INDEX
Making an original root beer with ingredients from Okinawa, where I am from.
Takano： Are there any particular points you focus on when making root beer?
Takada：I am from Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, so I try to use herbs that grow in the wilds of Ishigaki Island. I use Okinawan ingredients such as pepper, which is called pipachi in Okinawa, and turmeric. Also, I am the son of a sugarcane farmer, so I use 100% sweetened sugarcane from Ishigaki Island.
Celeina：I see. It is very sweet, but has a clean aftertaste.
Takano: It’s not at all cloying.
Celeina：That’s why I want to drink one more sip. I have never had a root beer like this before.
Takada：It goes really well with junky food, like when you are eating meat.
Takano： Of course it is delicious with a meal, but it is also very satisfying to drink root beer by itself. It’s refreshing and makes me feel refreshed.
Takada：I think it tastes like a chill, relaxing drink.
Celeina：It makes you like root beer.
Takano：I think I’m going to get hooked on this one.
Takada：It’s a niche drink.
Takano：I want to follow social networking sites so that I can meet Mr. Takada.
Celeina：I want to drink more root beer where Takada-san is. I am definitely looking forward to the commercialization of this product. I would like to send you a song here, which was selected by Mr. Takada. Could you tell us why you chose the song?
Takada：This is a root beer song called “Root Beer Rag” written by Billy Joel, a famous singer, and it is from his 1974 album. Root beer has a chemical smell that works like a mouthwash and brings me back to the first sip every time. So it makes the junky stuff taste better.
Celeina: It’s like a mouthwash.
Takada：Billy Joel calls it a mouth-freshener, and he always plays it in between very famous pop songs. It’s a light piano instrumental song. Listen to it.
