Japanese Barista Iidaka Wins a Respectable Award at Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago
A scene from the 35th Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago where the World Brewers Cup took place.
The 35th Specialty Coffee Expo, the largest coffee trade show in North America, was held for the first time in Chicago over three days from April 12 to 14, attracting approximately 17,000 coffee and tea business professionals from 85 countries to the McCormick Center.
The coffee expo took place for the first time in five years since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of visitors to the expo was up 23% over the previous one, and the number of exhibitors also reached a record high of 602 companies according to the Specialty Coffee Association, the organizer of the event. In addition to exhibits and business meetings, the expo also featured many seminars for professionals.
The highlight of the expo was the World Brewers Cup (WBrC), where baristas (professionals who brew coffee by hand drip) from around the world competed with each other by using their skills and knowledge. While the 44 contestants, who represented their countries, were competing, Japan's representative barista, Wataru Iidaka (Saza Coffee), cleared the semi-finals on the second day and went on to the finals on the third day.
About the World Brewers Cup
On the first day of the three-day event, all contestants give a presentation on their coffee beans, brewing equipment, and brewing methods. Twelve contestants are selected out of 44 to advance to the semi-finals on the second day.
On the second day, coffee beans were provided by the organizer, and the 12 contestants competed in the art of extraction using the same beans. Each contestant has 45 minutes to test his/her extraction technique several times and submit the best coffee to the judges. The names of the judges have not been revealed, and six will be chosen to compete in the finals on the third day.
On the third day, each contestant selects and brings his or her own beans and brews aromatic coffee using their own equipment and techniques.
Barista Iidaka selected the Geisha variety grown in Panama, which was said to be the world's best coffee-growing region, with a flowery, fruity aroma and sweet taste. He used golden spheres, called paragon balls, to instantly cool the coffee after the first pouring of hot water to bring out its best aroma. With this extraction method, Iidaka won the 2023 Japanese Brewers Cup and qualified for the world championship.
The WBrC stage was set up in the center of the expo site, and a crowd of audiences were watching the finalists’ presentations. The warmest of all were the dozen people from Saza Coffee who came to Chicago to support Iidaka. Saza Coffee focuses on training baristas, and Iidaka has been a barista at Saza Coffee for 12 years.
More than a dozen people from Saza Coffee came to Chicago to support Barista Wataru Iidaka (C). The photo right is Taroh Suzuki, President of Saza Coffee.
Interview with Taroh Suzuki, President of the Saza Coffee
Taroh Suzuki, President and owner of the Saza Coffee, has some friends in Chicago and has visited the city several times. He is Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan and has been Chair of the Japan Brewers Committee.
Q: I heard that Saza Coffee goes to coffee bean farms to buy directly from them.
Suzuki: I often serve as a judge at coffee fairs, so I visit the farms that have won the competition. I also have coffee farms in Colombia, so I often ask the local people how they grow their coffee.
The people, who are sitting near me, are Daniel Peterson and his family members who discovered the Geisha variety in Panama. They are the most important people of the Panama Geisha variety in the world.
Q: What kind of coffee is the Geisha variety?
Suzuki: Panama Geisha coffee is very tasty. The aroma is extremely rich. It is like overflowing perfumes. I’m pleased that we could present this coffee, which no one has tasted before.
Today is the second day, so the organizer provided the coffee beans to the contestants. So the judges will evaluate who can brew the best coffee with the same beans. If you are one of the six finalists tomorrow, you will brew with the beans you brought in. So whoever can brew the best coffee in the world with their own delicious beans and with the most efficient equipment is the winner.
Q: Is Iitaka san the only one who uses a metal ball to cool the coffee?
Suzuki: When he pours the first hot water into the coffee, he cools it with a metal ball so that the aroma of the extracted coffee does not fly away, and all the aroma is trapped inside the cup. The chilled balls are very good heat conductors, so they cool the coffee well.
When the hot water is poured for the second time, the warm coffee goes into the cup. This is a difficult extraction method that produces coffee with a strong flavor and rich aroma because all of the first aromatic coffee is trapped inside the cup at that time.
The judges’ evaluation is the total of what kind of beans you use, how you brew it, and how you express the taste and aroma of the coffee. I think he is doing okay. We want to win.
Q: Thank you very much.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the third day, Iidaka, who was selected as one of the six finalists, quietly set up the brewing equipment on the table, brewed coffee several times to test the taste, and then brewed the coffee to be submitted to the judges.
Iidaka's smooth brewing movements showed the beauty of a refined barista. When Iidaka finished brewing the coffee, the audience gave him a big round of applause.
Barista Wataru Iizuka’s final presentation with his guests, Daniel Peterson and his family members who discovered the Geisha variety in Panama, and Saza Coffee President Taro Suzuki (R).
Interview with Barista Wataru Iidaka
Barista Wataru Iidaka brews coffee at the final competition.
Q: Is cooling the coffee with a metal ball a new way of brewing?
Iidaka: To make the best coffee on the planet, innovations are taking place in various technologies and equipment development, and equipment manufacturers and producers are also making better products. I don't think it is possible to say that all coffee tastes better if you use all of these things, but we have prepared various things, such as what goes well with the coffee and at what point to use it, and we have adopted this approach this time.
