[Over the first five days of April 2007 MyVoice surveyed its internet community regarding tea and tea-like drinks. This is the first of a pair of rather similar surveys on tea-related drinks.
Demographics
17,539 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private internet-based survey. 54% were female, 2% in their teens, 19% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 26% in their forties, and 14% in their fifties.
This is a survey I’ve been looking for for a while, as I have wanted to do an “Ask What Japan Thinks” on tea, as I do get a few visitors looking for this sort of information, so I hope the information helps you out.
Note that in Japan plastic bottles are called PET bottles, with PET standing for polyethylene terephthalate, it appears. These bottles are usually recycled separately, so most public areas have a bin for these types of bottles only. You are supposed to take the cap off (some bins now have a separate opening for them) and the label, but I must admit to not doing either, although I do always use the correct bin.
Survey results
Q1: Which of the following drinks do you often drink? (Sample size=17,539, multiple answer)
Green tea-related drinks 69.0% Coffee 62.9% Chinese (oolong, etc) tea 40.7% Other Japanese teas (soba, barley) 39.4% Black tea 36.6% Blended tea 32.6% Milk 32.3% Vegetable juice 28.3% Sports drink 26.6% Mineral water 26.4% Fruit juice 24.8% Carbonated drinks 24.0% Milk-based, fermented milk drinks 16.5% Cocoa 14.4% Other 2.0% Q2: Which of the following tea-related drinks do you often drink from plastic bottles? (Sample size=17,539, multiple answer)
日本語 English Maker Percentage 伊å³è¡›é–€ Iemon Suntory 49.1% ãŠãƒ¼ã„ãŠèŒ¶ O-i Ocha Itoen 40.2% 爽å¥ç¾ŽèŒ¶ Soukenbicha Coca-cola 36.3% 生茶 Namacha Kirin 36.0% åå…茶 Juurokucha Asahi 25.2% ãŠãƒ¼ã„ãŠèŒ¶ 濃ã„味 O-i Ocha rich taste Itoen 22.4% 濃ã„生茶 Rich taste Namacha Kirin 12.9% ー（ã¯ã˜ã‚） Hajime Coca-cola 11.8% è‹¥æ¦è€… Wakamusha Asahi 7.1% 玉露入りãŠèŒ¶ Gyokuro-iri Ocha Sapporo 3.9% ãŠãƒ¼ã„ãŠèŒ¶ ã‚ã¾ã¿ O-i Ocha sweet Itoen 2.9% 生茶　蔵出ã—å°åˆ‡ã‚Š Namacha Kuradashi Kirin 2.7% ー（ã¯ã˜ã‚） 茶織 Hajime Saori Coca-cola 2.7% ー（ã¯ã˜ã‚）ã˜ã£ãり旨㿠Hajime Jikkuri Umami Coca-cola 2.2% ãŠãƒ¼ã„ãŠèŒ¶ other O-i Ocha other Itoen 2.2% 葉ã®èŒ¶ Hanocha Dydo 2.0% ãŠã„ã—ã„ãŠèŒ¶ 玉露入り Oishii Ocha Gyokuro-iri Sangaria 1.6% 百年茶 Hyakunen-cha Suntory 1.6% ã¹ã«ãµã†ã緑茶 Benifuuki Green Tea Asahi 0.8% ç„¡å°è‰¯å“緑茶 Mujirushi Ryohin Green Tea Mujirushi Ryohin 0.7% èŒ¶æ¥ Sarai Kirin 0.6% Other 8.5% Don’t drink bottled tea 10.0% No answer 0.2% Just as bit of trivia for you all, in the above table 玉露, gyokuro, is a premium variety of green tea, with a very rich and deep flavour and a significantly higher caffeine kick. 100% gyokuro tea is perhaps a bit strong for many people, but when blended with ordinary green tea it adds an extra bite to the drink, although even just a single 500ml bottle can give me a serious and slightly unpleasant caffeine buzz. If you live in the Kansai area, it’s worth heading over to Uji to taste fresh gyokuro on its home ground.
Q3: About how often do you drink tea-related drinks from plastic bottles? (Sample size=17,539, multiple answer)
Almost every day 15.5% Three or four times a week 13.0% Once or twice a week 25.1% Twice or thrice a month 21.7% Once a month or less 14.6% Don’t drink bottled tea 10.0% Q4: What do you pay attention to when buying tea-related drinks in a plastic bottle? (Sample size=plastic bottle drinkers, multiple answer)
Easy to drink 50.6% Price 48.0% Sweetness 37.1% Richness of taste 37.0% One I usually drink 28.4% Deliciousness 24.3% Quantity in bottle 23.0% Product brand 15.4% Maker 11.5% Free present attached 11.2% Design, packaging 10.8% Tea colour 9.7% Advertising impression, image 9.2% Goes with food 8.6% Ingredients 7.9% Well-named product 7.8% Bottle shape 6.2% Prominently displayed in shop 5.8% Origin of product 4.9% Newness of product 4.7% Recipe 4.5% Sell-by date 3.8% Friend’s recommendation, word of mouth 3.8% Good concept 1.8% Other 1.6% Nothing in particular 4.0% No answer 0.1% Q5: When choosing which tea-related drink in a plastic bottle to buy from a shop, how do you choose one from the many types available? (Sample size=plastic bottle drinkers, up to three answers)
Price 38.3% Easy to drink 37.4% Sweetness 25.6% Richness of taste 24.7% One I usually drink 19.7% Deliciousness 15.8% Quantity in bottle 11.2% Product brand 8.6% Free present attached 5.8% Maker 4.8% Design, packaging 4.8% Tea colour 4.3% Ingredients 4.1% Advertising impression, image 4.1% Well-named product 3.3% Goes with food 2.9% Newness of product 2.3% Prominently displayed in shop 2.0% Origin of product 1.8% Recipe 1.8% Bottle shape 1.8% Sell-by date 1.4% Friend’s recommendation, word of mouth 0.9% Good concept 0.7% Other 0.9% Nothing in particular 2.9% No answer 0.3%
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