【FOCUS IT.] The profound world of coffee. Technicians who support cafes enliven the scene.

With the spread of specialty coffees, the traditional concept of coffee has completely changed, and a wide variety of flavors can now be enjoyed. This has brought attention to unique cafes, skilled baristas, and even roasting places, and the coffee scene is becoming more and more exciting year by year.

In this issue, we spotlight a technician who maintains coffee equipment. It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Shin Honda, who is the representative of "R&D ESPRESSO LAB," an authorized distributor of espresso machines, grinders, and roasters, and also handles their maintenance, has played a role in the expansion of the coffee scene in recent years. We asked him about his life up to the present, which has taken many twists and turns, and asked him to talk about the appeal of coffee.

Photo_Masaya Kato
Text_Shogo Komatsu

A behind-the-scenes force behind the coffee scene.

Mr. Shin Honda, representative of "R&D ESPRESSO LAB

-Mr. Honda, who runs "R&D ESPRESSO LAB," which carries a wide range of coffee equipment from store to home use, is a coffee machine repairman, or a so-called technician. First of all, I would like to know how you got into the coffee industry. What got you hooked on coffee in the first place?

Honda: I originally went to a vocational school to become a professional musician, but I realized how hard that path was. I was wondering what to do next while making the pilgrimage in Shikoku, and I had a cup of instant coffee on the way to the mountains that tasted really good. I was wondering if the Starbucks coffee I heard so much about was even better. So I tried it, and it was delicious. I got hooked on coffee and began to grind my own beans and make hand-drip coffee with the help of a local coffee bean shop.

What made you decide to go into the coffee industry?

Honda: I entered university after graduating from a vocational school, and I was shocked by the coffee culture in Australia when I visited there during my studies. In Oceania, coffee shops are so prevalent in towns that it is difficult for major chain stores such as Starbucks to make inroads. I would stop by my favorite store in the morning and take my coffee with me to work. I felt, even as a student, that Japan is a very hectic place to live. I wished that such a culture existed in Japan, and decided to enter the coffee industry.

-So you got a job at a coffee shop after college?

Honda: I admired that too, but because I majored in business administration, I wanted to propose a store that went beyond coffee, so I got a job at a major coffee equipment manufacturer. My first assignment was technical. I was in charge of coffee machine repairs.

-That's where you lead to your current technician. How did you feel when you actually went around the store for maintenance?

Honda: I acquired skills, but the essence of technical work is to handle complaints, although of course we do repairs. Customers were angry when they heard that a fully automatic machine in a hotel or restaurant had broken down. I no longer felt fulfilled in a job that made people happy, but in a job that calmed their anger. I got the job because I loved coffee, but I realized that I had stopped drinking coffee after spending my days processing complaints. I had learned what I could, so I left the company after three years.

-What did you do after that?

Honda: I changed jobs as a sales representative for a company that focuses on specialty coffee. What I learned there was that if I could have natural conversations with baristas and owners, as I did when I was a student visiting stores in search of the right answer for coffee, I could sell things. It is not so much about selling, but more about solving problems and making suggestions, such as, "This would be good. I had more opportunities to get to know roasters through my work, and when I talked to them, they seemed to be enjoying their lives very much. As a result of my contact with them, I decided to go to Australia on a working holiday. I thought that if I found what I wanted to do in a coffee-producing country that I was fascinated by, I would be able to live a life that was true to myself. However, I became ill with the Corona disaster and was unable to go to Australia.

-that his dreams had been cut short.

Honda: I was in despair. But I wanted to pursue coffee more, and I knew I had to do what I wanted to do from one end, so I decided to roast and create my own roasting brand while first securing an income as a freelance technician. After obtaining the difficult Q grader certification (CQI certified Q Arabica grader, an international certification for coffee connoisseurs), I imported this state-of-the-art roasting machine (Aillio), which was the most advanced at the time, and started my own roasting business as a roaster.

Mr. Honda operating an AIRIO roasting machine.

-So your wish has come true. How was it launching the Roasting brand?

Honda: When I was about to start working on the brand logo, people around me who knew I had a Q grader asked me to distribute their beans to them, and I started to distribute tens of kilos of beans to coffee shops before selling them to the general public. As a roaster, I am very grateful. At the same time, the number of inquiries about how to buy these roasters has increased. They want us to import and buy them instead. I once ordered 60 units at once on their behalf. When I looked at the structure, I found that even I could repair them, and as a result, "R&D ESPRESSO LAB" became one of the authorized distributors, selling about 200 units a year.

Professional specifications at home.

-Just to keep it simple, we are in a situation where there are 200 more roasting places. Why was AIRIO attracting so much attention?

Honda: A gas roasting machine that can roast 1 kg costs at least 1.5 million yen, but "AIRIO" can be purchased for about 400,000 yen. Moreover, it is an electric machine that requires no gas facilities and only a power source, making it easy to use a micro roaster.

