Happy Birthday 🎂 Calpis! The story of Japan’s most unfortunate beverage name (and the taste of first love)

CALPIS (not "cow-piss") sold as CALPICO outside Japan, was officially launched on July 7th 1919 as a refreshing yogurt drink. The catch: it was inspired by Mongolian milky booze🍶

Calpis: Japan’s Most Unfortunate Beverage Name (and the Taste of First Love)

When you live in Japan, you get used to a certain level of linguistic peril. You buy Pocari Sweat from a vending machine and wonder if you’ve just ingested the bodily fluids of a marathon runner. Maybe you shop for beauty products at Placenta Plaza. And then there’s Calpis—a name that, to the uninitiated English speaker, sounds like something you’d find in a barnyard trough rather than a Tokyo café. Yes, cow piss. In Japanese, (カルピス) romanized as Karupisu.

The first time I heard it, I thought someone was playing a joke.
“Would you like some Calpis?” they’d ask, and I’d look around for hidden cameras, waiting for Ashton Kutcher to leap out with a glass of something yellow and suspicious.
But the joke, as it turns out, is on us: Calpis is a beloved Japanese drink with a history as rich as its unfortunate name.

---

From Mongolia, With Love (and Fermentation)

The story of Calpis begins not with cows, but with a man named Kaiun Mishima and a bout of digestive distress. In 1908, Mishima traveled to Inner Mongolia. The local nomads, perhaps sensing his discomfort, handed him a cup of airag—a fermented milk drink made from horse’s milk, also known as kumis.

To his surprise, the tangy, sour beverage not only tasted good—it restored his health. Inspired, Mishima returned to Japan with a mission: to create a cultured milk drink that would be both delicious and beneficial to the Japanese public, who at the time weren’t exactly clamoring for dairy-based refreshments.

One can only imagine the elevator pitch:

“It’s like yogurt, but you drink it! And it’s not made from cows, but… well, sometimes it is. And it’s not piss, I promise. Also, not a problem if you're lactose intolerant, which you probably are…”

---

Calpis Is Born

Mishima’s early experiments weren’t exactly hits.

• Daigomi, made by fermenting cream, failed due to a national shortage of cream.

• Daigoso, made from skim milk, didn’t sell either.

• Lacto Caramel melted in Japan’s sweltering summers—the Wicked Witch of dairy products.

Then came a happy accident: Mishima added sugar to Daigoso and left it overnight. The result was a sweet, tangy, milky concentrate that, when diluted, became the Calpis we know today. It officially launched on July 7, 1919, priced at ¥1.60 per bottle.

The drink soon earned the slogan: “The taste of first love.”

Much better than "the taste of cow piss"—though arguably less memorable.

---

Why July 7th? A Celestial Marketing Move

In Japan, July 7th is Tanabata, the Star Festival—when two mythological lovers separated by the Milky Way are allowed to meet. The original Calpis packaging featured white dots on a blue background to evoke the Milky Way itself.

Launching Calpis on Tanabata linked the drink with romance and cosmic fate. To this day, Calpis Day is celebrated every July 7 with sampling events and limited-edition flavors. No cows in costume—at least, not officially.

---

What’s in a Name? A Lot, Apparently

“Calpis” is a mash-up of:

• Calcium

• Pis (from sarpiṣ, Sanskrit for clarified butter—one of Buddhism’s “five flavors”)

The name was meant to convey health and exoticism. Unfortunately, no one in the room realized “Calpis” sounds like dairy farm drainage to English ears.

When the drink was exported to the U.S., it was rebranded as “Calpico” to spare future generations from giggling in vending machine aisles. Still, the original name remains a source of endless expat amusement.

---

Mongolia’s Boozy Legacy

Mishima’s encounter with Mongolian airag was the genesis of Calpis. The drink’s flavor and health benefits come from the same lactic acid fermentation the nomads used—a practice dating back centuries.

Worth noting: Airag is mildly alcoholic, around 2–3%, thanks to wild yeasts and bacteria. It’s the ZIMA of the Gobi.

Sadly, modern Calpis is booze-free. You could drink ten liters and not catch a buzz. But don’t despair—there is one way to make Calpis a little more festive:

---

Calpis Whisky (Asahi-Approved Cocktail)

Ingredients (in order):

• 2.0 oz (50 ml) CALPIS

• 2.0 oz (50 ml) Whiskey

• 4.0 oz (100 ml) Water

• A few Ice Cubes

Instructions:
Pour CALPIS and whiskey into a glass. Add water and stir gently. Drop in a few ice cubes, and enjoy chilled.

Personally, I prefer my Calpis Whisky without the water, but i'm a rebel. A troublemaker. A daredevil. And sarcastic.

---

Final Sip

So next time you see a bottle of Calpis (or Calpico) in your local Asian market, raise a glass to:

• July 7th

• Tanabata

• The Milky Way

• Mongolia

• And to the world’s most unfortunately named—but undeniably tasty—drink.

And if anyone asks, yes, it’s made from milk. No, it’s not what it sounds like.
But if you want to tell your friends you’re drinking cow piss, I won’t stop you.

After all, it’s the taste of first love.
And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of mischief.