K COFFEE in Nara is the #KurasuPartnerRoaster for May. The owner and roaster, Mori-san was originally pursuing a career as an Okonomiyaki (savory Japanese cabbage pancake- staple food especially in the Western area of Japan) chef- one of our green beans importers, SHU・HA・RI’s Tsujimoto-san introduced us to him, and hearing such interesting life stories and meeting new people always remind us how curious and blessed with people and their relationship this specialty coffee world is.
“There is no such thing as ‘an absolutely unique coffee’” he says, and I (*the interviewer, Kosuke) thought his philosophy is almost completely the opposite to mine- but the intriguing mixture of a calm, tender aura and a wild confidence he has had me hooked and almost jealous. While he’d simply answer “you all are thinking too much” to many of the questions I asked, as if he doesn’t care, I could tell from his face that he was looking for the right answer deep inside him, and the right answer only.
He is happy with his customers enjoying his coffee with milk, sugar or anything, but he said he was not at all like that at the beginning. “I refused to sell my coffee ground or in drip bags because I wanted my customers to have my coffee at its absolute best.” This comment made me realize that the energetic and strong but balanced coffee Mori-san roasts are the reflection of the journey and the countless struggles he went through- the confidence he gained over time is what makes him and his coffee so superb yet versatile and inclusive.
Mori-san roasted Guatemala (from SHU・HA・RI) and India for this subscription. The Indian coffee is an anaerobic process new crop, which is quite rare and certainly the first for us. Exciting!
“I wish everyone a little but precious happiness they can find over a cup of everyday coffee- nothing special but something that lights up the day”, Mori-san says, one of the most cool, laid-back coffee lovers I’ve ever met. No matter which direction, I find people who’d go all the way to the end of its spectrum- I wish I could have more time talking with him but I’m sure I can find out more about him in his coffee and I hope you will too.
