Gluck Coffee Roaster

Gluck Coffee Spot opened in 2017 in the center of Kumamoto City, southwestern Japan. The company operates three cafes and one roastery that sells roasted coffee. All located in the city, they are attracting more specialty coffee enthusiasts by the day. The manager, history buff and coffee aficionado Takafumi Miki, oversees everything from sourcing and roasting coffee to running the shop. Though coming across as easy-going, Miki approaches coffee with the stoicism of a warrior. We’ve spoken to Miki to dig deeper into his past, present and future. Expanding the market and reaching out to more people A retrofitted, old-fashioned 70-year-old building near Kumamoto Castle is home to Gluck Coffee’s first café. Customers are greeted by the warmth of the Japanese-style woodwork as they pass under the traditional short curtain at the entrance. “Our core desire is to make specialty coffee available to as many people as possible. That’s been part of our vision ever since we opened our first cafe and the reason why we searched busy commercial areas for its location.” Out of several candidates, they settled for the dodgiest one. “I felt that the other properties we looked at would be too bland and make us look like just another trendy coffee stand. That was uninteresting. This place, on the other hand, had its own character. For the interior, we try to create the casual atmosphere of a cafe that attracts even those who are not particularly interested in coffee.” Stumbling across ignition Miki first stepped into the world of coffee when he was a student. After he left his native Oita Prefecture to go to university in Kumamoto, he started working...