Hand-brewed coffee is harder to quit than snacks and is a life-saving ritual for office workers

" It is such a happy thing to drink coffee brewed by someone else for you . " - Japanese movie "Song of the Quiet Cafe"

In the morning when you open your eyes every day, you forget that you fell asleep in anxiety the night before. What makes you concentrate and start your busy commute is the sense of security of a cup of coffee in your hand. Except for the color and logo of the takeaway paper cup, coffee, milk, and sugar packets, it seems to be just like the fast-paced life in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

When you sit in front of the hand-brewed coffee brewing table, you can smell the taste of your mood and the aroma of a story. For the boys and girls of Generation Z, spending more time brewing a cup of coffee can give them a longer break and relaxation time. That's all. Just use hot water to extract the good substances in the coffee beans without adding anything else. This simple and direct brewing method makes it easier to taste the coffee itself. Perhaps, this original bitterness is closer to the taste of everyday life.

It was a weekend morning. I walked into Sanlitun, the busiest commercial district in Beijing. In the trendy shop ENDCALL, which was quiet in the hustle and bustle, I met Yasuo Suzuki, the founder of Japan's TRUNK Coffee, who was hand-brewing coffee.

More than just coffee ☕

There's your life here.

Before the interview, I boldly invited Mr. Yasuo Suzuki to make a cup of hand-brewed coffee on the spot, with the additional requirement of choosing an Origami filter paper color and coffee beans that best represent him. Mr. Suzuki chose white Origami filter paper that is similar to the style and decoration of today's store, and the coffee beans were washed beans from Kenya, with the flavors of tomato, apple, cherry and blood orange.

I thought the process would be like the sacred ritual in the movies, but the whole process was smooth and comfortable. The coffee pot, coffee beans, filter paper and all the tools and utensils were like his children following his command. Everyone present watched quietly as the coffee powder slowly spread in the origami-shaped white filter paper and dripped into rich coffee.

Finally, he slowly shook the coffee in the glass and poured it into the small cup. After tasting it, he nodded slightly and said "hmm". Then I asked him about his impression of Beijing.

Q: How would you describe the feeling that the city of Beijing brings to you using a coffee bean?

Yasuo Suzuki: Beijing is a very large city. It has developed very well in recent years and has changed a lot. It is actually difficult to describe Beijing with a coffee bean. I think Beijing is the center of China, so I chose this coffee bean from Ethiopia. Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia and spread to the world. The origin of coffee can be said to have started from Ethiopia. Beijing is the center of China, and Ethiopian coffee beans are also the center of coffee, so I chose this one.

Q: Do coffee beans themselves have many different flavors, or do they develop naturally during roasting?

Yasuo Suzuki: Yes, coffee beans themselves have flavor. Because coffee beans are the fruit of coffee, and then they are made into coffee through processes such as roasting. Different varieties of coffee beans have different flavors, and the flavors are also different in different places of origin. After adding many different things such as fruits, coffee with corresponding flavors can also be made.

Speaking of cities, Yasuo Suzuki likes traveling very much. It was probably his experience working in a travel agency after graduating from university that gave him the budding desire to "go out and travel". He left Nagoya when he was less than 30 years old, lived in Malta in southern Europe for four years, and then went to Denmark to study coffee making. His obsession with coffee started from the European coffee culture, and he became the first Japanese barista in Copenhagen. This is also the essence of his ability to establish TRUNK Coffee Bar in his hometown of Nagoya.

Yasuo Suzuki named his coffee shop TRUNK, not only because it is a must-have suitcase for travelers, but also because he wants the coffee culture to grow slowly in the city, while his firm original intention remains unchanged.

Give coffee a sense of ritual

Not paper filter

While Mr. Suzuki was brewing coffee, I carefully observed the popular Origami filter paper. Origami means "folded paper" in Japanese. This colorful and beautiful cone shape, instead of the traditional filter paper bottom, can really arouse your interest in the cup of coffee in front of you, especially young girls. Whether you know coffee or not, you will definitely want to hold it in your hand and play with it.