Q: What coffee beans did you use for the final?
Iidaka: I used my favorite Panamanian Geisha beans. I used beans from three different farms, but instead of mixing them, I layered them. I did not call it a blend in the presentation, but rather interacting, or synergy between the beans so that the coffee flavor gradually changes as its temperature goes down. It is like the orange color gradually changes to reddish brown and creates a gradation of flavor. I think I have succeeded in expressing a coffee that has a gradation of taste.
Q: Are you constantly researching brewing methods?
Iitaka: Yes, that's right. The taste you want to produce will vary depending on the choice of coffee beans, roasting, and other factors, so I am glad that I was able to create a gradation of flavors by layering the coffee beans rather than mixing them together.
Q: I am sure you will have a good performance today. Could you tell us your goals for the future?
Iidaka: In my presentation today, I compared myself to the Disney character Nemo. It is a story about a little fish who swims in the ocean, meets many people, and grows up. I also have been participating in coffee competitions for 10 years, so I asked the audience to call me Nemo.
Good coffee is already spreading throughout the world, so I have many opportunities to connect with producers and equipment makers. Of course, I am sure that there are many encounters with customers as well, so I would be happy if I could be a bridge that connects encounters with various people and contributes to making the Japanese coffee industry attract more attention from around the world.
Q: Thank you very much.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barista Iidaka smiles after winning the respectable second place.
After 3 p.m. on the final day, when the six finalists had finished their presentations, the WBrC venue was abuzz with the announcement of their results. A large curtain filled with messages of encouragement for Iidaka was hung by Saza Coffee's cheering group on the partition separating the venue from the audience.
Iidaka did not come in 6th, 5th, or 4th place, but won a respectable 2nd place. Iidaka's dignified appearance, which was hard to believe for a first-time entrant in a world competition, had an appeal that moved people.
According to Hajime Yaguchi, Executive Officer of Saza Coffee, the name of the company came from the Omotesenke School of Tea ceremony, "Saza Kissa”. It means, “Please sit down and take a cup of tea.” The name "Saza Coffee" was chosen to express the meaning of "serving coffee with the spirit of hospitality of the tea ceremony,” Yaguchi said.
He also said that Saza Coffee operates an integrated system from coffee bean production to roasting, packaging technology, distribution, and final coffee served to customers. For this reason, the company has been focusing on training baristas to brew coffee.
The coffee beans grown on the company's own farm in Colombia are rich in flavor, sweet, and aromatic. The difference between cold and warm weather makes for delicious coffee, but warmer regions do not produce depth. The company has been concerned about coffee disease and pest damage due to global warming, but they have good friendships with farms in Panama, and they can exchange information.
Yaguchi commented on Saza Coffee's commitment to coffee, "There is a norm in the industry, but the owners of Saza are pursuing it more, saying, 'If we can do it, let's try it more.’ That's why they are willing to challenge the world in barista competitions like this."
Saza Coffee is based in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and operates 17 directly managed stores in the local area as well as in front of Tokyo Station, JR Shinagawa Station, and JR Omiya Station (Saitama).
On Saza Coffee's website, https://www.saza.co.jp/, you can watch a video of Wataru Iidaka’s teaching how to brew coffee.
Exhibitors at Specialty Coffee Expo
The exhibition hall, with 602 exhibitors' booths, featured a variety of exhibits, including coffee bean producers, large equipment manufacturers, small equipment manufacturers, hand drip, pots, cups, and more. Among them were many exhibitors from Japan, and booths introducing matcha (powdered green tea) and Japanese tea were conspicuous.
Semi-permanent Ceramic Coffee Filters
Hideyoshi Nagoya, Founder and President of the design company h concept Co., explained the ceramic coffee filter, which eliminates the need for paper filters. The ceramic filter is shaped like a dripper, and coffee powder can be added directly to it to brew coffee.
Hideyoshi Nagoya (L), Founder and President of the design company h concept Co.
With a paper filter, the paper absorbs the beans' natural aroma oils, but the ceramic filter has a porous surface finer than the tip of a hair, allowing all the aroma oils to fall into the cup.
In addition, "Paper has chemical parts, and when hot water passes through it, it is difficult to taste the true flavor of the coffee beans, which is a waste," he said. Furthermore, he continued, “Passing the water through a ceramic filter makes the water molecules finer and mellower on the tongue.”
To develop this filter, Nagoya worked with a ceramic craftsman in Nagasaki to repeatedly make prototypes of the filter's angle, the speed at which the hot water falls, and among other things before finalizing it into the final product. “When I brew coffee with this filter on Sunday mornings, I feel really refreshed. It would be fun to use this filter to create a coffee ceremony or a Japanese tea ceremony, that would bring coffee back to Japan. I would like to bring the joy of not only drinking coffee but also brewing good coffee to the world,” Nagoya said.
