Travel coffee 2: Fresh Japanese coffee from a shop

So today's issue was that there wasn't coffee at breakfast. This is fairly serious!

I was going to buy a vending machine coffee like the one I reviewed on the previous post, but then felt that actually, I might like to have something a bit different. I was idling away some time waiting for a boat to take me across Ashi Lake in Hakone, and in the shop they did have some bottles of coffee in a hot cupboard (I wish I'd taken a photo - they have a drinks fridge, but the top level is hot).

However, I'd passed a cafe in the same shop, and I'd seen that they were selling fresh coffee. Great! I was interested to see how fresh coffee really tasted in Japan - whether their cafe culture would like up to the one I'm used to. Moreover, the coffee was 300 Yen, which was more than twice the price of the canned coffee in the 'fridge'.

The coffee came in rather a small cup, which was a bit disappointing for the price (300 Yen is about £2.20). No clue to the quality of the coffee from the look of it, or the way that it was served - it was dispensed from an anonymous machine behind the serving counter.

The aroma didn't give much away in terms of clues either. It barely smelled of anything, except heat.

The first taste confirmed my suspicions: this was a rather high-margin product served at a tourist cafe. The coffee was watery, with not a great deal of flavour, and only a mild caffeine kick. It was really hot, actually, which to me is sometimes an indicator of poor quality coffee; it could be because it's kept at a high hot temperature in an urn somewhere.

I can't really say much more about it. It had a bit of bitterness, not much in the way of actual flavour, and I was trying to get it down quickly so I wouldn't have to carry the cup - so I ended up slightly burning my mouth.

So from now on I'm sticking to vending machine coffee.

Travel Coffee 1: DyDo Black blended vending machine coffee

Posted a month after the actual trip.

So,  I'm in Japan, and one of the things you can do in Japan is get drinks from vending machines. And not only that, but you can get drinks which are hot!

Today I had a traditional Japanese breakfast, which in this case didn't include coffee. I was feeling a bit tired and wanted my coffee, so I decided to get this coffee from the vending machine at the coach stop in Norikura's visitors centre. 

The can came out hot (it was 140 yen, which is £1). It opened just like a soft drink can, which is weird.

The nose was a bit floral and light, even though it was from a can. I had imagined it would be a lot stronger than usual, but then again, this is Japan, where strong flavours aren't very common.

I wasn't sure what it would be like to taste, but actually it was quite reasonable. It wasn't the punchy oily flavour of an espresso-based drink (not sure how well that would work in a can) but it had a good, average coffee taste, with a decent balance to it. The flavour was not that weak either, which it easily could have been.

Most impressive was that it was heated - the temperature of the drink was really good (though I'd say that the design of the can isn't great - you can't really hold it very comfortably). The only thing is that it felt like it just wasn't that fresh - I'm not sure what it was, but I could just tell that it wasn't freshly brewed. That's not at all surprising, and it still wouldn't put me off getting another one, but it does make me thing that there is probably an aroma or some sort of flavour that comes from a coffee being freshly brewed.

It was definitely a satisfying drink, and for about a pound, which represents very good value.

Review 15: Sertao natural, Brazil

Source: José Isidro Pereira, Carmo de Minas
Date: 18th May 2016
Country: Brazil
Beans: Arabica (Yellow Bourbon)
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Nutty and smooth
Colour of brew: Orange/yellow brown
Nose of brew: Very light, chocolatey, a bit sweet
Early flavours: Chocolate, a bit of caramel
Finish: Very light and unobtrusive

Tasting notes: A colleague in the office opened up a bag of coffee and I couldn't resist. He was making a cafetiere and although it was after lunch and against my rules (to ensure I got to sleep okay), I asked for a small amount to taste.

It is a really drinkable coffee. It has very delicate flavours, although it fills the mouth in a very satisfying way without being watery or thin. The taste is like a lighter chocolate dessert of some sort - thinking more like a mousse than a brownie. There are some robust hints there, with only a slight bitterness. Overall, a really excellent coffee probably helped a lot by the fact that it is very fresh.

