JUNCTION Coffee Roaster from Kumamoto is this month’s #KurasuPartnerRoaster. The owner and roaster, Tasaki-san, left his career as a car mechanic and jumped into the coffee industry. His journey with coffee started after moving to Sydney, and through numerous memorable encounters with great people and great coffee, it led Tasaki-san to the world of specialty coffee.

Tasaki-san’s CV comes with many impressive experiences including working as a roaster at Artificer Coffee in Sydney, but according to Tasaki-san, the journey was far from all rainbows and butterflies- “No one will give you a job if you are being like that”, was the harsh comment Tasaki-san received from Shoji Sasa-san from Artificer Coffee when they first met.

“Excitement was all I was feeling”, Tasaki-san recalls the time when he moved to Australia. However, he soon had to face the hard reality- after so many visits, CV after CV sent out, he still couldn’t land a job. His luck finally turned to his favor when his friend set up an interview with Sasa-san. “Back then, I didn’t even know who he was and certainly had no idea how big a name he was- I was desperate and could use all the help I could get”, Tasaki-san reflects.

Sasa-san was harsh but he also gave Tasaki-san all the advice he needed. Sasa-san agreed to let Tasaki-san help with small tasks such as cleaning and packing beans. While juggling several cafe jobs, Tasaki-san never missed a chance to attend QC cuppings with Sasa-san, and his passion paid off as he was eventually promoted to be a production roaster.

For this package Tasaki-san selected Colombia and Honduras. Colombian coffee has a special place in Tasaki-san’s mind, since his first memorable cup he had in Sydney. Until this day, 60-70% of the lineup at his shop are usually Colombian coffees, and this Pink Bourbon directly purchased from the farm is especially special.

The Honduras was purchased via Mori-san from COFFEE COUNTY. “This coffee made me realize their wonderful and unique flavor” Tasaki-san says. This prompted him to start roasting Honduras coffee and now he is considering setting up a direct trading with farms in the near future.

“I’m happy to introduce ourselves through such special coffees: my first direct trade of my favorite Colombian coffee, and my new enthusiasm that is the coffee from Honduras. Our roasting philosophy is to create something nice that still can be enjoyed everyday. This package would be a great way for people to know who we are.” One page isn’t nearly enough to tell you how captivating he and his journey is, but we hope we can share some of it here, and of course through his coffee!