Young Roaster’s Passion for Roasting
Good Coffee Experience in Shimane, Japan
Takashi Saito
Corrected by Mitsuko Isohara
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There is a sophisticated coffee shop in Matsue, Shimane prefecture.
The shop’s name is Imagine Coffee which was named after the music band group Beatles singer John Lennon’s famous number, Imagine.
The owner Nobuaki Kishimoto was in his early 20s when he opened the shop in the suburb of Masue city. Back then, the corner of the garage at his grandfather’s home was the shop.
So the shop’s name used to be Hanare Imagine. Hanare means outside building or detached house in Japanese.
Hanare Imagine had very few customers when it first opened. He was sometimes ridiculed by others. But He just decided to choose the way to sell coffee. His passion for coffee, especially for roasting coffee beans, was his motivation. His passion for coffee and perseverance had gradually brought customers to the shop by words of mouth.
He moved the coffee shop downtown of Matsue in Matsue in 2013 . This was the turning point in his career. The shop’s name had changed to Imagine Coffee. The word Hanare was excluded.
A famous architect in Matsue designed the new coffee shop and his fellow craftsmen worked on the interior to complete the shop. He also introduced a roasting machine to pursue excellence in roasting.
While customers are chatting merrily, the machine’s whirling sound are also fills the shop. Kishimoto stares at the gauge’s roasting logs. He carefully carries out hand picking and cupping which are important to the roasting process.
Difference in temperature in roasting results in different coffee flavor and aroma irrespective of using the exact same beans.“The roasting process is profundity,” says Kishimoto.
He studies cutting-edge roasting theories by reading books written in foreign languages. This style is not common in Japan’s coffee roasters which decline emphasis professional techniques than theories. He realizes both techniques and theories are two halves of the same whole. In short, the thinks both of them lead the essence of the roasting.
He also competed in a roasting competition called Japan Coffee Roasting Championship known as JCRC. The goal is not being a champion but enhancing or excelling San-in region’s coffee culture. In fact, his passion for roasting has bore fruit by famous San-in region’s coffee chains. He has been appointed to the cupping instructor for the coffee chains’ staff.
“However road to the goal is far from the current situation” said Kishimoto, I want to brush up my roasting skills and realize them,”said Kishimoto.
It seems that his goal is not so far than he thought. We should keep keen eyes on this young coffee roaster’s energetic activity.
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Koura Times
取材協力
（イマジン珈琲店 松江）