The second surprise is the ceramic material. Porcelain is very suitable for steaming. The conical structure also allows the coffee powder to soak in hot water for a longer time, which makes the coffee powder expand and brings out the rich aroma of the coffee. So when the interview is over, the aroma of the coffee is still refreshing.

Q: What inspired you to create Origami filters?

Yasuo Suzuki: The opportunity for creation came 5 years ago when I had my own shop in Nagoya, Japan. Although I had good technology, the craftsmen who made it didn’t understand coffee and couldn’t make good things. There was a good industrial factory in the local area, and this industrial factory also wanted to make good coffee, so we decided to cooperate. However, when we first started working together, our belief was to make the world’s best coffee, and we would never compromise on this! In order to achieve this goal, it took a lot of time and continuous attempts to get the current product.

Q: What’s so special about the taste of coffee brewed with Origami filter paper ?

Yasuo Suzuki: You can take a look. Origami filter paper is very light. The reason why it is light is that first of all, making the filter paper very light requires very high technology, which cannot be made by ordinary factories. The key point of brewing coffee is the temperature of the boiling water. If the filter paper is made very heavy, the pottery will absorb part of the temperature of the boiling water, and the temperature of the water will drop. Calculating the speed of heat conduction, the speed of heating and the speed of cooling requires very important logic. By calculating the stable speed of coffee dissolution through logic, this very light filter paper is made, and delicious coffee is made.

A good cup of coffee

Drink your happiness

Every coffee lover is a barista who can unleash unlimited creativity and create the perfect coffee in his or her heart in the world of coffee that requires delicate techniques and feelings.

Drinking coffee has now become a necessary part of life, especially in Asia, where a cup of coffee during work breaks has become a standard for relieving stress. Gradually, the happiness index is now proportional to the time spent enjoying coffee. Chatting with friends and drinking coffee will make you feel happy, and a cup of coffee has become a high-energy drink for leisure.

“I hope to increase the time people spend enjoying coffee and thus improve their sense of happiness by making good coffee products .”

Q: When did you have the most impressive cup of coffee ?

Yasuo Suzuki: Actually, although it is not easy to make coffee all the way, there are touching moments every day. What touches me most is the smiles after drinking a cup of coffee. Every time I feel that moment, it gives me great motivation and also touches me.

Q: What do you think was the worst cup of coffee you have ever made ?

Yasuo Suzuki: I've been very troubled recently. I've been to many places around the world for my coffee work, but the water quality is different. If you put in water of poor quality, you can't make a very good cup of coffee. When making a cup of coffee, water accounts for 99% of the weight. If the water is not good, it is difficult to make a very good cup of coffee. I'm now testing the different water qualities available, and I found that some places still can't make perfect coffee, so I'm a little distressed.

Although China's coffee sales have increased nearly 13 times from 300,000 bags in 2008 to 2018, the average annual coffee consumption per capita is still less than 6 cups, while the average annual per capita consumption in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea is nearly 500 cups. Coffee drinking has a long history in Japan, which began 50 or 60 years ago.

"Ordinary coffee in Japan tastes bitter. Hand-brewed coffee has different flavors, such as chocolate, strawberry, and many other flavors. When it entered Japan six years ago, good coffee was more expensive, and people generally chose cheap and delicious coffee. Therefore, it was difficult for the slightly more expensive hand-brewed coffee to enter Japan. In fact, it is still a problem now, but gradually, people understand the uniqueness of this coffee."

Q: What do you think is the biggest difference between Asian coffee and European coffee ?

Yasuo Suzuki: I think the biggest difference is cultural. Coffee in Asia is more popular with young people. Although it has entered daily life, it is not yet to the extent that everyone drinks coffee every day. But Europeans really start drinking coffee in the morning and also drink coffee in the afternoon. It is a necessary product. I recently found that the growth rate of coffee in China is very fast. Now many people have started to drink coffee. The number of people drinking coffee is increasing. I feel very happy when I talk with my Chinese friends who work with me.

