We test the sourness of the juice but get distracted by a surprise performance.

Five years ago, Japan’s vending machine scene was taken up a notch with the birth of “Feed Me Orange”, a fresh juice machine that squeezes oranges on the spot. It didn’t take long for the machine to grow from being a rare novelty to a familiar mainstay in shopping centres, proving that Japan really does have a thirst for freshly squeezed citrus from a machine.

▼ Now, though, there’s a new contender on the market, and this time it’s serving up freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Called “Kawagoto Lemon Kouka” (“Peel-and-all Lemon Effect”), our reporter Haruka Takagi stumbled upon the vending machine in Osaka’s Namba area, in among the flashy signs and neon lights of the busy Ebisu Bashi-suji shopping street. She was surprised to see it, because unlike oranges, which have a sweetness to suit a wide range of palates, lemons tend to exist on the more piquant end of the citrus spectrum, making her wonder if a machine like this might serve drinks that are too sour for anyone’s liking.

Taking a closer look, she found that customers can choose from a variety of juice options, all made with lemons from a particular region selected for having the tastiest fruit at that particular time of year. When Haruka visited, the machine was using California-grown lemons, which are said to have a medium level of sweetness and sourness.

▼ Although the lemons were from California when Haruka visited, she’s since heard that Japanese-grown lemons will be used from September onwards.

Looking closely, she read that the sugar used for sweetening the drinks is made from 100-percent natural sugar cane, but what really got her attention was the number of lemons loaded inside the machine’s rotating rack. The steady movement of the transparent rack, combined with the bright lighting and white body of the machine, gave off the appearance of some sort of futuristic lab.

At 500 yen (US$3.35) per cup, the juice is relatively pricey, but Haruka didn’t want to pass up this opportunity to try freshly squeezed lemon juice from a vending machine. So she made her electronic payment (the machine only accepts payments by credit card or QR code), and then an unexpected lemon performance began.

After pressing the purchase button, the machine moved on to the juice customisation screen, where there were three options to choose from, listed top to bottom as follows:

▼ Flavour – “Lemon” or “Salt Lemonade” / Sweetness – “Normal”, “Less”, “None” / Ice – “Normal”, “Less”, “None”

Since this was her first order, Haruka decided to opt for the standard “Lemon” flavour with “less sweetness” and “less ice”. After payment was completed, the rack began to rotate and one lemon was chosen in dramatic fashion.

▼ The fruit was placed on a glowing platform and slowly raised upwards, bathing the machine in a mysterious bluish-white glow.

▼ The lemon then dropped into a round opening with a little plop as it was sent off for squeezing.

It didn’t take long for a paper cup with a sealed plastic lid to appear in the collection slot, complete with a straw that was perfectly tucked into a U-shaped divot on the lid.

Though Haruka thought the straw might be too small for the cup, once she’d fully extended the bendable section…

▼ …it reached perfectly to the bottom of the drink. The package design was very clever and well thought-out.

After admiring all the unique details, Haruka now found herself having to try the beverage, and as someone who isn’t particularly good with sour flavours, she was a little nervous about taking her first sip.

▼ Surely the juice of an entire lemon would be far too sour to drink?

▼ After taking a deep breath and bracing herself for tartness, Haruka took a sip.

▼ To her surprise, it was actually delicious!

If she had to sum up the flavour in one sentence, she’d describe it as “a sweet-and-sour fresh juice that feels like it’s giving you a burst of energy”. The lemon flavour was certainly there, but it didn’t have the same sharp, piercing sourness as a freshly squeezed lemon – if anything, it was surprisingly smooth, with a “juice-like” quality that she thinks might even appeal to small children.

It was only the slight bitterness and oily residue from the lemon peel that indicated this was a freshly squeezed juice, and after taking a few more sips of it, the lingering aroma was so refreshingly pleasant that she began to wonder why lemon juice hasn’t caught on to become a more popular drink in Japan.

▼ Emboldened by her newfound taste for lemon juice, she decided to face her fears and order one with no sugar.

After watching the lemon show play out inside the machine again, Haruka reached for the new drink as soon as it was ready, and took a sip.

Hmm. It definitely wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t delicious enough to make her want to purchase it again. For her, it seemed slightly underwhelming.

Though she’s not entirely sure, Haruka seems to think that the juices are diluted with water, so without sugar the flavour also becomes diluted, making it less satisfying as a juice. While health-conscious customers or those who want to enjoy the natural flavour of the fruit might prefer to order the drink without extra sweetness, Haruka says that she would recommend adding sugar. The sweetness seems to bring out the tartness of the lemon, making the citrus flavour seem more pronounced, and delicious as well.

At the end of the day, though, Haruka thoroughly enjoyed both drinks, and highly recommends trying them if you can. Right now, there are only a small number of “Peel-and-all Lemon Effect” machines installed across Japan, making them a rare vending machine find, so if you spot one, consider yourself lucky.

With its refreshing sweet-and-sour flavour, this is a great drink to enjoy on a hot day or as a refreshing palate cleanser after eating an oily meal like yakiniku (grilled meat). Plus, you could always try it out with a splash of something strong to create your own freshly made lemon sour, an iconic beverage in the Japanese drinks scene.

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[ Read in Japanese ]