Letters: About that 'Surging Eel' ...

• I recently reported on a new Japanese non-alcoholic drink called "Surging Eel." The following inquiry is one of numerous notes I received.

Hello:

Do you know if the Surging Eel drink from Japan is being distributed in the U.S.?

If so, can you tell me how to find some in Atlanta, GA? Thanks.

-- Sandra Taylor

Dear Sandra:

I'm told the drink is for domestic sale only, and probably will be a seasonal offering -- eel-eating season. However, you can always try contacting the manufacturer directly here to see if it is possible to order shipment. Another possibility is to inquire at a local Japanese restaurant which may have supply lines not available to the general public.

Incidentally, another eel-related drink I've come across that us aimed at a Japanese market always looking for a way to beat the summer heat is a black beer called "Suitable for Unagi." It's from the Miyashita Sake Brewery and has been formulated specifically to complement traditional grilled eel and its sticky sauces.

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Mmmm, now that's eel!

If you're planning to be in Japan in time for the eel-eating season, be careful if someone offers you an Unagi Nobori.

That's Japanese for "surging eel," or "sudden spike," depending upon who's doing the translating. It's a drink made by Japan Tobacco Inc. that just went on the market in anticipation of the annual eel season.

The yellow, non-alcoholic drink is being marketed as a nutritional supplement carbonated beverage. It contains extracts from the head and bones of eel and five vitamins -- A, B1, B2, D and E -- contained in the fish. Consumers will be slurping it up on the next traditional eel day, August 5 this year.

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How much caffeine does your drink have?

If you've ever wondered how much caffeine the most popular non-alcoholic beverages contain, here's a listing from the Axxa News site.

Each item is a 12-ounce serving unless otherwise noted, with the caffeine content provided in milligrams.

• Red Bull (8.2 oz), 80
• Jolt, 71.2
• Pepsi One, 55.5
• Mountain Dew, 55
• Mountain Dew Code Red, 55
• Diet Mountain Dew, 55
• Kick Citrus, 54
• Mellow Yellow, 52.8
• Surge, 51
• Tab, 46.8
• Diet Coke, 45.6
• Shasta Cola, 44.4
• Shasta Cherry Cola, 44.4
• Shasta Diet Cola, 44.4
• RC Cola, 43
• Diet RC, 43
• Dr Pepper, 41
• Diet Dr Pepper, 41
• Diet Sunkist Orange, 41
• Mr. Pibb, 40
• Sugar-Free Mr. Pibb, 40
• Red Flash, 40
• Sunkist Orange, 40
• Slim-Fast Cappuccino Delight Shake, 40
• Ruby Red, 39
• Storm, 38
• Big Red, 38
• Pepsi-Cola, 37.5
• Pepsi Twist, 37.5
• Diet Pepsi Jazz, 37.5
• Diet Pepsi, 36
• Wild Cherry Pepsi, 36
• Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, 36
• Diet Pepsi Twist, 36
• Aspen, 36
• Coca-Cola Classic, 34
• Cherry Coke, 34
• Lemon Coke, 34
• Vanilla Coke, 34
• Diet Cherry Coke, 34
• Snapple Flavored Teas, 31.5
• Snapple Diet Flavored Teas, 31.5
• Canada Dry Cola, 30
• A&W Creme Soda, 29
• Nestea Sweet Iced Tea, 26.5
• Nestea Unsweetened Iced Tea, 26
• Lipton Diet Green Tea with Citrus (16.9 oz) , 23
• Barq’s Root Beer, 23
• A&W Diet Creme Soda, 22
• Slim-Fast Chocolate Flavors, 20
• Lipton Brisk, All Varieties, 9
• Canada Dry Diet Cola, 1.2
• Diet Rite Cola, 0
• Sprite, 0
• 7-Up, 0
• Mug Root Beer, 0
• Diet Barq’s Root Beer, 0
• Sundrop Orange, 0
• Minute Maid Orange, 0
• A&W Root Beer, 0
• Slice, 0
• Sierra Mist, 0
• Fresca, 0

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How bottled water hypnotized us all

That's the title of the story on the snarky, but entertaining and often illuminating, blog Gawker.com.

