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Pocari Sweat. It’s a strange combination of words. If you’re a Tofu Cute veteran, then you already know that it’s an ‘Ion Resupply’ drink from Asia, and that I’m a big fan.
As a parting gift from my previous role at Tofu Cute, I was given a crate of 30 cans of Pocari Sweat. It was a kind gesture, but also one that ensured that choosing my lunchtime beverage would be a lot easier. For the next 30 days, I drank a Pocari Sweat, every day. If you for some reason want to know what that’s like - here’s my document of that Journey.
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You’d think you might get sick of Pocari Sweat after 7 consecutive days, but I’m happy to report that the taste really holds up after a week, so to speak. On days 1 and 2 of this Pocari marathon, I was moving house, so the exhausting 15+ hour days of moving furniture, vacuum packing plush and travelling were made slightly less painful by the relief of this sweet, refreshing and fairly healthy beverage. It probably goes without saying, but Pocari Sweat is especially nice after a long period of strenuous physical activity.
In addition, I found that placing cans of Pocari Sweat in the freezer for about 10 minutes or less was the best way to reach the desired temperature. Pocari Sweat really does take on a slightly different, lighter quality when it’s Ice Cold, and it got me thinking about the possibilities of creating some sort of Slush Puppy style drink using Pocari Sweat. I made a mental note to try doing that, at some point.
I was still drinking other beverages during this experiment of course - mainly water. But around 5 days in, I realised that Pocari Sweat felt more hydrating to me than anything else I would drink. This may have been a placebo effect. Pocari Sweat is a lot like magic in this regard - it has a very simple flavour, a very simple set of ingredients and somehow manages to feel like more than the sum of its parts. After 7 days of drinking it, it was still a very satisfying, refreshing beverage.
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As much as I’d like for the second week of me drinking Pocari Sweat for an entire month to be the dramatic twist point where I break down and denounce the beverage forever – that fortunately did not happen.
Instead, I found that drinking Pocari Sweat became a rather automatic part of my routine. My brain became hard-wired to respond to the specific chemical formula of Pocari. I was perhaps one step away from addiction due to repetition, and I was okay with it.
What was quite funny about this process was how easy it was at this point. I can’t say I necessarily had any problems drinking Pocari Sweat every day. This in part is owed to its relatively light flavour and density. It’s very much like water with some added joy, and of course, plenty of ions.
The can of Pocari Sweat really gives a false impression of it, I think. The sans-serif font and plain blue colour is really bold, which honestly makes it look like an energy drink or something more sour. When I told a friend that I had drunk a can of Pocari Sweat every day so far this month, they approached me with a question that I hadn’t even considered yet: ‘are you okay?’
The answer was a resounding ‘yes,’ which I followed up with a ‘I’ve never felt more powerful.’ And it was true. Whatever Ion Supplying magic it was doing, it was working. I didn’t suffer any negative effects from drinking Pocari Sweat, and I’m not even being paid by the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company.
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Pocari Sweat fills my dreams.
Literally. I had a dream where I found a secret stash of Pocari Sweat on the moon, and I had to protect it from several creatures that looked like armadillos. You may think me mad, but there was a small morsel of truth in the workings of my unconscious mind, which must have been recalling the time they actually sent Pocari Sweat to the moon. Yes, that’s a thing that actually happened, kind of, as part of their 2014 'lunar dream' project, where they sent the 'dreams of children' written on a capsule resembling some Pocari Sweat to the moon.
Pocari Sweat is such a consistent part of my daily routine at this point that I was able to fairly easily recreate the logo and branding in PhotoShop with relative ease in quite a short amount of time. This is because I see the can every day, and clearly because it’s appearing in my dreams, it’s imprinted itself on the interior walls of my mind.
To the left you can see my attempt at recreating the logo using a variety of different phrases. I don’t know why exactly I did this, but I imagine the next step is full Pocari themed artwork, oil on canvas, or maybe even a poem.
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I never thought I’d say it, but here it is: I might need a break from Pocari Sweat.
This isn't to suggest that my appreciation for the drink has decreased in any way, or even that drinking it for a whole month has made me sick of it. Rather, the main lesson I think we can all take away from this experiment is that things you love are a lot better when they’re a rare treat, rather than something constantly accessible. Although I’ve loved being able to drink Pocari Sweat every day, I’d probably love it more if there was space between each can. The anticipation makes it more worthwhile, you know?
Still, I had a lot of fun. And I’d happily do it again. If you’re wondering if Pocari Sweat is worth a try yourself, then consider this - If I’m willing to drink it for an entire month, it must at least be at least worth a try, right? If you live in the UK, You can get yourself a can from us by clicking here!
If you'd like to find out more about Pocari Sweat, you can visit their Japanese website here, where you can even find out about Pocari Sweat's trip to the moon. I promise I wasn't making that part up.
