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Ramune facts for kids

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Ramune
A lemonade ramune bottle
Type Soft drink
Manufacturer Various
Distributor Nishimoto Trading Co., Ltd., Sangaria U.S.A., Inc.
Country of origin Japan
Introduced 1884
Color Clear
Flavour
  • Original (lemon-lime)
  • Blueberry
  • Melon
  • Lychee
  • Orange
  • Peach
  • Pineapple
  • Strawberry
  • Matcha
  • Grape
  • Yuzu

Ramune (ラムネ) (Japanese pronunciation: [ɾamɯne]) is a Japanese carbonated soft drink. It was introduced in 1884 in Kobe by the British pharmacist Alexander Cameron Sim. Like Banta, an Indian lemon drink, ramune is available in a Codd-neck bottle, a heavy glass bottle whose mouth is sealed by a round marble (instead of a cap) thanks to the pressure of the carbonated contents. The name ramune is derived from a Japanese borrowing of the English word lemonade.

History

In 1884, Sim introduced this carbonated beverage based on lemonade to the Kobe foreign settlement. This drink, sold in the distinctive Codd-neck bottle, soon became very popular with the local Japanese after it was advertised in the Tokyo Mainichi Newspaper as a preventative for cholera. The drink remains a popular soft drink, sold worldwide, under the name of ramune to this day.

Bottle design

Ramune Sangaria (Coddneck marble)
The Codd-neck marble lock in the neck of the bottle.

Ramune is known for its distinctive Codd-neck bottle (named after its inventor, Hiram Codd). Although the Codd-neck bottle was once commonly used for carbonated drinks, today ramune, along with Banta, is one of its very few users.

People trying ramune for the first time sometimes find it difficult to drink, as it takes practice to learn to stop the marble from blocking the flow. In one version of the bottle introduced in 2006, little slots were added to the cap where the marble was originally held. This prevented the flow from obstruction if the marble falls back into the cap. Ramune is also available in plastic PET bottles and cans.

Ramune is one of the modern symbols of summer in Japan and is widely consumed during warm festival days and nights. Empty bottles are usually collected for recycling at stalls where it is sold.

Flavours

The original ramune flavour is lime-lemon. Including the original, there have been 57 flavours of ramune.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ramune para niños

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