vol.11 森の中のコーヒー屋さんへ

vol.11 森の中のコーヒー屋さんへ

The name of the shop is SUNNY COFFEE & ROASTERS. “Sunny” actually comes from the name of my golden retriever. It’s a bit of a cliché, I know… But I really liked it, so I went with it. We’re in Hara Village, Nagano. Just down from a little village of guesthouses. This was one of the only spots where a bit of forest remained, and I thought it was wonderful. That’s why I chose here. I wanted to brew coffee surrounded by nature. I just hoped that what feels good to me would feel good to others too. Here you are —this is the Colombia Finca Milán April. Oh, how lovely! This place is beautiful—every part of it. It really feels wonderful. I’ve selected about four or five types of beans myself, so we can serve them as drip coffee or iced—however you like. Ideally, I’d like to chat with each guest:
“What kind of flavor are you in the mood for today?” Then I can suggest, “Here’s what I have—how about trying it this way?” If I can offer that kind of conversation and experience, I’d be happy. The other day, you gave me some beans… …but actually, I didn’t have any tools to make coffee myself. I had no idea how to brew it. I’ve only ever been on the receiving end of good coffee.
That’s perfectly fine too. Yes, but I’d like to be able to brew my own coffee especially on early mornings… So, please teach me how to do it. Since I know you care a lot about the tools you use,
I’ve chosen what I consider to be good equipments. To start with drip coffee, of course you need beans… …and this—a hand grinder. This is perfect for home use. It’s from Comandante.
You said you preferred black, so I chose that color. We’ll grind the beans with this. And here’s the dripper. We’ve also got a beaker server, an electric scale, and a kettle. Boil the water, grind the beans… Set the dripper and prepare a filter. A coffee filter. Today we’ll use one from Equal—It’s made of…
Cloth? Oh, more like a non-woven fabric, it’s a cone-shaped non-woven filter. I think it’s great. This dripper is made of tin. It was developed by the coffee shop in Shizuoka. It is the V58. You’re probably familiar with the V60, a famous dripper— This one here is a V60. But they changed the angle from 60 degrees to 58 degrees.
Oh, So the “58” refers to the angle! Yes, you’re right. There are many ways to brew… and this one’s quite particular, I thought you’d like it, so I chose tin.
Yes, it looks very stylish. First, we boil the water, but we don’t let it fully boil. We aim for around 90°C.
90°C—got it. Anywhere between 88°C and 92°C is fine.
Today we’ll go with 90°C, right in the middle. Right in between.
Yes. Now for the filter—this is a filter press.
You press it down like this… The closer the filter adheres to the dripper, the better.
So you press it in firmly. Next, we rinse the filter, just like so… This is not made of paper, so we don’t need to rinse much.
Oh, really? Yes, just a light rinse is enough. Now let’s grind the beans. Should I leave the rinse water in for now?
We’ll discard it shortly. You can remove this part here…
Ah, it pops off. Yes—put the beans in here, and grind them using this handle. The grounds fall into the bottom container, which opens with a twist. What’s really important is this—
this dial here controls grind size. You adjust it like this. If you turn it all the way until it no longer rotates,
that’s the finest setting. Turn to the right? Yes, clockwise. Then, depending on how many clicks you turn it back, you adjust the coarseness. Most people set it around 24 to 28 clicks for a medium grind, So that works well for lighter roasts for today’s beans Wait—if that’s the middle, does it go up to around 50 clicks? I’m not sure—I’ve never turned it all the way to the end. But most people use somewhere between 20 and 28 clicks. Today, let’s go with 28 clicks. Three, four, five, six… That’s 28. Done. If it tastes a bit too weak when brewed, we can make it finer next time to adjust. Let’s just place the grinder like this to keep it simple.
Okay. Press “tare” on the scale… Today we’re using a Colombian coffee called Aroma Nativo.
“Aroma Nativo”?, right… It has a wonderful fragrance—really lovely. It’s called “Aroma Nativo”, Yes. It’s not the name of the farm—”Aroma Nativo” is actually name of the team, responsible for the entire processing of the green beans. Oh, so it’s the name of the producers. Exactly. It’s quite a rare bean—I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s a variety called Pink Bourbon.
Pink Bourbon? We’ll measure out 15 grams… There we go—just about right.
Should it be exact? Roughly is fine—around 15 grams is good. And we’ll use about 240cc of hot water. 200?
About 240cc. So the ideal ratio is something like 1:15 or 1:16—
meaning 15g of beans for 240–250cc of water. That’s a good balance, but of course, you can adjust it to taste. If you remember 15g to 240cc, that’s a good rule of thumb. It’s easy to remember. With 240cc, you’ll get about two cups out of that amount. Now we grind. Just turn the handle round and round. It’s heavier than I expected!
Yes, it takes a little effort… It reminds me of grinding sesame in the suribachi (mortar). Yes, and this is a light roast, so it’s a bit firm. Would you like me to do it? It does take some muscle… Just like this—keep grinding. You tend to hold it like this, don’t you?
(laughs) Yes, I do. But you could just place it on the table like this too. It’s a bit of a task, but the Comandante is probably the best hand grinder out there. It’s a great arm workout…! Now that it’s ground… We’ll put the coffee into the filter like this—just tap it in. It’s not quite level. You want it to be flat, right?
