The origin of Sake is unclear, and it's thought to date back to 3rd century Japan. By the 8th century it was one of the most popular drinks in Japan, and about a thousand years ago it had become commonplace among important cultural events such as weddings, religious ceremonies, and New Year's celebrations.

HOW IS IT MADE?

We won't bore you with the details, but the basic process of creating sake comes down to fermenting rice with the use of water, yeast and Koji-kin. Rice doesn't have sugar in it, so unlike the grapes in wine, and the barley in beer, it can't be fermented without the koji-kin (super special moldy rice). This unique type of mold allows the starch in rice to be converted to sugar. This is necessary for fermentation, and thus, necessary to create alcohol. The remaining rice, sugar, and other solid particles are filtered away, and what you're left with is sake. Whew, I'm glad we got that out of the way, now let's get to the fun stuff.

HOW DO I KNOW IF SAKE IS GOOD?

The best way to determine if a sake is good is for you to try it, and see if you like it. But if you're looking for a set standard to determine high quality, there are two words you need to keep in mind: Rice Milling.

Rice milling is the process of shaving away the outer shell of a grain of rice. The more that is shaved away, the more pure the rice becomes, and the higher the quality of the resulting sake. There are many grades and types of sake, but the sake with the most rice shaved away, and thus, the purest product, is Daiginjo sake. It has a minimum of 50%. This means that at least 50% of the outer rice grain must be shaved away for it to be classified as Daiginjo. Sometimes they even shave 60% or 70% to ensure the absolute highest quality. Following this is Ginjo, with at least 40% shaved away. This process removes many of the fats and amino acids that might have adverse effects on the sake's ultimate taste or aroma.

Junmai is another very important word when you're looking for quality. Junmai refers to a very specific kind of sake that has no additives in it. It means that when you're drinking the sake, it is only pure sake, without any flavor enhancers, color dyes, or additional alcohol. Many companies will add flavor or distilled alcohol to shorten fermentation times and increase production. This doesn't necessarily make the sake bad, it just means it's not pure.

So when you see Ginjo or Daiginjo, it refers to the super high grade of rice milling. When you see Junmai, it refers to the purity of the sake. When you see the two words appearing on the same bottle, it means the sake is absolutely pure, and that the quality of the sake is of the highest caliber.

HOT OR COLD: How should sake be served?

You will find many differing opinions on this subject matter. Please direct hate mail to the comments section below : )

Short answer: Anyway you like it! Most sakes can be served either hot or cold. This excludes the Draft Nama Sake, which should pretty much always be served cold. But as we were saying, most sakes can be served either way. The temperature at which sake is served will have an effect on the sake's taste, aroma, and overall texture and appeal.

Hot Sake tends to make the alcohol content feel more powerful. Many foreigners think of sake as 'having a kick' because they try it warm for the first time. Heated sake is recommended to be paired with plain foods, such as light sashimi without wasabi or a simple noodle dish. This is because the sake is a bit more powerful when heated, and a robust flavored meal would clash with that. The sake becomes a bit dryer when hot, and the flavor becomes less sweet, and slightly stronger overall.

Cold Sake, on the other hand, is a beverage of subtly. It leaves you with a gentler, milder, more aromatic drink. This works well with strong flavored foods, whether they be spicy, sour, or sweet. A cold sake will have a pleasant and tantalizing aroma. The flavor will be a little more delicate and understated, and the texture will be much smoother overall.

Lower quality sakes tend to be served hot, because the heat covers up many of the flaws in the beverage. And chilled sake is generally reserved for the premium drinks like Daigonjo, Ginjo, and Junmai. It should also be noted that traditionally, sake was brewed in wooden barrels that left a powerful taste and a strong earthy smell, which a high temperature would help cover up. As the techniques for making sake advanced, and the earthy smells and tastes went away, the need for heated sake became more obsolete.

So should your sake be served hot or cold? It comes down to what you want out of the beverage. Is the sake being served with food? What kind of food? Are you looking for a more powerful sake that 'has a kick' as they say? Or do you want something smoother? Are you looking for flavor, or aroma? And of course, what's the weather outside? No one wants cold sake in ice cold weather.

And please note that when we say heated sake, we don't mean magma-hot-sake that was put in the microwave for 15 minutes. A good way to heat your sake is to place the glass bottle within a pot of heated water atop your stove. Every sake has its peak temperature where it is best served. Hot sake, in general, should be no more than 105 degrees, and cold sake, in general, should be around 40 to 50 degrees.

SO HOW MANY TYPES OF SAKE ARE THERE?

Short answer: Lots. But here are a few of the basic types you'll encounter.

Daiginjo and Ginjo: We already went over this, so we'll keep it short. These sakes are super refined with the purest rice, and the highest attention to detail. They offer traditional styling, with a smooth texture and a great taste.

Nigori: 'Nigori' loosely translates to cloudy. It refers to the murky appearance of the sake. It has this effect because at the end of the fermentation process, not everything has been filtered away, leaving a lot of the smaller particles. This gives it a stronger texture, a more robust aroma, and a very sweet flavor. Make sure to shake this one before drinking so you get all the benefits of this uniquely sweet style of sake.

