シークヮーサー Sikuwasa (see-kwa-sah)

This morning while checking out the news, I am sipping on a very refreshing tangy drink, made by yours truly. Sikuwasa (the latin name is citrus depressa), a type of citrus fruit, makes for a great alternative to your usual lemonade. It is a native fruit of tropical Okinawa, and is green-skinned outside while orange within.

Too sour to be consumed on its own, most people throw in some sugar syrup or melted honey into this citrus drink. If you happen to live in a tropical region, adding sugarcane is said to be great for taste and one's health! The taste? A cross between a tangerine and a lime, with a touch of bitter peel. Think of an unripe, bright green tangerine!

The drink is sold, for the most part, bottled in concentrate - 100%!!! If you buy it, you only need about 5ml to every 250ml. Potent stuff it is. On top of that a super-sized dose of vitamin C and nobiletin, a polymethoxyflavonoid. (One of my students once drank a can of it not knowing it should be diluted, ta ha ha ha ha. It looks deceivingly like Orangina orange juice)

Try this specialty drink if you can get your hands on some! It adds a little bit of sunshine to your life on a gloomy rainy day, like today in Tsukuba.