Located in Kichijoji is one of the popular coffee shops in Tokyo, Light Up Coffee.
The coffee shop opened on July 31, 2014 in Kichijoji and the shop was started by two individuals (Kawano Yuma and Tamito Aihara) who didn’t like coffee, but were more into latte art.
But as the stories go, as the two worked hard to perfect their art and started visiting other coffee shops, they realized something was lacking in Tokyo and the more cafe’s they are started to visit coffee shops in Europe, the two owners started to love coffee that they knew that starting their own coffee shop was what they were destined to do and Light Up Coffee was born.
And now they own two popular shops in Kichijoji, Tokyo and another shop in Kyoto.
But what makes them different? For one, the coffee shop holds several workshops on specialized cupping, the logical approach to drip, brewing, making cafe au lait, coffee aging, espresso and more. And they have beginners to advance workshops.
Being on the forefront of showcasing coffee, at the Tokyo Coffee Festival 2019, Light Up Coffee did something different this spring and that was to bring two coffee farmers from Dalat, Vietnam.
Light Up Coffee brought Rolan Colieng and Josh Guikema, a couple who own a coffee farm on the Lang Biang plateau near Dalat in Central Vietnam.
Rolan and Josh co-founded K’ho Coffee, a cooperative of K’ho families sustainably growing high-quality Arabica coffee on Langibang Mountain in Dalat, Vietnam and I was reading that in Vietnam, they process their coffee via a honey process and another via wet process. But I have to look further more into that.
Rolan is from the K’Ho tribe and her area was targeted by the Vietnamese government to benefit the tribe by coffee seedling projects. This would ensure the poorest minorities can grow due to the struggle of post-war economic expansion. The coffee seedling project would benefit the tribe and bring a higher standard of living and income for them to take care of their families.
What many people may not be aware is that Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world. Surprising since Vietnam is more of a tea country, but back in the 19th century, French colonists planted heirloom Arabica in the hills of Dalat, Vietnam and now, the coffee industry has led to a major economic boon to Vietnam but also the tribes.
According to K’ho Coffee, 60% of Vietnamese lived under the poverty line and now less than 10%. But while the coffee boom is great for Vietnam, unfortunately there was deforestation, soil exhaustion and exploitation of farmers, that the company has taken an environmental friendly effort by finding better ways to grow coffee and putting the profit back in the hands of farmers.
There is something magical about Vietnamese coffee from the Dalat region. May it be the Robusta coffee tree (related to Arabica coffee trees), which can grow in lower altitudes and produces larger beans with more caffeine but half of the chemicals of an Arabica coffee bean. Perhaps it’s the temperature, the soil but the aroma and taste of the coffee beans from Dalat, Vietnam is unique, flavorful, sweeter coffee and for those who love their coffee strong, more caffeine and also a bit more acidic.
Pair it with condensed milk and it’s awesome!
I absolutely liked how Light Up Coffee brought a slice of Vietnam to the festival and also played traditional Vietnamese music at the festival.
It was a pleasure to see both Rolan Colieng and Josh Guikema of K’ho Coffee at the Tokyo Coffee Festival 2019 and also I applaud Light Up Coffee for showcasing their coffee at the festival.
