Japanese Canned Coffee

Japanese canned coffee, kan kōhī, is coffee ready to drink from a can, sold in shops and, above all, from Japan’s vending machines, where you can buy it hot or cold all year round. It started in 1969, when UCC put its milk coffee in a can, and it took off after 1973, when Pokka and Sankyo Electric brought out a vending machine that could sell cans hot as well as cold. Here’s the story and how it works.

The short version

• Ready-to-drink coffee in a can, from black to sweet milk coffee.
• Sold hot or cold, often from vending machines.
• UCC’s milk coffee, April 1969, is usually credited as the first.
• Pokka’s hot-or-cold vending machine, 1973, made hot cans possible.
• Over 100 million cases a year were shipping by 1983.

How is canned coffee made?

Canned coffee is made in a factory: coffee is brewed at scale, blended, often with milk and sugar, and sealed in cans. It isn’t brewed by you at all, which is why it sits in the industrial chapter: the “method” is buying it.

Why is canned coffee sold hot?

Because of the vending machine. In 1973, Pokka and Sankyo Electric (now Sanden) brought out a machine that could be switched to sell drinks cold in summer and hot in winter, according to Nagoya’s official tourism site. In 1978 came machines that sold hot and cold drinks at the same time. Pokka’s own history says its founder, Toshikage Tanida, had the idea in 1968, after seeing truck drivers drinking cold drinks on a freezing night.

A short history of canned coffee

• 1965: Wikipedia records a short-lived canned coffee, Mira Coffee, in Shimane Prefecture.
• 1969: UCC launches UCC Coffee with Milk in a can, in April, usually credited as the first successful canned coffee. The original can held 250 ml. Its founder reportedly wanted a coffee he could drink on the go.
• 1972: in May, Pokka starts making Pokka Coffee, its first canned coffee.
• 1973: in November, Pokka and Sankyo Electric bring out the hot-or-cold vending machine.
• Mid-1970s: Coca-Cola Japan launches Georgia coffee, about two years after Pokka’s machine, and smaller 190 ml cans appear.
• 1978: vending machines that sell hot and cold drinks side by side spread.
• 1983: canned coffee makers ship more than 100 million cases.
• Today: canned coffee is still a fixture of Japanese vending machines and convenience stores.

How do you drink it?

Straight from the can. Choose hot or cold, and black, milk or sweet, as the can describes. Hot cans can be very hot, so give them a moment before you open one.

Canned coffee vs other ready coffee

	Japanese canned coffee	Ready-to-drink coffee	Instant coffee
Form	Liquid, in a can	Liquid, in bottles or cartons	Powder or granules
Temperature	Hot or cold	Usually cold	Made hot
Preparation	None	None	Add water

General guidance only. Hot cans can burn, so hold them with care, and check the can for sugar and caffeine if you’re watching either.

Canned coffee vs other methods

• Snap-chilled coffee: coffee brewed hot and chilled fast for cans and bottles.
• Cold brew: steeped cold, sold canned by some brands.
• Spray-dried instant: the other great convenience coffee.
• Japanese iced coffee: brewed hot onto ice, at home.

Explore every industrial method in the instant and industrial chapter.