtually identical to the Lemon Chu-Hi can, but the interior of the fruit is pink instead of yellow. I still really like that diamond\/triangle can pattern.<\/p>\n

Smell:<\/strong> Smells like GRAPEFRUIT. WOW. Much more fragrant than the Lemon Chu-Hi.\u00a0 Andrew thinks it smells like fake grapefruit. I think it has a really lovely smell, very appetizing. Doesn\u2019t smell boozy at all, surprisingly, but it does smell really intense in the can and I think a big part of that is can. While the absolute experience of drinking a chu-hi is straight out of the can, usually on the street in between where you bought it and where you\u2019re going, I gotta say it smells a lot nicer in a glass.<\/p>\n

Taste:<\/strong> That goes extra for the taste. Andrew says it tastes artificially sweet, too aspartamey. I never thought that previously but I can sort of taste it once you get it away from the can. It does taste very strong though, unsurprisingly given the cheap shochu used to produce these beverages.<\/p>\n

As compared to the Lemon Chu-Hi, it does have a more artificial taste, but it\u2019s actually less aggressive\u2026 just more grapefruit<\/em>. So your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n

Verdict: <\/strong>This is great! I mean, yeah, I prefer Lemon (while surprisingly Andrew has become more a fan of grapefruit as the years have gone by), but there\u2019s certainly something to be said for the fruity, fragrant, burning flavour of this beverage. It\u2019s a staple of all of my visits to Japan, and I highly\u2026 I mean STRONGly\u2026 recommend it.<\/p>\n

Thanks Becca!<\/p>\n

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