When the ORIGAMI brand was born, there were almost no Japan-made espresso cups, and the finish of cups sold in the global market seemed to be still rougher than they are now. However, the situation around coffee has changed in the last few years. Drip coffee has become more and more popular all over the world. At the same time, people gradually became enjoying the difference in taste depending on the producing area and variety such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil, and so on. Nowadays, some even say that the way of enjoying coffee is similar to that of wine.

As to wine glass, it is now natural to link fragrance and taste with the glass shape, but coffee cups haven't had that kind of idea. Speaking of wine, RIEDEL* changed the concept of wine glasses. Until then, everyone was drinking wine in ordinary glasses. In the world of coffee, I thought that ORIGAMI should lead the world in proposing the value of new cups, so this flavor cup was born.

*RIEDEL is an Austrian wine glass maker. Focusing on the fact that the fragrance and taste change depending on the glass shape, they developed the world's first glass with a shape that matches each grape variety.

The three shapes; "Aroma", "Barrel" and "Pinot" are inspired by the shapes often used in ordinary wine glasses.

During development, I interviewed a sommelier to learn how to achieve intended tastes as my own knowledge was not enough. I came up with these shapes through the interview and the discovery of my own theory. I think each shape is realizing a nice difference.

First of all, the fragrance and taste change depending on the cup shape, because the angle of the chin changes. Usually, manufacturers of flavor cups often pay attention to the structure that covers the nose. However, in these three types of cups, the key is the degree to which the chin is lifted when pouring coffee into the mouth.

If the angle changes, coffee touches a different part of the tongue when enters the mouth. It is said that the tongue has a different sense of taste depending on the part, so many wine glasses are designed based on this idea.

In the three flavor cups, the chin is lifted more in the order of Barrel, Pinot, and Aroma.

From the left, Barrel, Pinot, Aroma

Barrel does not require lifting the chin so much, so coffee flows from the tip of the tongue. As a result, you can feel more sweetness and enjoy the mellow taste.

Using Pinot, coffee will be easier to flow into the center of the tongue and spreads well in the mouth. So, you can capture the well-balanced sweetness, sourness, and bitterness, enjoying more complex flavors. This cup is recommended when you want to taste a well-balanced taste.

With Aroma, coffee does not flow into the mouth unless the chin is lifted considerably, but it hits the back of the tongue and flows sideways. Therefore, it is suitable for tasting sourness and bitterness. This cup gives you a stronger sense of fruit.

The taste is felt by all five senses, so the color also matters.

It is said that the warm-colored cups make a more fruity taste, and the dark-colored ones make a more bitter taste.

This time, I chose two colors, white and black, so that users can feel different tastes in a neutral sense.

That's right. Since there's no handle, it is easy to feel the temperature. The weight of the cup also affects the taste, so we made it moderate, not too heavy nor too light, so as to be as neutral as possible...

What I really want to emphasize as a feature of this flavor cup is that the shape is achieved after calculating various elements related to the five senses. You will surely enjoy a way of drinking that you have never experienced before.

At present, I feel that foreign people are more interested than Japanese. There are several reasons, for example, Japan has a long history of coffee.

Drip coffee has been popular in Japan and not a few people brew what is sold at supermarkets. Because it has penetrated our culture, we are kind of careless and still remain in the old stereotypes. So, it is difficult to change our minds even if a new wind comes in.

On the other hand, there are many places outside Japan where the espresso culture existed first, so I think the drip culture is attracting attention as it has been introduced later. People in other countries wish for different values for coffee.

Their style is more like hand-dripping of specialty coffee.

Also, drinking plenty of black coffee with a mug was the major style in Western countries, but the style of "tasting fine coffee little by little" gets trendy in the last few years. I think that the shape and size of this cup fit into that trend.