Yes. Just give the dripper a gentle tap… like this. Try to make the bed of grounds as level as possible. Now we zero the scale again. Done. The water is now at 90°C. Let’s begin pouring.
So I should aim for 250cc? That’s right—this shows grams, and that one shows time.
This feels a bit complicated. Yes, it takes some getting used to…
But once you remember it, it’s quite simple. So with 15g of beans and 240cc of water, we start by blooming the coffee.
That means we pre-wet the grounds. Use about 40 to 50cc of water and let it bloom for around 30 seconds.
Okay. With 90°C water and 15g of coffee, we’ll aim to finish pouring the full 240cc over about two minutes. Pouring slowly and steadily. Yes, about 240cc total. That pace makes for a well-balanced extraction. First, we bloom. Start the timer… Pour evenly—around 30 to 40cc. Now let it soak in for about 30 seconds. Even though we went a little over, it’s fine—don’t worry. Once you bloom with a small amount of hot water,
you can go in for the second pour. Pour in circles again, up to around 90 to 100cc. Then wait another 30 seconds before the next pour. There are many ways to do this—some people pour in 3, 4, or even 5 stages. I usually do five. Now the third pour—let’s go up to 150cc.
Okay. When the water starts dripping more slowly, like a soft “plop, plop”…
that’s your cue for the next pour. For the final pour, focus just on the center—no swirling. No swirling? Right. It’s draining much faster now—this is the final stage. Aim for around 240cc total. That’s it. It should finish dripping in about 2 minutes to another 15 seconds. Once it stops, it’s ready. Looks like it’s done. Now, transfer the brew to another vessel… Give it a light swirl—but be careful, it’s hot. And here’s the coffee we just made. It makes enough for two cups, doesn’t it? Yes, it does. Please give it a try. Let’s see how it turned out… Mmm, it’s delicious. It really wakes you up! Is it a little strong? Not for me—I like it this way.
The flavor is rich and clear. Yes, delicious.
There’s a bit of acidity too. Yes, Aroma Nativo is quite complex. You might catch notes of mango, banana, or white peach… …but it’s hard to say exactly what the aroma is. Exactly. It’s very complex—that’s what makes it interesting. It has a layered aroma… …a bit like passion fruit. Yes, once you think about it, you can really sense that. There’s even a banana-like sweetness to it… Really fascinating. It’s a very unique bean. The Finca Milán beans you usually drink are bolder—more straightforward.
Yes, that’s true. Unforgettable, really. A lot of people tell me that too. This is delicious, too. It has a fruity aftertaste…
Nice for any time of day. Yes, it’s just lovely. There’s sweetness too.
Good for mornings or afternoons. Exactly. If it feels a little strong, you can adjust the grind to be coarser. Ah, so that’s how you adjust the flavor. Or shorten the brew time. If it’s too weak, grind finer. You can also try using different water,
adjust the grind, or change the temperature. It all depends on how you want to experience it. What tastes best really comes down to your own senses.
Yes, that’s true. Once you find what tastes good to you, you can call that your recipe. It’s like weaving—following the threads that make sense to you. And the beans themselves change with time and condition. Just like tea. With pour-over, even the same beans can taste different each time.
That’s the beauty of it. I see. I hope you’ll enjoy taking your time with it. If I’m sleepy in the morning, I’ll need to stay focused—otherwise I’ll mess up! (laughs) Even if you’re not precise, it still tastes good. It’s all about your style—carefully made or casually poured, it’s up to you. You’ll find what works through trial and error. Yes, I’ll experiment. Enjoy it! And anytime you want help, just let me know. I’ll probably come back saying, “I forgot everything, please teach me again!” (laughs) I’ll write the recipe down and send it to you. Thank you so much. Soon the greens will deepen… And autumn comes early here. By the end of summer, the leaves begin to fall— Then comes the autumn foliage… Then a snowy winter. Four seasons. I’ve been coming here almost two years since we began planning this building. And it’s amazing to see how nature changes each week and month. One moment the leaves are falling, then the snow comes, then buds bloom in spring. Watching nature change so quickly each week is truly humbling. Earlier, you said coffee tastes different here than it does in Tokyo. Yes, I think the biggest factor is the water here. But also, being surrounded by nature affects how we experience flavor. By the way—coffee isn’t your main job, is it? No, actually I’m a graphic designer. I lead the visual direction of magazines as an editorial art director. I’ve been in the field for nearly 40 years. I’ve worked on magazines many of you would recognize. But I also wanted to do something I really loved… (laughs) Coffee started as a hobby, but I got completely hooked. And I wanted to share it with others. Seeing people enjoy it brought me so much joy,
I couldn’t resist turning that into something more. Would you like to say a few words to everyone? This is a beautiful place surrounded by nature. Please come visit. We serve unique coffees that just might open up a new world for you. It would be a pleasure if you came and found it to your taste.

５月のさわやかな風が吹く日、
長野県・原村にあるコーヒー屋さんを訪ねました。
そう、〈vol.6 私の好きなコーヒー〉に登場してくださった藤村雅史さんのお店、
〝SUNNY COFFEE & ROASTERS〟がオープンしたのです！
木立の中を歩いていくと、森の中に現れるモダンな建物。
まわりには自然しかなくて、聞こえるのも鳥の声だけ。
そんな空間で、香りのよいコーヒーをゆっくり味わう……。
なんとも心地のいい時間で、
帰りたくなくなってしまいました。
今回の動画は、夢を形にしてしまった
ひとりの男性の物語……かもしれませんね。

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〈vol.6 私の好きなコーヒー〉