Chef Takumi
Awamori Mizuwari (泡盛水割り, awamori with water)
Awamori mizuwari is not a trick of the bar. It is three parts awamori, seven parts cold water, and enough patience to let the black-kōji aroma open.
Culinary Explorer
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Calpis (カルピス)
Created by
A proper glass of Calpis is all ratio and cold: one part concentrate, four parts water, ice enough to keep it bright, and soda when you want shuwashuwa fizz.
Beverages
Japanese
Quick Meal
Comfort Food
Picnic
5 min
Active Time
0 min cook•5 min total
Yield4 drinks
Calpis begins as a white concentrate, not a finished drink. That matters because the bottle leaves the last decision to you: how much cold water, how much ice, how much tartness you want in the glass. The honmono move is plain: use the concentrate. Homemade cultured milk syrup may be interesting, but it is another thing.
The first secret is the ratio: one part Calpis to four parts water. The concentrate is fermented milk and sugar, so it has both lactic tang and a soft dairy sweetness. Dilute it too little and the sweetness sits heavy. Dilute it too far and the clean tartness disappears. Start with the standard, then adjust by the spoonful.
On a summer table, Calpis is not pretending to be tea or juice. It is a modern Japanese refresher, pale, cool, and quick enough for a picnic lunch. Use very cold still water for the original glass, or plain soda for Calpis soda, shuwashuwa, the small fizz on the tongue. The one detail to watch is temperature. A warm glass makes this taste flat and sweet; a cold one lets the tartness stay clean.
Calpis was first sold in Japan on July 7, 1919, by Kaiun Mishima, who developed it after encountering fermented milk during travel in Inner Mongolia. It was made as a concentrate to be diluted with water at home, so a small bottle could become many glasses. Ready-to-drink Calpis Water arrived in 1991, but the concentrate remains the older household form.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Calpis concentrate
Quantity
1 cup (240ml)
chilled
very cold still water
Quantity
4 cups (960ml)
plain soda water (optional)
Quantity
4 cups (960ml)
chilled, for Calpis soda
ice cubes
Quantity
as needed
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Calpis concentratechilled | 1 cup (240ml) |
| very cold still water | 4 cups (960ml) |
| plain soda water (optional)chilled, for Calpis soda | 4 cups (960ml) |
| ice cubesfor serving | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •Liquid measuring cup or jigger
- •Chilled glass tumblers or a small glass pitcher
- •Long spoon
Instructions
- 1
Chill the glass
Use cold concentrate and colder water. If the glass is warm, fill it with ice water for a minute, then dump it out. Calpis carries milk sweetness, and warmth makes that sweetness heavy; cold gives the tart edge room.
- 2
Measure the ratio
For each drink, measure 1/4 cup (60ml) Calpis concentrate and 1 cup (240ml) cold water or soda. This 1:4 ratio is the standard home measure. It should taste milky and tart, not syrupy. Measure once, taste once, and then your hand will remember.
The ratio is the method. Too much concentrate makes the drink cloying; too much water washes away the lactic tang. - 3
Dilute with water
For the original still drink, pour the concentrate into a glass or small pitcher. Add a splash of the cold water and stir until smooth, then add the rest. The concentrate is heavier than water and likes to sit at the bottom; loosening it first makes every sip taste the same.
- 4
Or add soda
For Calpis soda, put ice in the glass, add the concentrate, and pour the soda slowly down the inside of the glass. Stir two slow turns and stop. Hard stirring knocks out the bubbles, and the shuwashuwa fizz is the whole pleasure here.
- 5
Serve at once
Pour into chilled glasses over fresh ice, leaving a little space at the top. Drink it while the glass is beaded with condensation and the flavor is still bright. A drink this simple has nothing hidden, so serve it cold and clean.
Chef Tips
- •Use Calpis concentrate, or Calpico concentrate if that is the export label available to you. Calpis Water is pleasant, but it is already diluted; the older household form lets you set the strength yourself.
- •If your tap water tastes strongly of chlorine, use chilled filtered water. In a glass this plain, water is not background. It is half the drink.
- •For soda, use unsweetened plain carbonated water. Sweet soda crowds the fermented tang, and then the drink becomes noisy in the glass.
- •Calpis contains milk. For a dairy-free table, don't pretend a plant syrup is the same drink; serve mugicha or chilled hōjicha instead, and the table stays honest.
Advance Preparation
- •Chill the Calpis concentrate and water at least 2 hours ahead, or overnight. The colder the ingredients, the cleaner the drink tastes.
- •For a picnic, carry the concentrate, water or soda, and ice separately, then mix at the table. Soda should never be mixed ahead, because the bubbles fade.
- •Still Calpis can be mixed up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated. Stir before serving and pour over fresh ice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 300g)
Calories
140 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
10 mg
Total Carbohydrates
34 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
33 g
Protein
0 g
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