世．界．之•窗－日本人發明大蒜咖啡

工商時報【Nikki Lu】 閱讀暖身 日本咖啡店老闆研發出大蒜咖啡，對想喝咖啡、又不想要咖啡因負擔的人來說，或許是一種新選擇。令人存疑的是這種咖啡的口感，以及喝完後，是否會口頰留「蒜香」？進入本文前請想一想，這些單字英文怎麼說：A.燒焦的 B.可溶解 C.苦味 "'Garlic coffee' can be a boon to coffee-loving pregnant women abstaining from it as a man in northeastern Japan invented the drink that looks and tastes like coffee but is made up entirely of locally grown garlic."-Kyoto News 「大蒜咖啡」可能成為愛喝咖啡的孕婦福音。京都新聞報導，日本東北部的一位男士發明外觀與味道都像咖啡的飲料，但是飲料完全以當地種植的大蒜製成。 "My drink is probably the world's first of its kind," said 74-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." 「我的飲料可能是世界首例。」74歲的Yokitomo Shimotai，過去是青森縣的咖啡店老闆，他說，「飲料不含咖啡因，孕婦或者夜晚想來杯咖啡的人，都可以享用。」 Shimotai says that the coffee is the result of a cooking blunder. 30 years ago, he burned the steak and garlic while waiting tables. "Intrigued by the (A)scorched garlic's aroma, he (1)mashed it up with a spoon and mixed it with hot water. The resulting drink looked and tasted a lot like coffee. Making a mental note of his discovery, Yokimoto carried on with his job, and only started researching garlic coffee again after he retired."-Oddity Central Shimotai說，大蒜咖啡源自於一次做菜的失誤。30年前，他在招待客人時，不小心把牛排和大蒜燒焦。美國Oddity Central網站報導，「受到大蒜的焦香味吸引，他用勺子把大蒜搗碎，然後混合熱水。混合出的飲料外觀和味道都很像咖啡。當時他只把這點發現記在心裡，直到退休後才開始研究大蒜咖啡。」 "Committed to turning his bizarre drink into a commercial product, Yokitomo Shimotai spent years optimizing the formula, and about five years ago, he finally achieved a result he was satisfied with. To make his (B)soluble garlic grounds, he roasts the cloves in an electric oven, and, after they've (2)cooled off, smashes them into fine particles and packs them in dripbags." 「一心想將這種奇特飲料變成商品的Shimotai，花費數年的時間優化配方。大約5年前，終於製作出自己滿意的配方。為了做出可溶解的大蒜泥，他以烤箱烘烤蒜瓣，冷卻之後，將蒜瓣搗成小顆粒，然後放入掛耳包中。」 "The (C)bitterness of burned garlic apparently helps create the coffee-like flavor," says Shimotai. He later acquired a patent on this method in 2015 and started a workshop in Iwate Prefecture. Shimotai說，燒焦大蒜的苦味使口感更接近咖啡。不久後，他為研製方法申請到專利，並在岩手縣開始了工作坊。 Shimotai claims that his garlic coffee only gives off the aroma of roasted garlic, and doesn't cause bad breath, since the garlic is thoroughly cooked. If you are okay with the smell, the drink does taste a lot like actual coffee. Shimotai聲稱他的大蒜咖啡只散發烤大蒜的香氣，但不會在造成口臭，因為大蒜已充分烘烤過。如果可以接受氣味，那麼飲料的味道確實很像真正的咖啡。 資料來源：Oddity Central, Kyoto News 2018 我的英語年，一年一度極優惠開始了！ 很多人都說，英文好薪水會加倍，可以換到外商、可以更輕鬆溝通……好英文確實可以為你做很多很多事，但是，它能為你的人生帶來的最大祝福是：找回失去的自信、耐心、膽量……還有，花了20年還在跟英文纏鬥的人。人生不要一輩子都在跟英文纏鬥吧，要嘛放棄它不要有罪惡感，要不就征服它帶來成就感，2018, My English Year！年終極優惠，報名電話（台北）02-27215033、（新竹）03-5782199，www.core-corner.com