Recently, my mind has been gravitating to one subject again, and again, and again:
coffee.
The thing is, I’ve spent most of my life being strictly a tea-drinker. “Going for coffee” even became somewhat of a joke with my friends because everyone knew that coffee was the last thing I’d be likely to order any time we went to a coffee shop or cafe. And it’s not that I thought tea was superior or anything. Quite the opposite, I love coffee-flavoured things. I wanted to like coffee too. I just… didn’t. It’s always been too harsh, too bitter, and I found the milder flavours of tea much more to my taste. So I just avoided it, opting instead for English Breakfasts and Earl Greys.
It wasn’t until the pandemic, when quarantine had me spending most of my time indoors with a parent who drinks coffee daily, that I started having coffee more than twice per year, if that. The go-to in our house was Nescafe Instant Hazelnut, and I thought it smelled amazing. But even then, it wasn’t something I’d have every day, and milk was an absolute necessity, as was a biscuit or a piece of chocolate on the side.
So how did I go from that, from drinking instant only occasionally and almost always with some form of sugar to help the ever-present bitterness go down, to now, researching specialty roasters and eagerly awaiting a hand grinder and dripper to arrive in the mail later today?
Honestly? I blame YouTube. James Hoffmann, specifically, whose frequent blend of science and absolute chaos appealed to both my academic side and my need for good entertainment and background noise. Somehow, The Algorithm™ knew to throw his content at me one day and ever since then he’s been a constant in my home; if I’m not actively watching his videos I’ve got them playing in the background as I go about my day. I’ve listened to his series on espresso twice and every time I watch one of his Beginner’s Guides, I feel like I should be taking notes. That’s how, over the span of about a month (even less, really), I found myself learning more about the coffee than I ever thought I would, and cultivating an ever-growing desire to drink as much of it and experience as much coffee-adjacent culture as I possibly can.
Lucky for me, I also currently happen to live in Japan.
From a pour over at a traditional 喫茶店 (kissaten) to a can of Boss from a vending machine, the Japanese world of coffee is so diverse that it has something to suit almost anyone’s tastes. Personally, I have a massive soft spot for the cafe culture here. Taking the time to go somewhere for a hot beverage and a snack, sitting down in an atmospheric place by yourself or for a chat with a friend – this has been the highlight of many weekends, trips and midweek evenings for me over the past two years. And for the most part, my drink of choice has been the usual. Tea. But I think that might be changing now.
And if I’m going to be drinking coffee more regularly, if I’m going to be making more than just instant at home and actually going for coffee, what better place could there be to start all of that than Japan? The country is, after all, the second biggest coffee market in the world. Coffee equipment powerhouses Kalita and Hario are both Japanese, as is Origami, the makers of the most Instagram-able dripper ever. Be it instant or specialty, the options seem endless, and rich, warm aromas waft from chic cafes nationwide, from busy metropolises to the quiet countryside. It’s almost impossible to avoid the allure of coffee in Japan because it’s quite literally everywhere.
So this is how I start my journey into the wonderful world of coffee, partly thanks to Mr. Hoffmann and partly thanks to the incredibly well-developed coffee culture of Japan. Where it’ll take me, I have no idea, but I look forward to every sip.