Nama: Draft Name Sake is unlike other types of sake because it is unpasteurized. Because of this it needs to be stored in a cold place, and should be served chilled. But it also offers a  sweet, subtle taste, and a very light, soft texture that you don't get with a lot of other sakes.

Junmai: Junmai can be incorporated into many different types of sake, but in order for the sake to be classified as Junmai, it must be pure. No additives, no color dye, no additional alcohol added. This ensures a rich quality, and taste in keeping with the highest tradition.

Flavored Sake: The flavored sakes are the exact opposite of the Junmai. They offer a new take on an ancient drink, and are good for those first learning about sake. They've got a sweet flavor, and are a great gift for people who may be tired of drinking wine, but might not have quite developed the palette to appreciate a Junmai.

So if you have any other questions about sake, or have a favorite style you don't see here, or if you just want to check in and see how we're doing, you can leave us a comment below.

Calpis, or Calpico as it's known in America, is a unique soft-drink inspired by cultured milk. It has a super sweet taste with a slightly tart effect, and it has many notable benefits for digestive health.

It was discovered by a Japanese business man, Kaiun Mishima, who was living in China toward the beginning of the 1900's. There he drank a beverage that was consumed daily by Mongolian nomads, a type of cultured milk. To this businessman it looked like nothing more than a strange rotting milk, and technically he wasn't too far off. But the thing that really impressed him was that his aching stomach, which he could find no cure for, was suddenly ok. The tasty but odd looking Mongolian drink had magically fixed it.

After several years of working in China he returned to Japan, intent on starting a business based on the unique Mongolian beverage he'd tried. And that's how Calpis was born. So we know how Calpis was inspired, but what is it exactly?

There are three basic things in Calpis: water, milk, and lactic acid. Lactid acid is a very important chemical compound, and it's necessary for many biological processes in the human body.

Benefits of Calpis

Calpis has cultures in it, which offers some unique benefits that you won't find in your sodas, or in regular milk products. Because it's fermented, it has a longer shelf life, and is less susceptible to rotting or spoilage. It will offer a soothing effect to upset stomachs, and offers an easy digestibility for sensitive stomachs. The cultures and lactic acid help your digestive tract to stay healthy and stay strong.

Fun Facts

Calpis takes its name from two different things. "Cal" is borrowed from Calcium. And "Pis" is taken from the Sandskrit phrase Sarpis, which means sweet flavor or butter flavor.

Calpis has kept the same name in Japan for decades, but it was changed for English speaking countries. Some people felt that Calpis sounded like "cow piss" and figured it would be best to change the name.

The headquarters for Calpis is in Shibuya, a district in Tokyo that is famous for its fashion, its night life, and its appeal to foreigners.

Flavors

We at AFG adore everything about tea, from the taste, to the health benefits, to the satisfaction of sitting down to a rewarding cup of our favorite herbal drink. Making standard tea can be easy- you just drop a teabag into a hot cup of water. But making great tea that retains its health benefits and offers the fullest flavors and aromas- that takes time and a little learning. So follow along as we offer up a few guidelines to creating your perfect cup of tea.

THE TEA

It all begins with the tea leaves, and the only person who can tell you what tea is good or not, is you. So start with what you like. If you're looking for a soothing and aeromatic tea, then maybe Jasmine Tea is your thing. Or if you're after a robust tea with a bit of a rich and earthy effect, then perhaps a nice Black Tea is in order. But it all starts with what you enjoy.

When deciding on tea, if you're really trying to make the best tea you can, we generally rcommend loose leaf tea instead of teabags. Teabags are massively convenient, but they don't quite have the full range of tastes and aromas that loose leaf tea embodies.

THE TEAPOT

You can buy the best Tea Leaves, brew them at the correct temperature, then pair them with the purest water- but you'd still be missing an extremely important factor. What to brew your tea in!? For hundreds of years the Japanese have known that the absolute best way to brew tea is in an iron teapot. Unlike steel, glass, or porcelain, iron has a unique effect on the tea leaves that brings a fuller, richer flavor out of the tea. You may have noticed your parents lugging around an old iron frying pan on occasion. It's a similar story here too. When cooking food on an iron surface you get a different taste than you would on stainless steel or nonstick, and it's a good bet that the taste will be a much richer, much satisfying flavor overall.

There are a few options for brewing tea leaves in iron, but none of them have quite caught on the way that the Tetsubin Iron Teapot has. None of the other iron teapots have embodied the looks, the quality, and the overall appeal the way Tetsubin has. It's an important thing to keep in mind if you're really looking to make great tea. It's also nice because it keeps your tea hot for a long time- no need to gulp your tea down before it cools down too much.

TEMPERATURE & STEEP TIME

The first thing to remember is that you don't use boiling water. Boiled water is for cooking Ramen and disinfecting silverware- not tea. The steeping temperatures for most tea tends to be in the 150-190 degree range or so. There are always exceptions, but you'll find that most teas prepared within this range tend to keep the majority of their flavor. But steeping tea in boiling water will kill off a lot of the flavor and some of the health benefits.