The posting reports on a new book called "Bottlemania," which digs into the whole craze. The Gawker story begins:

"Bottled water is a bit like smoking: deep down, we all knew there was something wrong with it from day one.

"Environmentalism has been a widespread subject in our public consciousness for more than 30 years now. Did anyone really believe that getting our water out of 16-ounce plastic bottles would be an efficient long-term solution for humanity?

"Despite that, the bottled water industry has done an admirable job using sly marketing magic to make us all feel like chemical-ridden cheapskates for drinking out of the tap."

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Go here for the whole Gawker.com story, and here for various pertinent links on drinking water.

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Shrinking Starbucks adds protein drink

Starbucks may be in the process of shuttering 600 of its many, many stores, but it's not cutting back on what it is offering at the remaining places.

Today, the coffee purveyor unveiled a new line of made-to-order protein shakes called Vivanno.

The drinks come in such flavors as orange mango banana and banana chocolate, and are made with the same equipment used for Starbucks' trademark Frappuccino coffee drinks.

Vivannos include such ingredients as whey protein and fiber powder, as well as fresh bananas. Customers can customize the drinks with the addition of a shot of espresso or green tea powder. Price: between $3.75 and $3.95.

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A true designer water

It wasn't that many years ago that the smartest of the vodka makers realized they had to do something more than distill a good product to stand out in the marketplace. At least enough to grab the attention of first-time buyers.

That was the start of a trend in bottle design that has resulted in some brilliant work that deserves its own showing at a major art gallery or museum.

Now the same thought has occurred to at least one bottler of spring water. Aquadeco Premium Spring Water from Canada is packaged in a bottle of Art Deco design (seen here).

The idea was hatched by company founder Arnold Gumowitz, a real estate businessman and art collector with a strong liking of the Art Deco style. He commissioned Flowdesign to create the bottle that would encase water taken from a glacial-created spring. Finally, Steklarna Hrastnick, the Slovenian glassmaking company, came up with the optimal optimal wall thickness combined with the weight of the glass.

The bottle and its contents -- from Muskoka Natural Spring in Gavenhurst, Ontario -- hit a responsive chord with judges at the prestigious Berkeley Springs (WV) International Water Festival, who awarded it gold medals for both “Best Taste” and “Best Bottle Design.”

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Tea for 2 (x 4,000)

Queen Elizabeth II opened her summer entertaining season this week with an intimate tea for 8,000 people at Buckingham Palace.

The crowd was composed of people nominated for attendance as a reward for good works in their respective communities. However, large as this tea party was, it doesn't compare to the world's largest, about which I wrote some time ago.

The story and photos of the queen's affair, such as the scene above, from the Associated Press are available here.

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South America's elixir of life

GNU/FDL photo

That's mate (pronounced mah tay) tea, or yerba mate, the almost mystical South American beverage.

As Johann Fleck writes in The Epoch Times:

"Throughout South America, the indigenous peoples are closely linked by the mate tradition, as evidenced in writings such as 'The Incas' Green Gold,' or by its reverential subtitle, 'Drink of the Gods.'

"According to legend, about 1,000 years ago a god handed the Guarani Indians the plant, with instructions for brewing the leaves into tea. Since then, the drink mate has been an indispensable part of daily life for millions of South Americans.

"In several regions, people drink copious quantities of this beverage any time of day. Field workers drink the brew to ward off heat and exhaustion. People who engage in lengthy, round-table discussions like it for its mentally stimulating properties, claiming it can induce inspiration, while creating a relaxed state."

(You can read the rest of this highly interesting report online here.)

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Cocktails for kids a learning experience

Zac's photo

From The Bolton News (Lancaster, England):

A giant drinks can is travelling the streets of Bolton serving cocktails to young people.

The mobile bar, in the shape of a can, sells non-alcoholic drinks in a bid to stop teenagers getting into trouble.

Zac's Youth Bar, based in Farnworth, is running the vehicle to show young people they can have fun without drinking alcohol.

Stuart Barnes, Zac's director, said: "The whole ethos of Zac's is that there is a credible alternative to alcohol. The cocktails are different and something special, but we also have soft drinks, too. The mobile bar allows us to reach more young people and visit places across the borough."

(You can read the rest of the story here.)

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