It's one of summer's favorite drinks--lots of ice, a jolt of espresso and lots of ice-cold milk. But at Dotour Coffee, the nation's largest coffee shop chain, customers are increasingly (and unexpectedly) asking for soy milk instead of milk in their cafe lattes. Dotour saw a chance, and used the growing popularity of soy milk to attract more health-conscious consumers.

"It was listed in the top third of our products sold at our 120 directly operated stores," Dotour's Akiko Otaka said.
Starbucks also has increased the number of its branches, mainly in Tokyo, that stock soy milk from three to 10 since its Japanese outlets started offering the product in 1999. The chain charges and extra Y50 to substitute soy milk for regular milk.

"Before, foreign customers would request soy milk because they can't drink dairy milk," said Kazuko Nakada, a spokeswoman of Starbucks Coffee Japan, "and now we get the same request from Japanese Stores that offer soy milk are one of our ways of satisfying customers."

Last year, according to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, 67,000 tons, or approximately 550 grams per capita, of soy milk was consumed in Japan. Sales from January to March this year rose 37 percent from the same period last year.

"We expect this will become our second biggest soy milk boom," said Atsuchi Kanda, director general of the Japan Soy Milk Association. "In 1983, the market hit a record consumption of 117,000 tons. That was before labeling regulations were implemented. Consumers often found that soy products contained only a small amount of soybeans but were sold with exaggerated claims of health benefits," Kanda recalls. As a result, consumers lost trust in the industry and soy milk consumption had dropped sharply to about 25,000 tons by 1999.

Now, the soy milk craze seems to be making a welcome comeback. Kanda believes Japanese have started to reacquaint themselves with soy milk as a health food product, thanks to glowing media reports.

The health benefits of soy milk are vast. It is cholesterol-free, low in fat, high in protein and contains balanced essential amino acids, vitamin E and minerals such as iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. Although some of these advantages were reported as long as 20 years ago, recent research has shown that soy isoflavones, a protective phytochemical found in soy beans, can prevent breast and prostate cancers as well as osteoporosis.

"I think people here are keen on the soy isoflavones," Kanda says. "They are eager to increase their intake, in light of an increase in the rate of such diseases---possibly because of increasingly Westernized diets." Although soy isoflavones are found in all soy products, such as tofu and natto, soy milk is an effective source due to its convenience and because its absorption rate is higher than that of other soy products.

Besides soy isoflavones, concerns over bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, which first broke out in Japan last year, may also have affected soy milk sales. "Though the government reported there was no need to worry about cow's milk, I just can't trust them," said Kanako Katayama, a 39-year-old who recently made the switch from regular milk to soy milk. "I started drinking soy milk for the first time since my childhood because I thought it was safer." Katayama also pointed out that soy milk tastes better than she remembers.

Kanda of the Japan Soy Milk Association says: "People used to say the flavor of soy milk was too strong. Now, because of advanced technologies in soy milk production, it tastes better than it did 10 years ago."

Still, Japan has a lot of catching up to do if it wants soy milk to become as popular here as it is in other Asian countries. For instance, Chinese traditionally enjoy a morning cup of warm, sweetened soy milk, and Korean noodle dishes are served with soy milk-based soups.

"Soy milk can be used in cooking without any problems," says Harumi Noda, owner of Ecru vegetarian cafe in Daikanyama, Tokyo. "It tastes more natural and healthier than dairy products."

Believing strongly that soy milk is healthier than cow's milk, Noda, who has written the vegetarian cookbook, Vegetable Lovers, serves a variety of soy milk-based drinks and dishes at Ecru. Popular choices include Soy milk chai (Y680) and Non-dairy Blancmange with Black Sesame Sauce (Y600).

"I experimented with a lot of products when I was planning the menu, and fount that plain, fresh soy milk is good to use in cooking, but a bit difficult to use in drinks," she said. "So I use sweetened soy milk to make chai."

However, using soy milk in cooking does not compromise taste, Noda insists. "You can't truly enjoy eating and drinking if you feel it's just healthy, but less tasty," she said.

By Hiroko Kato

Copyright 2002 Hiroko Kato. All rights reserved.