2022.12.01
Blog
We are excited to let you know that we have kicked off TYPICA Lab. In this project, roasters across the globe visit coffee producers worldwide. Japanese roasters traveled to Bolivia in the first series, which started in September. In the second series from October to November, roasters from Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan stayed in Kenya and Tanzania, deepening their connections with producers and each other. Green coffee is the crystallization of producers’ hard work, skills, and knowledge. Roasters, meanwhile, try and do their best job to bring out the unique character of each coffee with roasting and serve it to coffee lovers. By visiting farms, roasters not only literally came face-to-face with producers, but shared knowledge through cupping...
2022.11.21
TYPICA After Hours Talk with 3-Star Roaster Raw Sugar Roast: Coffee as a medium
On October 13, 2022, day four of SCAJ 2022, TYPICA hosted the final round for the TYPICA GUIDE on the SCAJ Stage at Tokyo Big Sight. In this event, seven 2-Star Roasters representing different regions gave a presentation and brewing session, and a panel of judges and the audience voted on the best roaster. The top prize of 3-Star Roaster went to Yuya Kosakada from the Tokyo-based Raw Sugar Roast, and he was joined by judges KREVA and Chizuru Muko for a talk session at the TYPICA booth. Telling the story from the beginning Masashi Goto (Masashi): Thanks for coming and hope you all enjoyed the show. I’d like to start by asking the judges what they thought of Yuya’s...
2022.11.15
Everlasting Regeneration: Keynote speech by Eiji Hattori
In mid-October, 2022, TYPICA held its first Annual Meeting in Japan, focusing on the theme “SDGs–The start of a sustainable development generation.” The event began with an official visit to Ise Shrine, a symbolic representation of Japan’s spiritual culture and sustainability. Prior to that, participants had the privilege of listening to a keynote address delivered by Mr. Eiji Hattori. With over two decades of experience at UNESCO headquarters, including positions as the top spokesperson and special adviser to the Director-General, Mr. Hattori shared his insights. Coffee roasters and producers from 22 countries worldwide benefited from simultaneous interpretation in English and Spanish, enabling them to fully engage with Mr. Hattori’s speech. Sustainable development impossible through possession and exploitation “Man, the child...
2022.11.01
First TYPICA Annual Meeting Wraps Up
Last month, we held TYPICA’s first ever annual conference “TYPICA Annual Meeting” in the city of Ise, central Japan, and Tokyo. The overarching theme of the event, which ran for five days from October 10 to 14, was “SDGS: Sustainable Development Generation Shapers.” Around 80 people took part, including coffee producers, roasters, and other key industry figures, flying in from 22 countries and territories. The participants deepened their understanding of coffee through dialogue with a joint mission to improve sustainability of delicious coffee. The gathering featured various programs, each aimed at shining the spotlight on the work of producers and roasters. The participants also paid an official visit to Ise Jingu shrine and then attended SCAJ 2022, the largest specialty...
2022.10.15
Going a Step beyond Transparency and Connections toward Sustainable Development
TYPICA Annual Meeting came to a close at Tokyo Big Sight on October 14. Coffee producers, roasters, and consumers represented their countries at the TYPICA booth at SCAJ, deepening their relationships through cuppings and presentations. The final day kicked off with a talk session between Atsushi Yukutake of independent specialty coffee magazine Standart and TYPICA’s chief representative Masashi Goto. Yukutake has known Goto since before he founded TYPICA in 2019. Yukutake was also involved in TYPICA’s promotional tour, where TYPICA hosted cuppings for roasters in seven cities across Japan. Asked what he thought when he first heard about Goto’s plans for TYPICA, Yukutake said that Goto’s vision was so grandiose that he couldn’t wrap his head around it at first....
2022.10.14
Truly Delicious Coffee Recommended by All the Coffee Lovers: Deliciousness Comes from Care and Compassion
Day 4 of TYPICA Annual Meeting took place at Tokyo Big Sight on October 13. The action-packed day culminated with the Final Round of TYPICA GUIDE. All the coffee lovers, including coffee producers, roasters, and consumers cast their vote to recommend truly delicious coffee. The top prize went to Raw Sugar Roast, and the Tokyo-based roastery was named the first ever 3-Star Roaster. The event was also attended by coffee producers who have deep ties with the participating roasters. During the show, each presenter expressed their passion and dedication toward coffee. As did the previous day, Day 4 featured multiple brewing sessions hosted by roasters from South Korea, the Netherlands, and Germany. Claye Tobin of Uncommon in the Netherlands took...