Here is a (very) basic guide to the temperatures and steep times. The thing to keep in mind is that higher temperatures will produce a more overpowering flavor, and a greater level of bitterness. Lower temperatures tend to provide a bit of a sweeter effect, but probably a less flavorful result overall. Steeping for too long will also provide a more powerful, possibly bitter flavor.

Black Tea is the most robust tea and can be brewed at the highest temperature. Around 190-200 degrees F. Recommended steeping time is 3-5 minutes, but can vary with specific teas.

Next is Oolong, which can be a variety of either green or black tea. This is another robust tea that can be brewed at quite a high temperature- around 190 degrees F. Recommended steeping time is 3-5 minutes, but there are many exceptions to this since Oolong tea can take so many forms.

White Tea is considered best around 170 - 185 degrees F. Steeping times are difficult with this tea though, because many can be extraordinary delicate. Some people say as little as 30 seconds, some say as much as 15 minutes, although we generally likes ours around 2-3 minutes. White tea is supposed to be a lighter tea, with something of a fleeting taste, but in the end it really depends on the tea, and your preference. Just keep in mind that most teas brewed beyond 6 minutes will be considerably bitter.

Green Tea tends to be a bit more gentle than other teas, and because of this the recommended temperature will vary with the specific type and strength of the tea. But generally 140 - 180 degrees F is the accepted range. Steep for 1 - 3 minutes.

Here's a general guide if you don't believe in thermometers. Small bubbles tend to appear around 160 F. They begin floating to the water surface and are approx 3mm wide at 175 F. The bubbles will be approx 5mm wide at 190 F, and will be floating to the top more quickly. Steam may begin to appear beyond this as the water approaches the boiling point.

Now, some of you may be scoffing at our tedious recommendations about time and temperature. But there really is a science to this. There are various enzymes within tea that are unlocked at specific temperatures. The enzymes that produce sweeter flavors are unlocked at lower temperatures and are destroyed at higher temperatures. The enzymes that produce bitter flavors are unlocked at higher temperatures, and are latent at lower temperatures.

WATER

The purists will recommend using bottled spring water or filtered water when making tea to avoid the contaminants found in tap water. They probably have a point- it will expose your tea to fewer contaminants, but we understand if you feel this might be a little excessive. If you are using standard tap water though, do make sure to use cold water. We recommend this because hot water is more corrosive- that's why people wash their dishes with it, it cleans faster. But that also means it's likely to bring up stuff from your pipes too. When you're cooking anything - public service announcement : ) start with cold water to avoid exposure to the particles in your pipes, which can include copper, steel, and various plastics.

Now heat up your water! A typical tea kettle is fine as long as it's been cleaned beforehand. We recommend an iron teapot for steeping the tea, but what you heat the water in is to your liking because the tea leaves aren't involved yet. Bring the water to a boil, and then let it cool to the desired temperature. Once you have your water at the right temperature, place the tea leaves in the infuser of your Tetsubin Iron Teapot (remember, we are trying to brew the best tea possible). Steep for the desired amount of time, remove the tea leaves, and enjoy!! And let us know if these tips helped you out with your tea- or maybe you have some tips you'd like to give us!

If you opted to go the route of the Tetsubin here are some pointers to make sure it lasts a couple generations.

PROPER TETSUBIN CARE

-Make sure to rinse out the teapot with hot water before your first use. Dry afterward.
-Don't keep tea or water stored in the teapot.
-Rinse the teapot thoroughly after each use. You only have to use water, no soap or cleaning chemicals are recommended.
-Make sure not to expose the teapot to salt.
-Don't put over a naked flame, or in the microwave.
-Make sure to dry the inside of the teapot after each use.

If cared for properly, a Tetsubin Iron Teapot is designed to last for many, many years, to look absolutely stunning all the while, and to make a ton of tea along the way. But whether or not you decide to give our iron teapots a try, we really hope this guide helps you to enjoy your tea more, and encourages you to experiment with what tea you make and how you do it in the future. Enjoy!

Well, if you're a fan of origami then you've probably already done that. Origami is the art of turning ordinary paper into 3-dimensional artwork. Some sculpture forms are simple and easy to make, others are extremely difficult creations, and are working pieces of art that move and react to a person's kinetic energy.

The rules are you can't cut your paper or use glue, and a lot of the purists say you can't even use tools. The paper is typically square, and can be solid colored or patterned- it can also be made using metallic foil paper, which will hold more difficult and complex shapes than typical paper; or it can be made using washi, which is a very tough kind of traditional Japanese paper.

No one's quite sure who to thank for origami. The Japanese tend to get credit for popularizing the art form, but there are references to folding paper for art or ceremonies all across Europe and China. But whoever it was that began the practice, no one was nearly as innovative with it as the Japanese were.

