GOLPIE COFFEE: January 2016 Kurasu Partner Roaster Subscription

What happens when a third-generation coffee expert adds his experience and ideas to a decades-old coffee company with deep roots and a strong following? You need only look as far as Nagoya prefecture to find the answer to this question, as it is the home of this month's featured roaster: Golpie Coffee.

This roaster actually came to life before WWII under the name of Matsuya Coffee, a company that specialized in coffee wholesaling within Nagoya. Their home region had (and still has) and a strongly-embedded culture of kissaten, or traditional Japanese coffee houses. In time, Matsuya Coffee branched out and began selling products and amenities for kissatens throughout the city.

Now, many fruitful years later, Kawai Yuya san has joined the company. He brings with him many years of experience and wisdom gained from his time spent at a well-known coffee company in Tokyo. Kawai san has also brought about some changes.

Under his guidance in 2015, Matsuya Coffee became Golpie Coffee in a rebranding effort that would make specialty coffee the key focus of the company. The purpose of the new direction? According to Kawai san, the aim is to connect new people with specialty coffee, providing new excitement for coffee drinkers as well as education into the finer aspects of his trade. Of course, he plans to accomplish these goals with full respect to the existing kissaten culture that Golpie's home region holds dear.

In pursuit of creating these new connections between customers and great coffee, Golpie Coffee actively actions rare selections of beans from around the world. They're also fond of actively visiting the source regions, that they may make personal connections with the farmers and producers. These trips allow for a better understanding of the process behind the beans, which in turn reveals the optimal way to roast, brew, and serve the final result to customers.

In addition to this remarkable dedication to the “seed-to-cup” ideology, Kawai san also holds workshops that help to match differing coffees with the tastes of the customers. One couldn't ask for a more skilled guide into the world of specialty coffee, as Kawai san has recently won the 2015 Japan Coffee Roasting Championship, and will soon be moving on to compete in the world championship!

We at Kurasu are excited to be working with Kawai san and Golpie Coffee, and we know you'll be thrilled to experience their contribution to the the Kurasu x Good Coffee subscription service!