Quattro Mountain - Premium Blend Coffee (Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Uganda)
FAQ (General Questions)
Story of Japanese Coffee Co.
The Masters of Coffee, Sapporo Coffee Kan
A master of the art of Sumiyaki coffee, Sapporo Coffee Kan has over 35 years of history and 11 internationally renowned cafes in Hokkaido. People all over Japan and the world visit its cafes for a taste of its exceptional coffees. It is also one the most respected and sought-after Sumiyaki coffee providers in Japan, featured in many Japanese TV shows, travel guides and newspapers.
Sapporo Coffee Kan's company president, Jin Ito, traveled the world to find the most superb coffee beans. The company captured exclusive rights with farms from three countries: Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia. Its Sumiyaki method also uses only the best charcoal available, known as Binchotan charcoal. This charcoal burns for long hours and very clean and food-grade safe. The steady, high heat combined with alkalized ashes helps enhance the coffee's taste and aroma.
Last but not least, Sapporo Coffee Kan is part of the top-tier coffee associations in Japan, known as AJCA & JCQA. The Japanese Coffee Quality Association has one of the most rigorous testing processes to ensure that every coffee appraiser meets the standards of expert knowledge and appraisal skills for cultivating the best-quality coffee available. Many of Sapporo Coffee Kan's staff are coffee instructors at JCQA. These factors contribute to the exceptional quality and unique taste of Sapporo Coffee Kan's Sumiyaki 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 quite common to have this misconception that charcoal grilled coffee = black, bitter coffee. Isn’t that so?
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 a much lower water content and produces almost no water vapor during combustion. This means that the heat transfer to the core of the beans is exceptionally 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.
Overview of Sapporo Coffee Kan as a leading Japanese specialty coffee company
Sapporo coffee Kan originates in Hokkaido, "Hokkaido" – Japan's northernmost prefecture, known for its abundant nature, beautiful water bodies, fresh air, mountain ranges, and active volcanoes. In Hokkaido, the humidity is low throughout the year, and the temperatures are lower than in the rest of the country. With an optimal environment for coffee brewing, this land 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 an absolutely 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. The second president, Jin Ito, traveled worldwide to find the best coffee beans. They captured exclusive rights with farms from three countries, including Indonesia, Brazil and Columbia. Even today, the company stays true to this commitment and applies this principle to the fine selection of it's coffee's varieties and grades.
To bring out the best of the individual varieties, they roast each coffee using their original roasting technique, the CSR (Charcoal Straight Roasting) method. In this way, Sapporo Coffee Kan has become Hokkaido’s pioneer charcoal coffee roaster. Their Sumiyaki method also uses only the best charcoal available, known as Binchotan charcoal. It burns for long hours while being very clean and food-grade safe. The steady high heat combined with alkalized ashes helps to enhance the taste and aroma.
Today, Sapporo Coffee Kan is a prestigious coffee company with over 40 years of history and has 11 internationally renowned cafes in Hokkaido. People all over Japan and the world visit the cafes for a taste of their exceptional coffees. They are also one the most respected and sought-after Sumiyaki Coffee providers in Japan and have been featured in many Japanese TV shows, travel guides and newspapers.
Finally, they are part of the top-tier coffee associations in Japan, known as AJCA & JCQA. The Japanese Coffee Quality Association has one of the most rigorous testing processes to ensure that every coffee appraiser meets the standards of expert knowledge and appraisal skills for cultivating the best coffee quality available. In addition, many of Sapporo Coffee Kan's staff are coffee instructors at JCQA. These factors contribute to the exceptional quality and unique taste of Sapporo Coffee Kan's Sumiyaki
Shipping & Returns
Worldwide Delivery
We ship directly to our customers worldwide from our distribution locations in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Your order will be processed on a secure server at JapaneseCoffeeCo.com, then efficiently handled and shipped from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. All of our coffee is packaged in foil bags, so they arrive to you fresh. We offer Guaranteed Satisfaction and Free Shipping, as explained below.
Free Shipping
Free shipping is effective for all orders shipped worldwide of USD$60 or more via Japan Post.
Orders of less than USD$60 will be billed at a flat rate of USD$20 for shipping and handling.
Free Shipping store-wide today! (over USD$60 of purchase)
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We ship our popular products within the USA with free shipping from our sister company, Japanese Green Tea Co. Please see the list here
Our freshly roasted coffee is shipped directly from Japan to you. Orders are shipped with tracking from Japan by regular small packet airmail via EMS (Express Mail Service) provided by Japan Post. Most orders arrive within 10 days under normal conditions. EMS service is highly efficient, and we rarely have problems with them..
Our shipments are sometimes subject to customs inspection, which may delay the arrival of your order, and for which we have no control over. Please contact us if you have not received your coffee within 30 days. If after 30 days your order has been determined to be lost, abandoned or stolen, we will give you a full refund less any previously paid shipping and handling charges. We will not make a shipment twice to the same address where problems have occurred unless the shippee pays additionally for secure delivery service.
Order Processing, Order Receipt: Once you submit your order, and it is successfully processed on our secure server, your browser will display an order summary entitled "Order Receipt." Please print this page for your records. Shortly thereafter, you will receive an email confirmation as well, but this email could be delayed owing to Internet server traffic. You will not receive a follow up e-mail after your purchase has been shipped because most orders arrive within a relatively short time period.
Taxes: Coffee is not subject to sales/consumption tax in the US. Sales/consumption tax on shipments outside the US will be collected by the carrier, dependent upon the local tax authority regulations, and is the responsibility of the buyer. If coffee is taxed in your part of the world (Europe for example), the carrier will collect this tax from you the buyer.