While paper folding has thought to have been in Japan since the Heian period (794-1185), the majority of origami's most elaborate and striking creations didn't exist until pretty recently. Akira Yoshizawa has been called the Father of Modern Origami, and his innovation and creativity with origami raised it from a stale, traditional practice to a globally recognized form of art. His recognition came about around the 1950's when he published his first book of origami creations, and both he, as well as his artwork, enjoyed great fame over the next 50 years.

His work brought about a technical and mathematic side to the art form that had never existed before. He put in place complex geometrical shapes that allowed the possibilities for what origami could become to grow exponentially. One of his most clever innovations was wet folding, which is the practice of wetting a piece of paper while folding, so that it could achieve a softer, more natural fold, and then would harden once dried.

But some of you are probably wondering, why bother folding pieces of paper into shapes? What's the point? Well, most people do origami because it's awesome, others use it as a cheap method of filling your room with beautiful decorations. But many people also find a good deal of therapy in the art. Again and again, the use of origami has shown positive results in a wide variety of health applications. It has shown to reduce stress levels in people suffering from anxiety, ADD, depression, and it's even been common practice for prison inmates to be taught origami to help add some structure and discipline to their day.

Patients who are recovering after medical procedures tend to enjoy making origami because it is creative and involving, but it doesn't require one to get up and be overly active. Many people who are recovering from hand injuries tend to prefer doing origami over the more conventional forms of rehabilitation. But probably the most common goal achieved by practicing origami is simply a feeling of peace, a little tranquility, and an ease of tension after a long day's hard work.

People also enjoy origami as a practical and personal form of gift giving. Especially in these tough economic times, it makes more sense to make your own gifts than it does to go out and buy them. We recommend using origami to decorate the tree this Christmas- add a sense of personality to your tree by using ornaments you made, rather than simply bought. It'll be a lot more meaningful, and it's sure to be a great exercise in family togetherness to all sit down and make a couple creations together.

We hope that you give origami a shot this Christmas. Use it to decorate the tree, or use it on other special days- Easter, New year's Eve, Valentine's Day, even Birthdays. But whatever you decide to do with your winter season, we at AsianFoodGrocer want to wish you a great, big Happy Holidays, and we hope you all have a wonderful end of the year.

Week 1 - Main Course

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and we at AsianFoodGrocer want to help keep you and your dinner guests happy and satisfied. Each week we'll be offering you a new portion of the meal, and over the course of 4 weeks we'll be dishing out recipes for appetizers, side dishes, the main course, desserts and alcoholic beverages.

And instead of saving the most important for last, we're going to take care of it first. So here it is, folks: The Main Course.

We've arranged three options for your main course this Thanksgiving.

First up is a meal called Yuzu and Honey Turkey. It is a slow cooked, sweet and savory meal that is flavored with the unique tastes of yuzu, honey, ginger, and even a little Ramune soda. It amounts to a tender and juicy meat that ends up with a fantastic glaze and a wonderfully satisfying flavor.

This next dish is for those who are craving a meal that's a little less on the sweet side. It's our Teriyaki Turkey and it's one of our favorite fusion dishes. The turkey is braised with a succulent and savory combination of brown sugar, ginger, sliced onions, mirin and soy sauce. It is a little bit more buttery and zesty than the Yuzu turkey, and may be just the way to go to spice up your Thanksgiving meal this year.

Our last meal today is made for the kitchen novices, and is much simpler than the previous two. It is our Cantonese Barbecue Pork. It makes for a delicious pork dish, and if marinated properly will end up tender, juicy, and with a wonderfully rich and succulent texture. Try this if you feel turkey is a bit overrated, or if you're looking for something new, but not too difficult to try this year.

This week is also the start of our Housewares Sale. Any order $30 or more will save 10% off on our Chopsticks and Kitchen Category. We're doing this category sale early so you can get everything you need to create the perfect Thanksgiving meal.

We've got Rice Steamers to create the most perfectly textured rice. Knives so sharp they'll carve your turkey into the most pristine pieces possible. We recommend the Japanese Senzou Kitchen Knife as a great all around knife, plus it looks really cool!

We've also got your Tea Cups available for discount, your Cooking Chopsticks, Measuring Spoons, Kids' Bowls- and if you're feeling like really making this Thanksgiving special you can get a whole new Dish Set. Our favorite is the Dark Stoneware Set. But maybe all you REALLY need this Thanksgiving is a Portable Ashtray for that one Aunt who can't take a hint. *Cough cough.

We hope you take advantage of the great deals we're offering this holiday season. All you have to do is put the coupon code in when checking out, "dealOTweek". We're excited to provide you with the best stuff we can, and we're working hard to make this Thanksgiving a great, and inexpensive one for everyone. And if you've tried any of our recipes, please send us a picture or a video and we'll put it up on the website. Happy cooking everyone!

Week 2 - Side Dishes

Our third and final recipe for this week is called Sesame Udon Noodles. These noodles are a spicy, savory dish, loaded with healthy and tasty veggies, and they offer a texture that only udon noodles can provide. Prepare them with any type of meat if you wish, and we recommend you make a big batch because it's going to go fast.