Coffee maker's notes:

Review 14: Kaweh Ijen, Indonesia

Source: Waitrose
Date: 24 December 2015
Country: Indonesia
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: roast meat
Colour of brew: very dark amber
Nose of brew: earthy, herbs
Early flavours: dark chocolate
Finish: spices

Review 13: Percol Columbia

Source: Percol packet grounds (supermarket)
Date: 09/06/2015
Country: Colombia
Beans: Arabica
Preparation: Cafetiere

Nose of grounds: Bright and light
Colour of brew: Deep, dark brown
Nose of brew: rich but not strong aromas
Early flavours: Slightly chocolatey, slightly nutty
Finish: Rounded with a little bitterness

Tasting notes:
When I first started getting into coffee while I was at university, my brew of choice was Percol Colombia Arabica. It was the standard for me - not too expensive, but really flavoursome. It didn't have anything weird going for it either - it was solid. So I probably bought more of that than anything else at the time. It was also Fair Trade - which was important to me.

So when it was a colleague's turn to bring the coffee in, and he brought the most recent iteration of Percol's coffee, I thought it was high time for a review of this coffee.

My feeling overall is that it's basically an easy-drinker without a great deal of character. There are two main notes - one slightly chocolatey, and the bitterness at the end. But neither is particularly strong, and the overwhelming flavour is pretty bland without being watery. To be honest, I could drink this all day if I wasn't thinking about having a particularly tasty cup of coffee.

There's not much else to write! Good but nothing special, I'm afraid.

Coffee maker's notes:
Our Fairtrade Colombia coffee contrasts a full and rich flavour with a satisfyingly smooth taste. Freshly ground from 100% Arabica coffee beans, this Fairtrade coffee is well balanced with a slightly nutty aftertaste.

Review 12: Seattle's 'Best' Coffee

Source: KFC Reading Gate
Date: 27/05/2015
Country: Don't know
Beans: Don't know
Preparation: Not sure, but probably filtered

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Deep, dark brown
Nose of brew: Not much, though a slightly alarming chemical hint
Early flavours: Light and bland
Finish: Not a great deal, but not bad either. Some rounded bitterness

Tasting notes:

Any coffee marketing itself as 'Seattle's Best Coffee' (it's not actually a marketing slogan - it's their name) is asking to be held up to high scrutiny. Many will know that Seattle has a reputation for high quality coffees, and Starbucks itself originated from that city. Here in the UK Starbucks made its big break by buying the Seattle Coffee Company chain and converting them to Starbucks.

Review 11: Lincoln Coffee House, Reading

Source: Lincoln Coffee House
Date: 23/05
Country: Rwanda/Guatemala
Beans: 60% Rwandan Gisuma; 40% Guatemalan Finca la Esperonza
Preparation: Americano

Nose of grounds: N/A
Colour of brew: Rich, reddish-brown
Nose of brew: Light, earthy
Early flavours: Chocolate, toffee, nutty - almond or hazelnut
Finish: Even, rounded, no bitterness

Tasting notes:

It's been a fair old while since I've posted a review - just over a year, in fact. It's not that I've stopped drinking coffee; it's just that I got busy and stopped updating. And not only that but I've started another blog in the meantime - a collaboration with some friends around the sheer joy of food. Go and have a look at food.matsuya.co.uk.

I was walking in a part of Reading that I don't normally see that much, and I noticed that there was a new coffee shop. It looked interesting, so I dropped in.

I was hoping for a good filter brew, but the only options were espresso-based. Going for the americano, I noticed that their brew was written on the wall - and very interesting, too. I've never had a Rwandan coffee and don't know anything about it; in fact, I'd never heard of either coffee bean (Gisuma and Finca la Esperonza). I found out a bit of information about each on the internet, but not a lot; but what I've seen looks interesting.

Tasting the coffee, I immediately felt that this was slightly different to usual. There was very little nose to it, and no sharp aromas at all. Tasting it, I immediately got a hit of sweetness - a nutty toffee with some chocolate to it too. It was beautifully rounded with no bitterness or acidity at all; it really slipped down easily. None of the flavours were what I would call 'bold' but everything was fairly subtle, which I really liked. The only thing I might hold against it was that it was a touch watery - perhaps there was a little too much water in it but I wasn't convinced that the strength of the brew was right.

But an excellent coffee. If I was having it again I'd have an espresso, to see what the flavours were like a little more concentrated. On the whole, though, a really worth-while visit and a great coffee to kick-start my reviews again.