Known as the best embodiment of the spirit of Japanese coffee workers-Ichiro Kanaguchi

Professional coffee knowledge exchange More coffee bean information Please pay attention to coffee workshop (Weixin Official Accounts cafe_style)

Ichiro Sekiguchi, Japanese coffee legend and founder of Amber Coffee, died on March 14, 2018, aged 103. He worked hard for coffee all his life, always insisting on roasting high-quality coffee, and never said retirement. He was the oldest coffee maker in Japan.

Aged beans, ultimate aroma.

Amber Coffee is hidden in the back alley of Ginza in Tokyo, which is more special than the bustling and lively Central Street. However, the determination of geographical location free coffee drinkers is due to Amber Coffee's choice of "aged coffee beans", which is unique in other coffee shops. Most coffee shops use "new beans" because they have more water content and richer taste and aroma, while "old beans" have less water content and lighter taste and flavor, and older coffee beans are even more so.

Aged coffee beans need to be placed in an environment with a specific humidity and temperature, and need to be carefully preserved. Amber coffee is the most expensive bean, even up to forty years old. It also insists on roasting itself. In this era of rapid development, it is not easy to get it. However, Ichiro Sekiguchi believes that aged coffee beans, like aged wine, have a mature and mellow flavor, and that over time, excess acidity and moisture will be removed from the beans. He believes that the subtle changes brewed by these coffee beans will give coffee a completely different atmosphere.

In order to show the aroma of old beans, Ichiro insisted on hand flushing, because only let water pass through the powder bit by bit, can filter amber fragrant coffee juice, and from bean grinder, hand flushing apparatus to teapot, coffee cup, etc., all are designed and manufactured by themselves, even the filter net is manually sewn by the staff in the store, to ensure that the aroma of old beans can be brought into full play. Keep making "real coffee" and let him win. The secret of this cup of good coffee stems from the fact that after the end of World War II, the pass accidentally opened a bag of coffee beans left over by the American army, and it was fragrant.

Ichiro Sekiguchi studied science and engineering at university. As early as his student days, he found that among many drinks, coffee was his favorite. He once said,"It's in my nature to explore the essence of things." In order to explore the secret of good coffee, he constantly asked the coffee shop owner about the coffee making method, after repeated imitation, failure, redo, and finally out of his own satisfactory coffee.

At the outbreak of World War II, he was recruited as a logistics technician with a technical background, and after the war, he started a career in cinema equipment with his retired colleagues. He said in an interview,"I never thought I'd make coffee my career." It was only because he would make a cup of coffee for visiting customers that he gradually gathered a group of coffee lovers in the office to drink the coffee he brewed, so he had the idea of opening Amber Coffee.

From then on, Ichiro Sekiguchi's only thought was how to make coffee. Even though he was over 100 years old, he still drank five cups of coffee a day. He said: "I don't know if I regret it, but I don't regret choosing coffee." My goal in life is to provide delicious coffee to customers, and I am satisfied now." This sentence is probably the best epitaph for a coffee lover.