This week also begins the start of our Asian Food Category. You heard that right, anything you want out of our Asian Food Category is qualified for a 10% off discount, as long as it's $30 or more.

This includes our Desserts, Tofu Products, Organic Foods, and even our Imported Bread Category if you missed that last week. Browse through what we've got, and you're sure to find something perfect for your Thanksgiving feast.

You can try using Seaweed for garnish or as a condiment, or Red Beans as a sweet side or topping, or even some Organic Honey to top off your dessert.

Remember, all you need to do to take advantage of our great deals is to input the coupon code during checkout: dealOTweek. We hope this helps you with your Thanksgiving dinner, and as always, if you use any of our recipes, send in some pictures. Tell us what you think! Show us you care. Happy cooking everyone.

Hello all, thanks for checking in with us again this week. In this blog we're going to go over our Appetizers. We've got three great recipes for you to try, and they should all be great starters for any meal.

The first recipe we've got lined up for you is called Breaded Tofu Cutlets. It's a deliciously crunchy and savory appetizer, with breaded and fried tofu. It'll go well with a variety of sauces, and because the concept is fairly simple, it should work with a lot of decorations and garnishes to add character to the dish. And because it's light and not super filling it makes for an ideal appetizer because it will leave plenty of room for the main course.

The next is a classic fusion dish with inspiration from the California West Coast and Japanese cuisine. It's the California Roll! This appetizer is very easy to make, and after a little bit of practice you'll be making dozens of rolls in no time at all. Try them with Soy Sauce, or make your own dips and sauces. California rolls are a great appetizer because they're tasty, light, and won't fill you up before the big show.

The last recipe we've got for you this week is Fried Dumplings with Hot Sauce. It's a great choice for those interested in trying a timeless Asian dish. The appetizer calls for a mixture of shrimp, scallops and pork, and has many great ingredients like Minced Ginger Root, chili paste, Sesame Oil, and Rice Wine. It's a bit more filling than the previous two recipes, but if you limit everyone to only a handful there should be plenty of room left for the main course.

Now, this week we're also doing a discount on all of our Japanese seasonings. It's a 10% discount on any purchase of $30 or more with the coupon code dealOTweek. This means you can get your Soy Sauce to reach that perfect flavor. Or you can get some Curry if you're interested in ignoring our recipes and making a quick and simple appetizer- it's ok, you won't hurt our feeings... much.

You can also take advantage of our Dashi to make fantastic and hearty soups, or you can get all the Sushi Supplies you need to make it an all sushi Thanksgiving.
You might even look into using Gourd Strips to add a degree of beauty to your meal- the strips become soft and malleable in water so that you can fold them into intricate knots, or tie pieces of asparagus together with an edible coil. Or use them to put bows around Chopsticks or silverware.

Whatever you decide to do with your appetizers this Thanksgiving we wish you only the tastiest dishes and hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Happy cooking everyone!

Week 4 - Beverages / dessert / Quick Meals

This year we're going to start the Holiday season off with a bang, and we're going to cut straight to the chase. YOU like stuff. WE like selling you stuff. YOU like candy. WE like selling you candy. So let's not waste any more time. This October 14th starts off our first sale of the season, and let me tell you, you NEED to cash in on the deal we're offering with our Japanese candy. Every item in our Japanese Candy category is 10% off, with a $30 or more order. Any candy you want, any flavor, any size, any type- as long as it's in the Japanese Candy Category you can have it for 10% off. To get the coupon code just sign up for our Email Blast (the link is on the top of our home page under EMAIL OFFERS) or join us on facebook. Doesn't cost you anything!

Now, this includes the Boston America Sonic the Hedgehog Tin. the Ms. Pacman Tin, even the Nintendo Controller Tin! You can get your Ramune Candy, your Kasugai Litchi and Brown Sugar Candies, and yes- even your Fizzling Cola Candies. Be warned though, they're awesome.

So this Halloween reward the people you care about. Get your friends, your family, and your adoring neighbors the candy they want and deserve. And at the right price too! But remember, this sale is limited, and so are our supplies. This is an extended Deal, and if you've been following our Deal of the Weekend Sales, you know they only last for the weekend, but this one is stretching from Friday, October 14th to Tuesday, October 18th. Just because we like you that much   = )

And in the following weeks we'll be having similar category sales. You can expect sales on Cooking Utensils, Japanese Seasonings, Japanese Toys, and of course- Jacobs Coffee. Now, each sale is limited to its own week- there are unfortunately no ongoing sales. This week happens to be for Japanese Candy, and the following week- well you'll just have to wait and see.

We'll also be going over some recipe ideas to help make this Thanksgiving unique and delicious, but with a healthy twist. Each week we're going to devote time to one part of the meal. First we'll go over the Main Course, because that is the star of the show. Then we'll touch on appetizers, side dishes, and lastly we'll have a week devoted to desserts, beverages, and instant meals. Just for those stragglers.

