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“Garlic coffee” can be good news to coffee-loving pregnant women as a man in northeastern Japan invented the drink that looks and tastes like coffee but is made up entirely of locally grown garlic.
“My drink is probably the world’s first of its kind,” said 75-year-old Yokitomo Shimotai,who was a coffee shop owner in Aomori Prefecture.“It contains no caffeine so it’s good for those who would like to drink coffee at night or pregnant women.”
Shimotai,who started the drink’s sale in January 2017,said the drink was accidentally made from a cooking mistake about 30 years ago,when he burned a steak and garlic while waiting tables at his shop.
He mashed (捣烂) the burnt garlic with a spoon and mixed it with hot water.When he drank it,he was surprised at its “coffee-like taste” with bitterness.
Shimotai began researching the drink after retirement,aimed at turning it into a product.
After repeating trials and errors on the best way to make it,he created a “coffee” he can be satisfied with about six years ago by using an electric furnace (火炉) to roast the garlic.After cooling it,the garlic is mashed up.
Shimotai took a patent on the method in 2015,and opened a workshop in neighboring Iwate Prefecture.
While his drink has a pleasant smell of roasted garlic,it will not cause bad breath because it is carefully and fully roasted,according to Shimotai.
The drink is now available at two souvenir shops in Aomori Prefecture,or by ordering by telephone.
A packet containing one cup of garlic coffee costs 324 yen ($2.8).Orders can be made with his workshop called Techno Baisen Kobo at 0195(37)1999 in the city of Ninohe,Iwate Prefecture.
1.What makes “garlic coffee” special?
A.It isn’t bitter at all.
B.It is caffeine-free.
C.It doesn’t taste like coffee.
D.It is especially good for night workers.
2.What led to Shimotai’s invention of “garlic coffee”?
A.A cooking mistake.
B.The market competition.
C.Pregnant women’s demand.
D.His love for garlic and coffee.
3.What is the purpose of this text?
A.To encourage invention.
B.To advertise “garlic coffee”.
C.To introduce “garlic coffee”.
D.To praise Yokitomo Shimotai.
