For our July 2026 Kurasu Coffee Subscription, we are featuring El Salvador Don Jaime and Kurasu’s summer seasonal blend, Natsu Ake.
In this video, Takuya is joined by Kurasu roaster Kotaro to prepare both coffees using exactly the same cold brew recipe. Together, they explore how roast level affects extraction, why two coffees can taste completely different even when brewed in the same way, and how the flavor of a blend continues to evolve after roasting.
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El Salvador Don Jaime
Don Jaime is a natural-process Pacas coffee from El Salvador. After processing, the coffee is slowly dried under shade for more than a month. This extended, gentle drying contributes to a clean and full-bodied cup while preserving the sweetness associated with the natural process.
Although Don Jaime is often offered as an espresso roast in our cafés, this subscription release is roasted lightly for filter brewing. The lighter profile allows the character of the variety and origin to come through more clearly.
Expect a floral aroma with notes of plum, passion fruit, and prune, followed by almond-like sweetness, chocolate, and a creamy mouthfeel.
Process: Natural
Variety: Pacas
Roast level: Light Roast
Flavor notes: Floral, plum, passion fruit, prune, almond, chocolate
Natsu Ake — Kurasu’s Summer Blend
Natsu Ake is our seasonal summer blend, created with iced coffee and cold brew in mind. The 2026 edition combines three coffees:
- 50% Brazil — Anaerobic Natural
- 40% Kenya AA — Washed
- 10% Honduras — Anaerobic Washed
Compared with previous editions, this year’s blend contains a higher proportion of washed coffee. The result is a more defined structure and clean acidity, balanced by a fuller body and caramel-like sweetness.
In the cup, look for a floral aroma with red berry, mandarin orange, nectarine, grape, roasted nuts, and caramel.
Origins: Brazil, Kenya, Honduras
Processes: Natural / Washed
Roast level: Medium Roast
Flavor notes: Red berry, mandarin orange, nectarine, grape, roasted nuts, caramel
Same Recipe, Different Extraction
Cold brew is extracted at a low temperature over a long period. Because lower temperatures extract coffee less efficiently, the physical structure and roast level of the beans have a noticeable influence on the final cup.
Darker-roasted coffee is generally more porous and easier to extract than lighter-roasted coffee. This is why Natsu Ake produces a darker, fuller cold brew with the same recipe, while the light-roasted Don Jaime tastes more delicate, floral, and transparent.
Roast level is not determined by color alone. Roasters also consider the final roasting temperature, total roast time, moisture loss, and the difference in development between the inside and outside of the bean. Most importantly, all of these measurements must connect to the experience in the cup.
How Aging Changes a Blend
A blend does not age as a single, uniform coffee. Each component releases gas and opens up at a different pace.
In Natsu Ake, the softer anaerobic-natural Brazil becomes expressive relatively quickly, bringing raspberry, nutty, and creamy flavors during the first stage of aging. The larger and denser Kenya AA develops more slowly. After around three weeks, its bright fruit character becomes much more prominent.
This gradual shift is part of what makes blends so interesting: the balance can continue changing from one week to the next.
Kurasu Cold Brew Recipe
- Coffee: 50g
- Water: 600ml
- Ratio: 1:12
- Grind size: Medium to medium-coarse
- Filter: Nonwoven coffee bag
- Brew time: 15 hours in the refrigerator
- Grind the coffee and place it inside a nonwoven coffee bag.
- Place the bag in a bottle or food-safe container and add the water.
- Leave it in the refrigerator for 15 hours.
- Lift the bag gently without squeezing it. Let it drip, then remove it once the flow slows to individual drops.
Squeezing the bag can introduce unwanted flavors and fine particles into the cup. A gentle removal helps keep the coffee clean.
For a smaller batch, reduce both the coffee and water while maintaining the 1:12 ratio and 15-hour brew time.
Coffee from Kyoto, Delivered to Your Door
Kurasu Coffee Subscription is not just about receiving coffee every month. It is our way of sharing the present moment of Japanese coffee culture from Kyoto.
Through Kurasu Roast, we share the depth that comes from our relationships with origins, producers, and carefully selected coffees. Through Partner Roaster, we introduce the diversity of Japanese roasters—their ideas, approaches, and unique expressions of coffee.
Together, these perspectives allow us to deliver not only delicious coffee, but also the stories, recipes, and culture behind each cup.