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Pocari Sweat. It’s a strange combination of words. If you’re a Tofu Cute veteran, then you already know that it’s an ‘Ion Resupply’ drink from Asia, and that I’m a big fan.
As a parting gift from my previous role at Tofu Cute, I was given a crate of 30 cans of Pocari Sweat. It was a kind gesture, but also one that ensured that choosing my lunchtime beverage would be a lot easier. For the next 30 days, I drank a Pocari Sweat, every day. If you for some reason want to know what that’s like - here’s my document of that Journey.
|
|
You’d think you might get sick of Pocari Sweat after 7 consecutive days, but I’m happy to report that the taste really holds up after a week, so to speak. On days 1 and 2 of this Pocari marathon, I was moving house, so the exhausting 15+ hour days of moving furniture, vacuum packing plush and travelling were made slightly less painful by the relief of this sweet, refreshing and fairly healthy beverage. It probably goes without saying, but Pocari Sweat is especially nice after a long period of strenuous physical activity.
In addition, I found that placing cans of Pocari Sweat in the freezer for about 10 minutes or less was the best way to reach the desired temperature. Pocari Sweat really does take on a slightly different, lighter quality when it’s Ice Cold, and it got me thinking about the possibilities of creating some sort of Slush Puppy style drink using Pocari Sweat. I made a mental note to try doing that, at some point.
I was still drinking other beverages during this experiment of course - mainly water. But around 5 days in, I realised that Pocari Sweat felt more hydrating to me than anything else I would drink. This may have been a placebo effect. Pocari Sweat is a lot like magic in this regard - it has a very simple flavour, a very simple set of ingredients and somehow manages to feel like more than the sum of its parts. After 7 days of drinking it, it was still a very satisfying, refreshing beverage.
|
As much as I’d like for the second week of me drinking Pocari Sweat for an entire month to be the dramatic twist point where I break down and denounce the beverage forever – that fortunately did not happen.
Instead, I found that drinking Pocari Sweat became a rather automatic part of my routine. My brain became hard-wired to respond to the specific chemical formula of Pocari. I was perhaps one step away from addiction due to repetition, and I was okay with it.
What was quite funny about this process was how easy it was at this point. I can’t say I necessarily had any problems drinking Pocari Sweat every day. This in part is owed to its relatively light flavour and density. It’s very much like water with some added joy, and of course, plenty of ions.
The can of Pocari Sweat really gives a false impression of it, I think. The sans-serif font and plain blue colour is really bold, which honestly makes it look like an energy drink or something more sour. When I told a friend that I had drunk a can of Pocari Sweat every day so far this month, they approached me with a question that I hadn’t even considered yet: ‘are you okay?’
The answer was a resounding ‘yes,’ which I followed up with a ‘I’ve never felt more powerful.’ And it was true. Whatever Ion Supplying magic it was doing, it was working. I didn’t suffer any negative effects from drinking Pocari Sweat, and I’m not even being paid by the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company.
|
|
|
Pocari Sweat fills my dreams.
Literally. I had a dream where I found a secret stash of Pocari Sweat on the moon, and I had to protect it from several creatures that looked like armadillos. You may think me mad, but there was a small morsel of truth in the workings of my unconscious mind, which must have been recalling the time they actually sent Pocari Sweat to the moon. Yes, that’s a thing that actually happened, kind of, as part of their 2014 'lunar dream' project, where they sent the 'dreams of children' written on a capsule resembling some Pocari Sweat to the moon.
Pocari Sweat is such a consistent part of my daily routine at this point that I was able to fairly easily recreate the logo and branding in PhotoShop with relative ease in quite a short amount of time. This is because I see the can every day, and clearly because it’s appearing in my dreams, it’s imprinted itself on the interior walls of my mind.
To the left you can see my attempt at recreating the logo using a variety of different phrases. I don’t know why exactly I did this, but I imagine the next step is full Pocari themed artwork, oil on canvas, or maybe even a poem.
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I never thought I’d say it, but here it is: I might need a break from Pocari Sweat.
This isn't to suggest that my appreciation for the drink has decreased in any way, or even that drinking it for a whole month has made me sick of it. Rather, the main lesson I think we can all take away from this experiment is that things you love are a lot better when they’re a rare treat, rather than something constantly accessible. Although I’ve loved being able to drink Pocari Sweat every day, I’d probably love it more if there was space between each can. The anticipation makes it more worthwhile, you know?
Still, I had a lot of fun. And I’d happily do it again. If you’re wondering if Pocari Sweat is worth a try yourself, then consider this - If I’m willing to drink it for an entire month, it must at least be at least worth a try, right? If you live in the UK, You can get yourself a can from us by clicking here!
If you'd like to find out more about Pocari Sweat, you can visit their Japanese website here, where you can even find out about Pocari Sweat's trip to the moon. I promise I wasn't making that part up.
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