I plan to post an entry here devoted to the wonders of Japanese beverage vending machines, but first I need to comment on just one particular beverage: Bikkle.
Someone I know told me about Bikkle. It was either Dan or Gregory, I think. (Any guesses, guys?) I have to admit that I mostly forgot what I was told about it, but the name stuck with me. I spotted some in a vending machine for the first time today and of course had to try it as a matter of sampling the local cuisine.
I think this one gets filed under “acquired taste”. Tracie was so amused by my reactions that she grabbed the camera:
You’ll notice that the color and viscosity do not shout out “drink me!” to the American palate. That’s not inappropriate considering the flavor. Frankly, I was at a near-total loss when I tried to describe it to Tracie. It smells pretty good–rather like caramel. Its flavor is almost beyond description, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. It’s not very strong. It has maybe a faint hint of lemon. It’s sweet and sort of milky. I haven’t a clue whether it’s supposed to taste like something specific. I found the Bikkle corporate webpage but it’s all in Japanese and I doubt the Babelfish translator could do anything with the image-based text.
So, if any dear readers out there can shed any light on the mysteries of Bikkle, post a comment here (or, if you don’t want to hassle with the anti-spam registration process, email me directly and I’ll post a follow-up entry).
I’ll confess that I did not finish the bottle.