Q: Which step do you think is the most critical in the entire process of hand-brewed coffee ?

Yasuo Suzuki: First of all, imagine the smiling faces of people when they drink coffee. The coffee brewed with this is always trying to make the people who drink coffee smile. This is a very important point. Then, as a professional, it is important to calculate the proportions in a logical and scientific way, and then make a recipe for delicious coffee. The water quality, the temperature of the hot water, and the taste of the coffee beans must be calculated very rigorously and made into data. Only by changing the important parts can the best coffee be made. After such rigorous calculations, this delicious coffee can be made!

Q: For young people who have never had hand-brewed coffee, what kind of hand-brewed coffee would you recommend?

Yasuo Suzuki: At the beginning, I would recommend Ethiopian coffee beans. This coffee is very special. It tastes like strawberry and many other flavors. It is very different from ordinary coffee. Moreover, this coffee bean has the best price-performance ratio among hand-brewed coffee. In China, most people drink Americano and latte more. In fact, you can also try the fun of hand-brewed coffee.

Coffee helps you drink away anxiety

This cup is easy to get drunk ‍♂️

Now, hand-brewed coffee is a very interesting thing for Yasuo Suzuki.

“For me now, the happiest thing is that I have met different people and learned all kinds of new things through making coffee. I am Japanese, and because I am a professional coffee maker, I have the opportunity to come to China and work with everyone. Now I feel that making coffee is a really good thing.” Because of coffee, he also finds happiness in communicating with different people around the world. This stage also goes beyond the value and fun of professional skills.

Q: Do you make yourself a cup of coffee every day?

Yasuo Suzuki: To be honest, I don’t make coffee for myself very often now. The reason is that I go to the coffee shop every day and need to check the taste of the coffee made by the staff. I have to drink a lot of coffee, so I rarely make coffee for myself. In fact, I also want to make coffee leisurely and taste it leisurely, but I don’t have much chance because I am too busy at work.

Q: Do you have any goals for yourself now?

Yasuo Suzuki: Because of coffee, I come to China more and more often. Now I spend about half of the year in China. Coffee is becoming popular in China now. My goal is to let Chinese people drink better coffee. Secondly, it has nothing to do with the country. I also want to connect people through coffee. It is also because of coffee that I like China very much. I am very grateful for what coffee has brought.

Q: Now young people want to do what they like. What do you want to say to them the most? Yasuo Suzuki: Starting a business is not as simple as imagined. The most important thing in starting a business is to do it reliably and solidly according to your ideals for the future 5, 10, and 20 years later. This is very important ! Then the important thing is that the world is always changing, and you have to grow up in the changes. Doing the same thing will immediately put you at a disadvantage. You should establish as many tentacles as possible, obtain more information, and then grow in combination with the changes of the times, and take a step forward every day. For those who are preparing to start a business, I want to tell them that ideals are the first, and then for ideals, they should be firmly piled up layer by layer, and change with the changes of the times . This is also very important.

Now, due to his busy daily work, Suzuki tastes countless cups of coffee brewed by the staff in his own coffee shop every day. For this coffee master, brewing a cup of coffee for himself is a difficult task. Coffee is like a cell in his body, growing infinitely in his body with the original persistent belief. When I asked him what career he would do if he was not a barista, he said,

“I think I will definitely not stop making coffee . If I really stop, my ideal life in the future is to have time to make a cup of coffee for myself, and enjoy it leisurely. ”

This is the simplest and most beautiful state of life. I hope you, me, and Yasuo Suzuki can achieve it soon.

After I drank hand-brewed coffee for the first time, I couldn’t stop, so I was not unfamiliar with the scene of Suzuki Yasuo’s hand-brewed coffee this time. I believe you will also start your day with coffee.

When did you start drinking coffee?

Editor Triple-V

Interview/Translation·Toothpaste

Cover design