Store Guarantee
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay, G Pay, PayPal, Diner'sClub, Elo, JCB and Amazon Pay.
All transactions are processed on a secure server. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with any of our "consumer-packaged" products, please provide us with your purchase information, and we will, without question, give you a full and unconditional refund (excluding applicable shipping fees). There is no need to return the product. You may make use of it as you desire. We reserve the right to limit future sales to anyone who takes unfair advantage of this generous privilege.
30 Days Money Back Guarantee
Store Guarantee: We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay and other various payment method (listed on the footer of the site). All transactions are processed on a secure server. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with any of our "consumer-packaged" products, please provide us with your purchase information, and we will, without question, give you a full and unconditional refund (excluding applicable shipping fees). There is no need to return the product. You may make use of it as you desire. We reserve the right to limit future sales to anyone who takes unfair advantage of this generous privilege.
Price Guarantee Policy: We strive to be the best online retailer of Japanese Coffee products. Our partnership with the best Japanese coffee roasters in Japan allow us to acquire their products at reasonable cost, which we transfer to our customers in form of lower prices. We want our customers to get the best price every time.
If you find any other online store which sells the same item for a lower price within 6 months of the date of your purchase, please let us know, and we will be glad to match that price and refund you the difference. This is true for our store as well; if you find that our store is lowering the price on a product you purchased from us less than 6 months ago, we will refund you the difference. We want you to feel confidence that you are getting the best price.
To request your partial refund, simply email us a link of the product whose price has been lowered and your order ID. We will process your request and credit your credit card accordingly.
Our 100% Price Guarantee has some limitations:
- Our Price Match Guarantee is applicable only to the item you purchased from our store. Additionally, the purchase must be completed before you can request the price match.
- Promotions such as coupon, rebate, and buy-one-get-one-free offers are not eligible.
- The item must be in stock on the competitor's site.
- The competitor site must be an online retailer without a physical retail location.
- We do not offer price-match against discounters and auction sites such as eBay, Overstock etc.
- The competitor site must be an authorized retailer for the item in question.
- The Price Match Guarantee includes the retail price of the item and the shipping cost. It does not include sales tax.
Product Detail
This product is a blend - Learn more about Single-Origin vs Blend Coffee
Our package is not vacuumed. Click here to learn why
Short Summary of Differences in Grind Level
Grind for Espresso (Extra fine)
Espresso requires a fine grind, because water needs to pass through the coffee quickly for full brew extraction. If the grind is too coarse, the coffee will be under extracted and have sour flavors, if it is too fine it can be over extracted resulting in bitter tasting coffee. Moreover, the machine used to brew espresso must use high pressure to push water through the ground coffee. A fine grind will clog excessive amounts of water at once and lead to over extraction. A proper espresso grind size should look like powder or sandGrind for Paper Filter (medium-fine)
As long as your coffee is ground fine enough to filter through a paper filter without clogging it, this grind level will work fine. The powder/sand consistency of an espresso grind is not necessary with a paper filter. Furthermore, some paper filter makers recommend a slightly coarser grind to achieve better saturation. A medium or coarse grind would be good for a paper filter.Grind for Nel Drip (Medium)
The grind level should be similar to that of a paper filter, but it's okay if the coffee is ground slightly finer because nel drip brewers have a fine cloth filter. If your coffee grounds are too coarse, they will leak out of the brewer and you will get coffee grinds in your cup.Grind for Siphon (medium-coarse)
For this brew method, the coffee is brewed using two separate chambers that are then combined to form one beverage. The siphon requires a slightly finer grind size than most other methods because you can't control when the coffee completely dries out in the wells of the filter chamber. If the grind is too coarse it will clog up the filtration system and cause overflow or slow drainage through your grounds. You don't want these things to happen because they are messy and bad tasting, so be sure to use a fine enough grind sizeGrind for French Press (coarse)
This type of brewer uses gravity to push water through ground coffee by plunging down on top of it. This means that the coffee must be ground coarse enough to allow water to pass through it quickly, but fine enough so that no sludge or grounds go into your cup. A medium-coarse grind works well in this brewer for this type of drip control. In addition, a coarse grind is ideal for brewing French press because it creates a stable bed for the coffee to step in.
Tasting Profile
Taste of Sumiyaki Roasting
Charcoal roasting is a unique coffee roasting process that involves roasting coffee beans over charcoal, giving the coffee a smoky, complex flavor profile. Charcoal roasting is believed to preserve the bean’s natural oils and flavors, making it an excellent option for any coffee connoisseur looking for a unique and flavorful cup of joe. The process is said to bring out bean's sweetness while also adding a subtle smokiness that can really enhance the flavor.
The process of charcoal roasting eliminates excess water in the coffee beans which causes an acidic taste. Because of the chemical reaction taking place during the roasting, its heat can penetrate the core of the beans and get rid of the water. The coffee beans are baked evenly from the core to the outer layers.
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Our aim in the making of this blend was to accentuate the best features of Blue Mountain coffee, which are the absence of any strange taste or flavor, the smooth texture, and the impeccable balance achieved by a complete harmony among sweet, sour, and bitter tastes.
To achieve this, we have blended four different finely selected mountain coffees using the Golden Ration of 3:3:2:2. Cupping and taste-tests were repeatedly performed until we have found the ultimate cup that had the perfect balance, rich flavors, a mellow taste, and a smooth consistency, and the Mountain Quattro blend was born!
