Exclusive to only two wards in Tokyo, this is a must-try drink that’s very hard to get.

We’re always on the lookout for new and unusual convenience store finds in Japan, so when 7-Eleven announced it would be releasing a never-before-seen chilled soup smoothie made with grilled corn, we knew it was something we had to try.

Finding it, however, proved to be more challenging than we’d thought, as it’s currently only available at select 7-Eleven stores in Tokyo’s Chuo and Chiyoda wards. After visiting four stores in Chuo without any luck, we eventually found it at our fifth stop, where a huddle of them were lying in wait like golden treasures, gleaming at us from inside the standing freezer section.

▼ A huddle sounds like a good collective noun for smoothies.

After plucking one out and paying for it at the register, we headed over to the smoothie machine at the counter, where we scanned the barcode on the lid before tearing it off to look inside.

▼ 冷製スープ = Chilled Soup

▼ There, in the cup, we found… actual pieces of grilled corn!

The corn looked good enough to eat right away but we were here to drink it, so we popped the cup into the machine and waited for it to work its magic. With apple and banana puree also in the mix, we were curious to find out what this soup-smoothie fusion would taste like, and when it was ready, we were fascinated by the way the corn had totally disappeared and become liquid, with tiny dark grilled flecks being the only evidence of its existence.

Taking a sip, it was clear that the corn was the star of the show. Coupled with fermented rice bran, made with lactic acid bacteria and yeast for gut health, and oligosaccharides to bring out the richness and sweetness of the vegetable, the corn flavour was sweet, with a subtle smokiness, making it different to the cans of corn potage that usually come to mind when we think of a Japanese-style corn soup.

While corn potage balances sweet and savoury flavours, this variety veers towards sweetness, which is apt seeing as it’s marketed as a smoothie. In fact, as we sipped our way through the drink, we found our taste buds becoming confused over whether this should be classed as a soup or a smoothie, as the grilled vegetable component made us think we were having soup, but the overriding sweetness made us think we were drinking a smoothie.

▼ Despite the addition of fruit puree, the smoothie doesn’t taste fruity at all, making it very different from all the other fresh smoothies at 7-Eleven.

At nearly 500 yen (US$3.19), it’s also one of the most expensive smoothies in the range, and one of the hardest to find, given its very limited availability. Though there’s no word yet on whether the smoothies will expand beyond the two Tokyo wards where it’s currently being sold, this is one of the chain’s most unusual and exciting creations, and well worth trying if you’re able to find it.

As part of 7-Eleven’s latest push to explore unexpected flavour combinations and challenge our expectations of convenience store food, this is a taste odyssey we’re happy to be on, and we can’t wait to see what weird and wonderful places the chain takes us with its next new release.

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