-It was a low-cost and easy way to roast. I think that was revolutionary.

Honda: When I was working as a technical engineer, I also did installation work for roasting machines at various new store openings, and I was also tasked with removing machines at store closings, and the owners would sadly say, "The machine was too big. When I asked him why he chose it, he said that the manufacturer's sales staff told him this was the way to go. But that was a mismatch with what I wanted to do with the store. Japanese coffee shops are fine with minimal machines.

-Maybe in part due to these minimalist roasting machines, we now see a variety of roasting brands.

Honda: To tell the truth, it is only in Japan that people want to do this much roasting. Overseas, it seems to be perceived as a difficult and boring process (laughs). (Laughs) With the popularity of specialty coffee, there are more and more brands that have roasters, which is considered cool, but it is a highly specialized job and not many people do it. But if you think about it, Japan has always had a coffee shop culture, and there were many coffee shops that roasted their own coffee. Home roasting sounds delicious, doesn't it? That's probably why people are familiar with home roasting.

-What other differences do you see between the coffee scene in Japan and overseas?

Honda: Hand drip is widespread in Japan, but it is rare in the world. Overseas, espresso is the mainstream. A special cup of hand-drip coffee overseas costs more than 2,000 yen.

-That's a nice environment to be able to drink that for less than 1,000 yen.

Honda: Specialty coffee is said to be a luxury item, but I don't think it's such a big deal; I think it's just good, ordinary coffee. I think it is the same as rice or fruits being separated by region of origin. I think it's just that now that farms are processing coffee properly, it has become possible to drink coffee with the original character of the coffee bean.

-What do you think will happen to the café scene in Japan in the future?

Honda: Today's café scene has seen an increase in the number of stores that I envisioned when I first became interested in coffee. Now that green coffee beans are more readily available and small roasting machines are widely used, it is now possible to buy a wide variety of coffee beans at various places. There will be more roasting shops in the future, and there will surely be roasting shops that grow in size. With small roasting machines, even small roasting places will be able to roast high quality beans. I think it will become easier to reach consumers, and there will be more opportunities to drink a variety of coffees.

-Coffee machines are also evolving, and it seems that the quality of the coffee we can drink at home is improving. Option-O, the professional grinder brand that we carry at R&D ESPRESSO LAB, also has a minimalist grinder that can be used at home, doesn't it?

Option O" grinder

Honda: Grinders have evolved quickly over the past few years, and their level has risen. The Corona disaster increased demand for home use, and there is a history of professional use spreading to home use. Grinding fine espresso powder requires a high degree of precision, and specialized grinders were needed. But the Lagom P64 / Meizen 64mm Omni grind can handle everything from espresso to hand drip. Until now, if you tried to do both, the quality would be very mediocre, but with this, you can use it in a store.

-If you can use professional-use products at home, it will elevate the taste of the coffee you drink at home.

Honda: Personally, I think that any equipment can be used, but good equipment is clearly different. I think that a good machine will definitely brew good coffee, because it will bring out the true flavor of the coffee.

SCAJ 2024" where you can meet your favorite equipment.

-I understand that "R&D ESPRESSO LAB" will be exhibiting at SCAJ 2024, one of Asia's largest coffee-focused events, to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from October 9 (Wed) to 12 (Sat).

Honda: This year will be our third time to exhibit. We will be participating in a booth in collaboration with two companies: Gießen Japan, a roasting machine distributor, and Schuhari, a coffee importer. This year, we plan to incorporate events while displaying products from the various brands we carry.

-What is the event about, for example?

Honda: Since "R&D ESPRESSO LAB" mainly deals with espresso tools, I am thinking of setting up a counter bar that serves only specialty coffee espresso. This is an event where people can enjoy espresso made with specialty coffee using our new "LA MARZOCCO" machine and "Modbar.

- "SCAJ" is an event where you can meet and discover all kinds of coffee beans and equipment.

Honda: Yes, that's right. The best way to drink coffee is to grind it from beans. However, there must be many people who cannot spend that much money. In that case, you can have the beans ground at a store, or you can use drip packets made by cafes or roasters. You can even make a delicious café au lait by simply pouring milk over it. If you want to try drinking good coffee easily at home and then take it one step further, I would like you to use the equipment you like. SCAJ is the best place to find such equipment.

-If you are going to go to the trouble of making coffee, I think many people would like to use their favorite machine and enjoy the brewing time as well.

Honda: It would be more satisfying if you could brew good coffee using something you think is cool. I think coffee as a hobby has become established, where people are particular about the equipment they use. It is important to brew good tasting coffee, but the most important thing is to enjoy your time using the equipment you like. Many people who like coffee like to drink it, but they also enjoy the time spent brewing it. It is a luxury to spend a little time enjoying the brewing process.