Back in April, I had the opportunity to attend the Tokyo Coffee Festival held at United Nations University (same location as the Farmer’s Market).
I went early to watch how the festival was setup, to see how the overall event was executed and to meet the various coffee shops from different countries who traveled far to showcase their coffee.
The event is held in the spring and another in autumn (to be held in October 19th and 20th @ UNU) and this time, the event will be welcoming Portland, Oregon as a guest city.
But for spring 2019, the guest city was Melbourne and it was fascinating for me to see numerous coffee shops from Melbourne at the event.
Based on Italian culture, Melbourne coffee has undergone dramatic changes due to the rapid diversification of culture and ethnicity over the past decade, making it a unique culture of Melbourne.
Melbourne, Australia is said to be an immigrant city, and a variety of cultures are mixed to create a new culture.
Coffee is said to have been brought to Melbourne by the immigrants from Italy in the 1950s, but in the last decades, the culture and ethnic groups have been rapidly diversified, making dramatic changes and making Melbourne’s unique culture aas born.
Since the 1970s, Australia has been promoting multiculturalism and has been growing.
Still, one person says, “The reason why Melbourne’s coffee culture has grown so far is because everyone is lazy.” This is because I can leave the office as an excuse for “buying coffee” during my work. At the cafe, people of various occupations and races gather and spend the same time equally.
TOKYO COFFEE FESTIVAL featured “ST.ALi” and “Patricia Coffee Brewers” as well as six cafes and craft chocolate maker “Hunted + Gathered” for the first time in Japan.
- ST.ALi – A popular cafe in Melbourne offering their own special coffee and excellent service.
- TIN MAN COFFEE ROASTERS – Coffee with heart. The company’s philosophy is to work with good people, roast with care and serve great coffee with a story.
- MAKER Coffee Melbourne – Providing high quality, “Good Honest Coffee”. Specializing in seasonal, unique coffee, roasted to the highest standards.
- Martyr Coffee Roasters – From the Abacus Melbourne team comes a new coffee roaster, Martyr Coffee Roasters.
- Patricia coffee brewers – A coffee stand in the heart of Melbourne offering Italian espresso and specialty coffee.
- CIBI – The first Melbourne coffee store established in Japan.
- Hunted + Gathered – Coffee made from carefully selected cacao beans.
- PRANA CHAI – All natural, craft chai specialty store that does not use sugar or chemical products.
In addition, “CUP OF ASIA”, which connects Tokyo and Asian coffee farmers to create a new Asian coffee culture, has also started. In this first installment, there will be a talk with producers and a cupping & auction aimed at connecting roasters and producers.
I’ll be back with part 2 of my coverage of the Tokyo Coffee Festival 2019 (Spring)!