So if you don't want to miss out on these fantastic holiday deals, and some excellent Thanksgiving recipes, stay tuned! Keep an eye on our site!

Everyone's seen the commercials by now. "Diet pills." "Lose 10 pounds in a week." "Eat anything you want and get skinny." "No need to exercise ever again."

There is a huge market for lose-weight-fast products, and for good reason- people want to get healthy. They want to find a real way to manage weight, and to maintain that weight, especially in a time when it's so easy to eat fast food and live a sedentary life style. But because the market is so big, it is riddled with scams, con artists, and untested diet products that have the potential to severely damage your health.

But we at AsianFoodGrocer are here to educate. We want to help you avoid the scams; we want to explain the science of weight loss, and show you how the scammers warp the facts to get your money. Today we're going to be focusing primarily on something called Glucomannan. You may have heard of it, and if you Google it you'll get just under a million results.

Glucomannan is a naturally occurring polysaccharide and a strong soluble fiber. It has the ability to absorb several times its weight in water, and many trials have been conducted to see how it affects weight loss. A lot of these trials have shown to be effective in aiding with the treatment of constipation, high cholesterol and obesity. The results of these trials have been out for a number of years, and for the last decade or two, Glucomannan has been packaged into a pill. It's been sold and misleadingly branded as a miracle diet pill that will fix all your weight problems almost overnight.

And here's the thing, Glocumannan does help to control weight- but not in the way that these companies were promising. You can see the complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission as well as the lawsuit information here. Companies who were brandishing the diet pills as a miraculous weight loss solution were fined about 1.5 million dollars. The Australian Government banned the sale of the pills, and there were even incidents of choking hazards with the diet pills in Canada. As you can see, these companies took a product that had potential to help people lose weight, and they marketed it as a sensational diet pill that could control weight, regardless of a person's diet or lifestyle.

So here's how it all works. Glucomannan IS a powerful weight loss aid. It works by absorbing water and expanding within the stomach. The effect of this is that people who eat it feel more full, and they eat less food over the course of a meal. Adding Glucomannan rich foods into your diet means that you'll be eating less every time you eat. You'll be taking in fewer calories, less cholesterol, less sugar, and most importantly, less fat. In short, you're eating until you feel full, but you're still eating less than you usually do, so you're dieting without really being aware of it. Combine this with a decent exercise regiment as well as some tasty vegetables, and you'll be well on your way to better weight and health. You won't be losing 6-10 pounds a week as some of the scamming companies promise, but you will see results over time.

We don't recommend you take the diet pills though. They have a noted choking hazard, and there haven't been enough studies done to condone the use of Glucomannan by itself. So does that mean you should just ignore the stuff altogether? Of course not. Just eat it where it occurs naturally. Shirataki Noodles are a great source of Glucomannan. The noodles come from the konjac root in tropical and sub-tropical countries in Asia, and it has been common among Asians' diets for hundreds, even thousands of years in some places.

These noodles have been getting a lot of press over the last few years. They've been on the Dr. Oz show a couple times. Rachel Ray featured them, and a lot of dieticians are recommending them. We started carrying them because our customers asked for it, and the more we learn about Shirataki, the more we like it.

The noodles are pretty much empty. They have almost no taste- they have little to no calories, carbs or sugar. They have no fat, no gluten, and no cholesterol. But they're effective because they will take on the taste of whatever they are prepared with, whether it's garlic Parmesan, an Italian marinara sauce, or a hearty meat stew.

The idea is that you incorporate the Shirataki Noodles into your meals. Replace your typical high-carb noodles with them, pair them with your meat dishes, put them into your stir-fries and casseroles. You'll eat less of the actual meal, meaning you'll take in fewer carbs and calories, but you're still eating so that you're full. It's a handy way to eat foods that taste good, while avoiding the overeating that leads to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Now, we're not going to make any wild claims about Shirataki noodles or Glucomannan. It is an effective diet tool, and it will help you take in less food- most likely the soluble fiber will even help maintain the health of your digestive tract. But it's not a problem solver by itself, you should still limit the fried chicken and the greasy fast food, and you should still exercise a couple times a week if you're expecting to see real, noticeable results.

The stuff won't magically cure heart disease or cancer, but it will help you get healthy, and a healthy body stands a much better chance against nasty things like cancer and disease than an unhealthy body.

The point that we'd like to stress is that diet and exercise is really the only way to achieve and maintain proper health and weight over time. Crazy diets and weight loss pills might shave off a few pounds for a week, but they won't keep it off, and they might even end up hurting you more in the end. We at AsianFoodGrocer encourage you to avoid the scams of lose-weight-fast products. And if you'd like a tool to help you eat less, then try incorporating Shirataki noodles into your diet- but most importantly, make an effort to get off the couch a few times a week. Your body will thank you, and the extra time you have on this Earth will be all the more wonderful because you earned it.

We at Asian Food Grocer are always looking for the newest, most spectacularific products to provide to our customers. And yes, we do have a good excuse to be using made up words- we're excited! And why are we excited...

NEW PRODUCTS!!!

