“Farmer’s Coke” is having a moment in Japan, and surprising people in the U.S.
Things are changing rapidly in the online sphere these days, especially on Twitter, where posts and comments in the timeline can now be automatically translated from other languages in seconds, exposing everyone to more global trends than ever before.
Here in Japan, the increased exposure recently led to a huge surge in discussions about “American-style barbecue”, but that has now been overtaken by a new hot topic: Peanuts and Coke.
It all started with a post shared by a Japanese Twitter user on 2 April, which read:
“About 30 years ago, I read in an essay by Haruki Murakami that in America it’s popular to put peanuts in your cola and drink it. I thought, “Huh, interesting”, and a long time passed, but I finally tried it.
What the heck—this is insanely good.
It’s so good I don’t want to drink cola any other way anymore.“
This tweet quickly went viral, racking up over 23 million views in just four days as many Japanese and even Americans reacted to the post. While Japanese readers were surprised to hear of such a weird combination, many Americans actually knew about it, jumping into the comments to say the practice originated in the south, where it’s also referred to as “Farmer’s Coke“, as it’s frequently drunk by local farmers.
With many Americans waxing lyrical about the nostalgia of the so-called “Peanuts and Coke“, people in Japan were intrigued to try it, including our very own Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun, who went out and bought the two essential ingredients to make it.
▼ Always looking to put a twist on things, P.K. opted for a bag of Buttered Peanuts to use in the taste test.
Preparation is a cinch – simply pour yourself a glass of cola…
…then throw in a handful or two of peanuts and you’re done.
The key to making this drink, according to posts online, is to use a generous amount of peanuts, so that’s exactly what P.K. did. After letting it sit for a few seconds, he lifted the glass and took a gulp of the drink, allowing some of the peanuts to enter his mouth at the same time.
The carbonated crunch made his eyes widen in surprise, and his taste buds stood to attention. The peanuts seemed to make the cola taste slightly sweeter, likely because the salt enhanced the sweetness, similar to how adding salt to watermelon, a common practice in Japan, makes the fruit taste sweeter.
Peanuts in cola turned out to be such an exciting novelty for P.K. that he even poured the remainder into the rest of the Coke in the bottle, leaving it to stew for extra flavour.
▼ The peanuts get soggy after a while, though, so you won’t want to leave them in liquid too long.
So is this weird fusion beverage worth the hype? Well, in P.K.’s opinion it is. The extra sweetness, combined with the addition of salt and a serious crunch, makes every mouthful a taste sensation. In fact, after trying Peanuts and Coke, P.K. says he can understand the desire to never drink plain cola ever again. He likens it to drinking fruit juice with pulp – after you’ve enjoyed the fuller mouthfeel, other non-pulp juices seem like they’re missing something, and that’s how P.K. now feels about Coke without peanuts.
It’s a sentiment shared by other nuts-in-cola proponents, and one Twitter user went so far as to explain the science behind it all.
The humble Famer’s Coke is now seeing a resurgence in popularity, thanks to the new interest from Japan.
There’s something incredibly heartwarming about the way two very different cultures are currently bonding over their shared love of Peanuts and Coke. With just two essential ingredients, anyone can try it, and if it helps build bridges across borders, all the better!
Related: Twitter/@nekoyamamanager
Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]