The #KurasuPartnerRoaster for September is COFFEEMAN good in Aomori. Being a historic port town, Aomori has been welcoming travellers from all around the world- and has a deep-rooted kissaten culture to host them. In a little corner of the city’s shopping arcade, there is a coffee stand loved both by the locals and the visitors alike. The owner, Hashimoto-san, inherited this coffee stand in 2017, and opened it up again as COFFEEMAN good.
Originally from Aomori, Hashimoto-san moved to Tokyo to attend a university, then had his first job at a tutoring school, starting a busy city life. One day, Hashimoto-san dropped by a cafe and picked a coffee on the top of the menu list- and that completely changed his life. It was an Ethiopian coffee, and Hashimoto-san recalls that at first he did not believe what the menu said: “a sweetness like ripe grapes”, only to be blown away by the fact that it tasted exactly like grape juice.
Inspired by the experience, Hashimoto-san visited about 150 coffee shops within a mere month and a half, while still working full time. As he deepens his interest in coffee, Hashimoto-san joined CAFE LEXCEL, specialty coffee shops run by Dotour group. While refining his skills working as a barista, Hashimoto-san also built up a solid record of competing at championships such as JBrC.
Hashimoto-san met Nakamura-san, the owner of the original cafe when Hashimoto-san was visiting his hometown in Aomori. Specialty coffee shops were rare back then, so Hashimoto-san quickly became a regular, and as they got to know each other better, the conversation became more about cafe management, and eventually Nakamura-san confessed that he’s been thinking of closing down the cafe. While the two did not talk about Hashimoto-san taking over the business straight away, the Panama Geisha Hashimoto-san roasted and left for Nakamura-san to try prompted Nakamura-san to visit Hashimoto-san in Yokohama the next day. “Nakamura-san wanted to brighten Aomori up with coffee and the power of baristas, and I resonated with his vision. That’s why I decided to inherit the cafe from him”, Hashimoto-san reflects.
COFFEEMAN good was named after Nakamura-san’s old friend’s vinyl shop, “Record Mann Good”. Not just in the name, Hashimoto-san kept cherishing the original community, while revitalising the menu, started to roast their own coffee, gaining even more fans in the community. This year, Hashimoto-san installed a new Giesen 15kg, upgrading the roasting environment even more to focus further on quality.
“I want to help make more spaces for people to enjoy coffee in Aomori”, Hashimoto-san says. Aomori’s coffee scene is definitely blossoming, with JAC regional was hosted in Aomori for the first time last year, and more local people competing at championships. Hashimoto-san is now planning to turn his roastery into a shop, with a vision of upscaling the business to create more job opportunities. If you have a chance to visit Aomori, do drop by and feel the booming Aomori’s coffee culture.
