GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS offers the best hand-drip coffee from Japan to the world, bringing out the best of the farm's unique characteristics.

GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS 代表鈴木　清和さん

Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a town of coffee shops and secondhand bookstores. In this town where Japanese culture, history, and people from all walks of life mingle, there is a store specializing in single-origin coffee.

Glitch Coffee & Roasters" opened in 2015 with the concept of "providing a cup of coffee that is worth the limited time you have. In recent years, the store has expanded to Ginza, Nagoya, and Osaka, in addition to Jimbocho, and continues to offer the ultimate cup of coffee, making the most of the individuality of each coffee plantation.

Japanese hand-drip brewing is similar to the way we brew tea," he says. People from overseas often say so. Japan has its own coffee culture and charm. I think hand-drip is one of them. I want to focus on delivering coffee from Japan to the world.”

says Kiyokazu Suzuki, the president of the company. In his early 20s, he was searching for his dream and purpose in life. From there, he found a job as a "barista" and has worked his way up to the present day. He also spoke passionately about his passion for coffee.

Something that makes people happy. That is coffee.

-----Before opening GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS, Mr. Suzuki honed his skills under Paul Bassett, the youngest barista champion in Australia. Why did you become a barista?

If you look at my background, you may get the impression that I have done some amazing things, but I did not start out in the same way. After graduating from high school, I went to a technical school for information processing and worked for a company. I was what you would call a salaryman.

However, after about one year, I began to feel that I was not suited for the job, and since I had started working in my early 20s without knowing what I wanted to do, I spent my time as an office worker searching for my own way of life and dream.

I wanted to find something I could be passionate about, so at the time, I would try anything that I thought "sounded interesting! I was particularly interested in making things. I made accessories, stained glass, and vessels. I made all kinds of things. I went to classes and worked on them after coming home from work.

One day, after a few years of doing this, I decided that I wanted to put something to drink in a vessel I had made myself, so I learned from a coffee-loving friend to make a hand-drip cup of coffee. That's when I was introduced to the world of coffee (laughs). Once I thought, "That's interesting! I am the type of person who gets more and more into things that I once thought were interesting, so I have tried hand drip, espresso, and siphon (......). I learned that there are many different ways to make coffee.

-----It's a strange meeting with coffee.

I think it was not only my knowledge, but also the experience of making coffee and making people happy that led me to become a barista, or "coffee as a career".

-----What do you mean?

When I served the coffee I brewed to my friends, the response was even better than I had imagined, with comments such as "It's delicious! I received more positive feedback than I had imagined. I had never received such a positive response when I gave away my own accessories and vessels, but for some reason, I was able to make people smile with my coffee. It made me very happy to be able to make people happy. It was something that touched my heart. Looking back, I think it was the moment I found my dream. This is what I was looking for! I decided to become a barista.

Learning from top baristas and honing my skills in my early years

From there, I started my training. I immediately went for an job interview to work at the then Japanese espresso champion store. It was very hard work, getting angry at me every day, no sleep, and no breaks. I got sick and left after about a year. Soon after that, I started working at "Paul Bassett," an espresso cafe led by Paul Bassett, the youngest barista champion in Australia, and I think that was a turning point for me.

-----I guess it was not an easy road for you when you were working as an underling, but what was the pillar of support for you?

One is pure longing. I always wanted to be like a craftsman. walking around the world with only my skills, competing on my own merits and not letting others tell me what to do or not to do. That's the kind of life I wanted to lead.

I was always an office worker, so there were some restrictions on how I could live freely and lead my own lifestyle. There were rules about hair color, clothing, beard length, and appearance, and I thought, "It's no different from school. I wanted to be a craftsman who could produce results so well that no one could interfere with me, and I wanted to be someone who followed my own style. So, although I was aware that I had entered a tough world, I desperately tried to keep up.

-----What impact did your encounter with Paul Basset have on you?

I was surprised when I first met him. I was overwhelmed by the difference in the level of coffee between Japan and Australia. It was a culture shock. At that time in Japan, there was almost no extraction theory, but Paul was extracting coffee while calculating everything. When I saw that, I thought, "What is this ......? It was a different dimension," and at first I could not keep up.

