Sasaya Coconut Drink

The first weekend of March was as cold, gray and windy as any in early December or late February, complete with snow on the ground that didn't melt (some, anyway). It all represented a touch of the winter that was in short supply this year. Bah, who needs it.

Mostly I was indoors, though I did spend a short time at Mitsuwa, the Japanese grocery store in the northwest suburbs. My single impulse purchase during the visit was a can of Sasaya brand coconut drink, which happened to be discounted. Over the years I haven't had much luck with finding many East Asian canned beverages that I like, except for some of the vending machine offerings in Japan such as Simba Milk Tea (bought warm) and my favorite genki drink, Dekavita C. I haven't ever taken a cotton to any of the grass jelly drinks, for instance.

I put Sasaya in the refrigerator for delayed gratification, but in a few hours Ann found it and wanted to try it right then. So I split the can with her. Turns out that Sasaya is pretty tasty, looking like milk but not as heavy, and sweet with more than a hint of coconut. Small wonder, since the ingredients are water, coconut juice, sugar and "natural flavors." The nutritional value of the drink is low, except for a gram of dietary fiber and a lot of the saturated fat one needs to get through the day.

Sasaya is a product of AGV Products Corp. of Taiwan. Looking into AGV Products Corp., I found that -- according to taiwanexporter.net -- the company also produces [all sic]: "Pickled cucumber, pickled lettuce, fermented oriental [?], pickling melon in sauce, jumbo pickled bamboo shoots, chilisauce, mo-bo tofo, tuna slice, dr. thompson congee:mushroom & chicken flavor, scallop & egg flavor, neo neo pearls, milk peanut soup, neo neo ten huba, red bean with jelly, barley drink, sugar cane asparagus drink, sasaya coconut drink, milk tea, ho-eat bifido yogurt drink."

I have to try me some Neo Neo Ten Huba, I think. But not any Sugar Cane Asparagus Drink.