2022.10.14
Direct Trade Brings People Closer Together: Borderless World Tangible at SCAJ
Day 3 of TYPICA Annual Meeting took place at Tokyo Big Sight on October 12. TYPICA welcomed coffee lovers from across Japan and beyond to its booth at SCAJ 2022, the largest specialty coffee festival in Asia. During talk sessions with roasters, TYPICA played Meet the Roasters Videos, a video series that puts the spotlight on roasters. After the videos were played, TYPICA had dialogue with the featured roasters themselves. Other sessions include cupping events hosted by coffee producers from abroad, as well as the introduction of the TYPICA Origin Team. Throughout the day, visitors witnessed from different angles where TYPICA stands now, as the company strives to build a community of all those involved in coffee. This year’s SCAJ...
2022.10.12
Shining Light on Producers’ Ambitions and Personality: Harnessing Power of Community to Change World
Day 2 of TYPICA Annual Meeting took place at Toranomon Hills Forum in Tokyo on October 11. The event attracted around 200 participants, including coffee producers, roasters, and various others in the coffee industry. During the Producer Award, which featured presentations by coffee producers, 18 presenters shared their passion for coffee, vision for the future, and plans to achieve that. At the end of the gathering, attendees of different nationalities, languages, and professions deepened relationships at the Community Dinner banquet. Three years into its founding, TYPICA provides services to coffee producers in 32 countries and roasters in 39 countries and territories. The company’s uniqueness lies in the fact that its core aim is to create a community of coffee producers,...
2022.10.11
We are within Nature: Witnessing Quintessence of Sustainability
TYPICA Annual Meeting (TAM) got underway at Ise Jingu on October 10. Around 80 people, including specialty coffee producers from 22 nations and members of TYPICA, attended a keynote speech by Mr. Eiji Hattori, former advisor to the Director General of UNESCO, to learn what sustainability stands for. At Ise Jingu, the symbol of Japan’s spiritual culture, the delegation paid a Mikakiuchi formal visit. It provided an opportunity to take a hard look at the relationship between self and others and at our way of life. The overarching theme of TAM is “Sustainable Development Generational Shapers.” TAM is a five-day conference, running through October 14. In the three days from October 12 to 14, various programs will be held at...
2022.10.09
Boundaries Dissolved: Roaster Visit in Tohoku
A group of coffee producers from Bolivia have arrived in northeastern Japan. As part of Roaster Visit, a multi-day tour of roasteries, the group traveled to the Tohoku region on October 7. Their itinerary mainly consists of meet-and-greets with roasters who visited them in their country about a month ago on a TYPICA Lab tour. The group and roasters celebrated their reunion with a warm hug. Among the roasters are Yudai Hashimoto and his wife Yuri of Aomori-based COFFEEMAN good, Kazuhiro Nagasawa of Iwate-based NAGASAWA COFFEE, and Yusuke Matsuki of Miyagi-based KEYAKI COFFEE. They all said that it feels surreal to get to see coffee producers in their hometown merely a month after they met them in Bolivia. During the...
2022.10.08
TYPICA kicks off Roaster Visit, an occasion for learning, dialogue, and an expression of gratitude.
Specialty coffee producers have gathered from around the world to visit coffee roasteries in western Japan. Roaster Visit kicked off in the Kansai region on October 7. During the 4-day program, coffee producers will visit various coffee shops in the country and see firsthand how the fruit of their labor is being enjoyed as a drink. On Day 1, about 30 producers with close ties with TYPICA took part in the tour. They came from 11 countries in Africa, Central and South America, and Asia. Splitting into four groups, the producers traveled to Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya, as well as the Tohoku northeastern region. In each of the destinations, the producers enjoyed Q&A sessions and cupping events with roasters through...
2022.08.12
About Potato Taste Defect
What is potate taste defect? Potato taste defect, or PTD, is a type of defect that’s only found in coffees from some East African nations, including Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Coffee beans with this defect give off a raw potato-like odor when they are ground or brewed. One of its causes is said to be certain insects that bite a hole in coffee cherries, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. Another culprit is believed to be pyrazine, a class of organic compounds that coffee trees generate when stimulated by insects. But no clear cause has been established. Differences from other defects PTD has two main differences from other defects. The first is difficulty in...