He demanded a high level of skill, so he gave me strict instructions. But the way he taught me was very gentlemanly. That may have been another culture shock for me (laughs).When he saw me working from morning to night, he would say things like, "Don't catch a cold," or "Get a good night and sleep," and he would even say things like that.

What I couldn't do at first, I would improve if I kept at it. At the store, I was entrusted with quality control in Japan, and was also involved in the launch of Paul Bassett in Asia, including Korea, and my career continued to grow.

About 10 years later, he decided to set up his own business, GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS in Jimbocho, Tokyo, specializing in single-origin coffees.

Decided to become independent. He has been making the best cups that "bring out the individuality of the farm".

-----"GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS" is particular about black coffee. What is the concept behind it?

Our concept is "to provide a cup of coffee that is valuable for a limited amount of time," and we strongly believe that we want to "maximize and bring out the individuality of the farms. We want our customers to taste the charm of the ingredients themselves, which directly expresses the individuality of the farm. When I think about it, if I make a latte with milk or blend beans, it is difficult to see the true value of the farm. That's why I'm particular about single-origin black coffees.

-----Of all the extraction methods for black coffee, why do you insist on hand drip?

Japanese people may not be aware of it, but the way Japanese people do hand drip coffee overlaps with the way they brew tea. There are many foreign people who say, "I want to drink hand-drip tea in Japan. I think this is very much connected to Japanese culture. I think there is a strong sympathy between hand drip and Japanese culture.

-----What kind of sympathy do you feel?

In other countries, they place more importance on the aspect of whether or not it is a business. Rather than spending five to six minutes brewing a cup of coffee by hand drip, it is easier to press the espresso button and serve it to more customers. That's how much money you can make.

But in Japan, each meal is carefully prepared, and the delicate flavors are carefully selected. There is an uncompromising food culture in Japan. Even if it takes more time and effort, handmade food is better. There must be many people who think so. From this aspect, I feel that hand-drip coffee has an affinity with Japan. In fact, I think there are many high-level hand-drip stores in Japan compared to other countries.

The vision of "Japanese coffee to the world" remains the same.

-----In Jimbocho, where "GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS" is located, you can see many coffee shops just by strolling around.

In a sense, you are expanding into a battleground area, but why did you choose Jimbocho?

I wanted to open a store in a town with a long history. There are used bookstores and coffee shops that have been around for a long time, and the scenery of Jimbocho has never changed. There are also sports and music stores. I thought it was cool. It's nice to live in a town that never goes out of style. The Imperial Palace and Yasukuni Shrine are close by, and I want my store to blend in with the town where you can catch a glimpse of Japanese history and culture. So I couldn't think of a better place than Jimbocho.

-----Do you have any plans to open stores overseas from here?

Well, I am often asked this question, but I have not thought about it. If we were to open stores overseas, it would be out of line with what we want to emphasize. I was born Japanese, and I love Japanese history and culture. I started this store with a sense of gratitude and a desire to contribute to Japan, so I want to continue that aspiration.

-----That is a wonderful thought.

By the way, I would love to hear your thoughts on the future of the global and Japanese coffee market.

Coffee is booming in China right now, and young Chinese women who come to our store buy expensive coffee beans without hesitation. I am happy that we have been able to achieve our goal of "bringing Japanese hand-drip coffee to the world" with the influx of inbound customers from overseas. On the other hand, I wonder if the Japanese coffee culture will continue to thrive. On the other hand, I feel a sense of crisis when I think about it.

“Kissa ten”(Japanese style coffee shop) culture is a wonderful and unique Japanese thing. I love it too. But why is it that the image of the underground is still so strong? Cigarettes, dimly lit stores, etc.It's something to be particular about. I think there are many people who have the impression that coffee is something that men make.

-----Yes, that is true.

But from now on, I hope to change the position of coffee to make it more accessible to young people. Young Japanese women can also casually go to coffee shops or brew hand-drip coffee at home. What can we do to make that happen? That is what I have been thinking about recently.

-----Finally, please tell us about your future goals.

I would like to focus on brand building. ORIGAMI and HARIO brands of coffee utensils are well established. We would like to establish the brand "GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS" as well. To get there, we have to be particular about every single thing. Aiming to be a reliable brand, we would like to continue to send out the value of coffee from Japan to the world.

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