Creating the Ultimate Brew is the Job of Baristas
Takayuki Tanaka, Manager Barista in Connecticut
Chicago Shimpo asked Takayuki Tanaka, who works for a coffee wholesaler in Connecticut and holds the title of Manager Barista, how he brews his coffee. Tanaka was raised in the Chicago area, having attended Northbrook High School in the suburbs of Chicago in 1988. This time, one of the baristas in his company was competing for the U.S. National Roaster Championship.
When he was asked how to make delicious coffee, he replied, "Well, that's a long story.”
Even so, Tanaka explained a few key points.
1. First, good coffee beans must be selected.
2. Starting with how to grind beans, and then the thickness of the coffee is determined.
3. The amount of coffee used, the amount of water used, how the hot water is poured, and all the factors contribute to the taste of the coffee. “The Brewers Cup is the place to concentrate on this. Our job is to create the ultimate brew that brings out the best flavor by using the same beans and testing it over and over again," Tanaka said.
Life-Changing Events, Coffee and Roasting
Yasuo Ishii is President of LEAVES COFFEE
Yasuo Ishii is President of LEAVES COFFEE, a roasting company based in Sumida-ku, Tokyo, and a barista himself. Ishii was a professional boxer who aspired to be a world champion, but an injury ended his dream, and now he aspires to be a world champion in roasting.
One day, he was shocked by an encounter with a cup of sweet and fruity coffee and then entered the coffee industry. After a series of twists and turns, Ishii realized the importance of roasting, so he purchased an expensive but ideal roasting machine and finally started his roasting business in 2019. Ishii's brief words say a lot: "Growth can only be found in uncomfortable places." (If you are interested in the full story, visit https://typica.jp/narratives/roasters/leaves-coffee-roasters/.)
Early on in his roasting business, he was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it became a tailwind, as online sales grew enormously for good coffee at home.
Ishii said, "Fruity coffee is about the quality of coffee beans and roasting. If the beans are not good, they will not be fruity even with proper roasting." After the expo, "I will go to Panama to buy quality beans, the world’s best variety of Geisha,” he said.
Designing a Dripper for Delicious Coffee at Home
Shigeji Nakatsuka, President of Sanyo Sangyo
Shigeji Nakatsuka, President of Sanyo Sangyo, a developer of hand drippers based in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, said that the company's corporate message is "Having Coffee Smile Beyond Café." It means that his company wants people to create a space where they can laugh over coffee at home with their loved ones and friends.
Nakatsuka, who has experience in roasting, said, "I still believe that hand-drip is the best way to extract the best coffee at home.”
He explained, “Coffee beans begin to release gas when they are roasted, and then the gas begins to deteriorate after two weeks. Ground coffee is hollow and gassy inside. When hot water is poured into the coffee, it expands. However, deteriorated coffee does not expand because it has lost its gas. Thus, the original taste of the coffee is difficult to obtain. If you buy from a store that roasts its own coffee, you can by freshly roasted coffee.”
Nakatsuka developed the Flower Dripper to brew delicious coffee at home. When viewed from the top of the dripper, it has a flower-shaped bulge. He said the bulge supported expanding coffee beans in a Flower Dripper. It enables making delicious coffee at home; however, it requires a certain amount of control over how hot water is poured. He continued, “It is a fact that many people cannot do it well at home.”
To solve this problem, Nakatsuka created the long and narrow Flower Dripper. The longer the hot water hits the coffee, the better the coffee can be extracted. To lengthen the layer of filtration, he made it for three to seven cups. However, many people asked for a one-cup version. Nakatsuka kept refusing it, saying, "That is out of theory," but demand for good coffee at home grew during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many offers came in from Europe and the Middle East to become distributors of Sanyo Sangyo's hand drips. And the Flower Dripper spread to those regions.
Seeing that the demand for good coffee at home would continue to increase even after the pandemic, Nakatsuka thought of a shape that would allow anyone to brew a cup of coffee with great taste. This was realized by narrowing the diameter of the dripper. Because the diameter is small, there is no control over pouring hot water. “After much thought, we came up with a long and narrow Flower Dripper for one person,” he said.
Nakatsuka's advice for those who do not like coffee with strong acidity. Shallow roasted coffee beans have strong acidity. He said that pouring the extracted coffee into the cup from a high place or stirring it with a whisk like a tea whisk to let air in will soften the acidity.
Sanyo Sangyo's website is https://sanyo-sangyo.co.jp/.
New Products with Coffee Waste
Mami Tsuchiyama (R), development department of Daiichi Seikosha
By mixing plastic with crushed coffee junk from roasting coffee beans, it is possible to make plates, dishes, forks and spoons, ballpoint pen bodies, and many other things. The samples were exhibited at the booth of the Daiichi Seikosha based in Miyakojima, Osaka Prefecture. According to Mami Tsuchiyama, in charge of development, the company is able to recycle various waste materials into useful objects by mixing them with plastic. The mixing ratio of the former to the latter is 70%-80% to 20%-30%.
For example, there are momiplas with rice husks, ShellPlas with oyster shells, EGGPLAS with eggshells, and RockPlas with pumice stones.
According to Tsuchiyama, a dark brown color is inevitable with coffee waste, and the company is exploring demand for these products at this exhibition.
Daiichi Seikosha's website is https://www.f-b-i.co.jp/.