"Hokkaido" – Japan's northernmost prefecture known for its abundance of nature, beautiful water bodies, fresh air, mountain ranges, and active volcanoes.
Throughout the year, the humidity is low and the temperatures are lower than in the rest of the country. This land, with an optimal environment for coffee brewing, was the place where Sapporo Coffee Kan was born in the year 1982.
The founding policy behind Sapporo Coffee Kan was our single-minded desire to give as many people as possible, the experience of having a truly delicious cup of coffee.
Since the establishment of this company, the founder Eiichi Ito has placed great significance on the appreciation of the unique individuality of coffee beans that came from different countries rather than the fact that all the coffee beans were of top quality. Even today, we stay true to this commitment and apply this principle to the fine selection of our coffees' varieties and grades.
To bring out the best of the individual varieties, we roast them using our original roasting technique, the CSR (Charcoal Straight Roasting) method. In this way, Sapporo Coffee Kan has become Hokkaido’s pioneer charcoal coffee roaster.
After the roaster was well-established, Sapporo Coffee Kan’s first coffee shop was opened in 1986, in Sapporo’s Nishi-ku (west ward), with the desire to bring the joy of specialty coffee to a large number of people.
The founder's vision was becoming actualized in the form of a cup of coffee, along with the atmosphere, music, ambiance, and every little detail of the shop adding value to the experience of enjoying a truly delicious cup of coffee.
Within no time, Sapporo Coffee Kan earned the number 1 spot on the list of "5 best cafes with a constant flow of customers", which was ranked by the public listeners of a local radio program.
Afterward, the second generation President of Sapporo Coffee Kan, Mr. Ito traveled around the world in the pursuit of unique coffee beans that would be used exclusively at Sapporo Coffee Kan. In 2003, he came across San Conrad farm, located in Brazil’s Cerrado area, owned by Mr. Aguinaldo Jose De Lima, and established the first exclusive contract farm agreement with them. The vision of using exclusive coffee beans was actualized by finding a partner that could be fully trusted to provide a stable supply of coffee beans with the taste and quality that Sapporo Coffee-kan required. (Click here to see this exclusive contract farm coffee from Cerrado Shimada Plantation, Brazil)
In 2008, we have signed another exclusive contract farm agreement with Tabih village, a coffee farming village near Mount Batur, located in the northern region of Bali, Indonesia. (Click here to see this exclusive contract farm coffee from Mount Batur, Indonesia)
In 2011, a contractual agreement was made also for Mandheling coffee beans, the most popular coffee bean from Sumatra, Indonesia. (Click here to see this exclusive contract farm coffee from Mandheling, Indonesia)
We believe that the passion of the coffee producers and the passion of our company will come together to create the perfect cup of coffee, and help us to flourish and grow further in the future.
We send out world-class, delicious coffee beans from the heart of Hokkaido. Sapporo Coffee Kan will continue to work hard with dedication and commitment on our mission: to bring you the perfect cup of coffee.
Our commitment to Charcoal roasting:
Specialty coffee roaster Sapporo Coffee Kan was Hokkaido's pioneer in charcoal coffee roasting and was the one to establish the original CSR (Charcoal Straight Roasting) method. Hokkaido is abundantly blessed with the gifts of nature, has high-quality air and water, along with a cool, non-humid climate that is highly favorable for roasting and brewing excellent quality coffee.
Having said that, it might be very common to have this misconception of charcoal grilled coffee = black, bitter coffee. Isn’t that so?
In reality, the above misconception is as far as it can be from the truth. Let’s break it down and take a look at why charcoal roasting produces one of the most delicious roasting finishes:
- Compared to other fuels, charcoal has much lower water content and produces almost no water vapor during its combustion. This means that the heat transfer to the core of the beans is extremely efficient.
- When charcoal is burnt, Far Infrared rays are emitted. Due to this effect, the beans are baked uniformly throughout the core and the surface, without the risk of creating uneven burn spots on the beans.
- The charcoal ash produced during charcoal roasting is alkaline. This alkalinity seeps into the coffee beans and moderately neutralizes the acidity within the coffee, creating a finely balanced taste, rich aroma, and a full body in the resulting cup.
Read more about Sumiyaki Charcoal Roasting
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