What Is the View of American Coffee in Japan?

If you are a fan of coffee in a can, you may prefer the coffee available on the Asian market. It is actually much more advanced than the canned coffee available at your local corner store in the US, and they offer a wide variety of brands on the Japanese market. Interestingly enough, there is a brand in Japan called "American Coffee" that depicts all of the clich� American glamour, including a scantily clad woman, a classic car, and 60s lettering on the can. Luckily, the coffee inside of the drink is high quality with a creamy texture, and it also contains a nice balance of sweetness. Regardless of the marketing tactic for this coffee, Japan knows what they are doing when it comes to creating a canned cup of Joe. Canned coffee has been popular in Japan since the 1960s, and it is normally found in vending machines all over the country. This canned coffee market is so prevalent that even commercial soft drink vendors from the US have taken part by coming out with their own popular lines of canned coffee products in Japan.

Packaging:

Canned coffee is very specific to Japan to differentiate it from coffee packaged in canisters or bags. Canned coffee will normally come in hard steel compared to the cheap aluminum that packages American energy drinks. You may see graphics or interesting lettering like the "American Coffee" product.

Nutrition:

Energy giants in the US often contain preservatives and baking soda, but canned coffee in Japan has regular sugar. It contains less preservatives overall, and a regular can may have 120 calories, which is average for a coffee drink. The caffeine buzz from a normal canned coffee drink is minimal and what you would expect from a single cup of Joe.

Taste:

Japanese canned coffee does not have a preservative or syrupy taste, which is different from coffee beverages in the US. Canned Japanese coffee has a deliciously smooth flavor that tastes similar to real cream and sugar instead of the low quality cream and sugar additives used to hide a poor taste in American coffee beverages.

As you can see, Japan takes a much different approach to their coffee production than the American canned coffee drinks. The US has not yet popularized canned coffee with the exception of a few coffee retailers on the market that produce the products. If you haven't had the opportunity to visit Japan yet to try their canned coffee, you may be pleasantly surprised at the difference between the products in Japan and in the United States. It appears that the Japanese put more quality into their coffee beverages on the go, yet you still have to appreciate many of the fine brews made from gourmet coffee beans available at coffee shops all over the United States. Depending upon what you are looking for, the quality may vary from country to country for your cup of Joe.

About The Author Mark Ramos is a coffee geek. For a great selection in all things coffee, espresso machines and the Bunn commercial coffee maker, check out The Coffee Bump.