We recently got in a shipment of new beverages from a company called Taste Nirvana, out of Thailand. Most of their products are based on coconut water, but they also have Lattes that are based on Green Tea, Thai Coffee, and Thai Tea. But maybe you're still not impressed. Maybe you don't really understand the implications of coconut water, and all the great benefits it has to offer- well, read on.

Coconut water comes from a coconut. (Duh) It's the juice inside, and it has a very sweet, very creamy flavor to it. It's also rich in many essential vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium. It has a lot of complex B-vitamins as well as electrolytes. This makes the drink great for boosting your energy, while achieving better blood and skin health. It is especially good for hydration, and is recommended to be used instead of an energy drink because you get the vitamins, the electrolytes, the energy, and the hydration, but without any artificial flavoring.

Taste Nirvana makes a point to not only offer a cholesterol free, preservative free, gluten free product, but they are also environmentally conscious. All of their containers are recyclable, they use an efficient factory that operates on steam, and they hold several certificates and awards for the steps they've taken to be environmentally responsible.

Now, most of the coconut waters you'll find are from plants harvested in South America, and they generally have a bit of a tart effect. The Thai coconuts, however, have much more of a sweet and fruity flavor. This makes them better for sweet, flavorful drinks.

We hope this will make you all give coconut water a chance, because it really is the whole package: great taste, super healthy, not too expensive, and good for the environment. But we also need to talk about the other stuff that Taste Nirvana sells, like their Lattes.

The drinks they have all offer a creamy, smooth texture, and they're flavored with natural cane sugar, which is healthier than high fructose corn syrup, and is better for you than artificial sweeteners.

Their three Lattes are Thai Tea, Green Tea, and Coffee. Everyone had their own favorite flavors too. Gustavo preferred the Green Tea, Ruthie liked the Thai Coffee, and Julian took to the Thai Tea. All of the drinks were rich and smooth, with sweet effects and a creamy, silky texture.

We recommend you try all our drinks and experiment to find your favorites. And we encourage you to think of the coconut water drinks as a healthy alternative to your energy drinks, your sodas, and all your high fructose corn syrup drinks.

And please don't forget to take our poll below. We all have our own favorites, but we really want to know what you guys think!

Hello all, AsianFoodGrocer.com has made its very first commercial. We don't mean to brag, but it's pretty awesome. Julian has a brief cameo in the video, and we're all looking forward to his career in film taking off.

But we really have to give thanks, because we couldn't have done this commercial without the time, the talent, and the dedication put in by the film maker. Erik C. Parker, our new best friend, did all the filming, editing, and directing. He is currently starting his own production company in San Francisco, and he'll be doing a lot of commercials and videos for local businesses, just like us. We're looking forward to the great work he'll be doing once he finalizes the details with his company.

And we have to say, we are very excited about this commercial, but we realize that you don't need to have expensive cameras and professional editing software to do a commercial- a simple webcam will do great. That being said, we want to see your work. If you have reviews of our products or feel compelled to do a commercial about any products that we carry, we'd love to see them all. Any videos that you send or link to us, we'll put up on our Blog and our Youtube Channel. Let us make you famous!

Thanks for checking us out. We hope you enjoyed our commercial and we look forward to seeing the ones you guys send us!

Banana Sauce

This is one of our favorite new products. The history of banana sauce goes back to WWII. During that time there were a lot of food shortages in the Philippines. Ketchup was very popular there, but there were no tomatoes, so people couldn't enjoy their favorite foods. But necessity being the mother of all invention, a noted Filipino chemist, Maria Orosa, realized she could get a new type of ketchup using bananas instead of tomatoes. Bananas were then mashed up and mixed with sugar, a little vinegar, and a few other spices and herbs, and they had banana ketchup. Banana ketchup became very popular, so much so that it grew to be more than just a condiment and was an important ingredient in many Filipino meals.

Traditional ketchup with tomatoes is still popular in the Philippines, but Banana sauce has become a staple in the cuisine. It is no longer seen as an alternative to regular ketchup, but is its own unique and important ingredient. It comes on both Hot, and Traditional, and offers a slightly sweeter yet spicier take on typical ketchup.

It is commonly used on a lot of things, but some of the more notable foods would be fried foods, spring rolls, pork chops, chicken, and french fries. While it's typically used on meaty or fried foods, people tend to use it as an all purpose kind of thing, and you can find it in pizza, on spaghetti, even with mangoes.

Halo-Halo

Kaong

This is made from Sugar Palm Nuts. They are little, pale fruits about the size of grapes. They are super sweet and are considered the Filipino alternative to Maraschino cherries. They are commonly used as a topping for various desserts as well as salads. Many people even eat them not only as a topping, but by themselves.

The trees they come from are the sugar palm trees, which is basically a palm tree, and is itself a useful tool. The trees have been used to make vinegar, alcohol, ropes, roofing tiles, furniture, tools, and of course, Kaong.

Nata de Pina

This is a variation of a very popular dish that's called Nata de Coco. Nata de Pina is pineapple juice that has been fermented and sweetened. It's translucent, and has a gelatin like texture. Nata de Pina is a less widespread dish than nata de coco overall, but is bigger in certain areas.

It was developed because pineapple doesn't deal well with freezing. Its flavor tended to change under cold temperatures, so it became popular to ferment it as a form of preservation. Sugar was soon added and the preserved, gelatinous pineapple became a very popular treat. It is commonly used in different desserts, and you can find many recipes that incorporate it. We recommend mixing it with yogurt, serving it with ice cream, or preparing it with crushed ice and evaporated milk.

Macapuno

We at AsianFoodGrocer are always looking for ways to make our customers better, happier people. And one way we can do that is keep you well informed. We made this quiz so all you wonderful people out there can test your knowledge of your favorite foods. The quiz covers pretty much every area, and we want to see just how educated our customers are. So don't be shy, step up and give it a shot. And no cheating, close that Wikipedia page!

Japan has an ancient tradition of culinary dishes. From their spices, to their eating utensils, to their methods of cooking, the Japanese have enough history behind their cooking to have mastered almost any dish.

Today we're going to go over some of the various ingredients the Japanese use in their cooking, and the different results and recipes you can expect to get with these ingredients.

Soy Sauce

Curry

Dashi

Yakiniku

Fish Sauce

Sesame Oil

Furikake

This is just a basic run through of the types of seasonings and flavors you might to expect in a run into while in Japan. Hopefully this will make you a little more savvy about the ingredients when you order from a restaurant.

If you're like most people out there, you enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee. The way its delicate aroma wafts about you. The way it warms you from your fingertips to your belly.

And just like most people out there, you probably don't want any plain old coffee. You want good Coffee. No. You want the best coffee. Or at least the best that your wallet can accommodate for.

Well, we have good news for all you coffee loving penny pinchers out there. AFG has long sold Jacobs Kronung, which is regarded as not only Europe's best coffee, but one of the world's best coffees. It is one of our most popular products, and in an attempt to show some love to our customers, we are reducing our prices on our Coffee Bundle Kits. That's right, you read correctly. No need to get your eyes checked!

We are making it easier than ever for you coffee aficionados to stock up on the various kinds of Jacobs coffee that we offer. But the bundle kits are also the perfect opportunity for people new to Kronung to get a sampler and figure out what flavors they love, as well as what caffeine levels are most appropriate for them.

And maybe you're are asking yourself 'why is Jacobs the best?' Well, we'll tell you. The coffee beans for Jacobs Kronung are taken from various places all over the world, and are then manufactured in Germany. The roasting and the careful selection process of picking out the quality of coffee beans is what has made this coffee stand out in both quality and popularity.

Jacobs Kronung first began coming over to the United States when Military personnel stationed in Germany and across Europe began trying the coffee and bringing it back home. The Americans loved the coffee so much that they began demanding stores sell it here in America. So that's just what we did! You're welcome.

Here are the three types of bundle kits we are offering.

The Instant

The traditional

Both!

See? Crazy. We don't want to keep you waiting, so we'll tell you the best one first.

Sale #1: Deal of the Weekend

So beginning this Friday (the 19th) we are going to begin our Deal of the Weekend. What this means is that each week we are going to be taking one of our more popular items, and reducing the price for that one item from Friday to Sunday.

We'll announce the deal on Friday, and you will have until Sunday night to finalize your purchases. And don't miss out, because once the deal is done, it'll be done.

Sadly, you don't get to pick your deal. We decide that. It'll be a new item each week, and some weeks we might even have a bundle option. So keep your eyes glued to the site and don't miss out on the deal of the weekend. And because each Deal of the Weekend is going to be a BIG DEAL, we are having a 10 item limit per customer. So each person can only buy 10 deals. Sorry, we just want you to all get a piece of the savings.

Now, just because we like you so much, we're going to give you a heads up on what the Deal of the Weekend is. It's Orchids Shirataki Noodles 7 ounce bags. Normally they go for $2.18, but for the Deal of the Weekend they are going for $1.05. That's right folks. Fantastic Shirataki noodles for just $1.05.

And why are we having such an amazing Deal of the Weekend, you might ask? Well, don't ask! Just accept that we like you.

The Contest: Mooncake Fever

Sale #2: Over $50

Sale #3: Mooncake Fever 2

The #4 sale. Over $100

Hello all, this is Julian. You might remember me from such films as Asian Food Grocer - Talk Time. We started doing Talk Time in order to provide detailed and personal product reviews to our customers.

But we decided to make it much more than just reviews- we're also answering questions, addressing concerns, and letting you guys get to know us- so you don't think we're just another online company out to make a quick buck. The object here is to make this an open and reliable method of communication between you and us.

So please contact us via email (info@asianfoodgrocer.com), facebook, twitter, or respond to our Talk Time Videos. Tell us what products you want us to review, ask us any questions you have, let us know if we're doing a good job- or you can always respond with a Talk Time food review of your own.

Anyway, thanks for checking us out, and we hope to hear from you soon.