Even for beginners! "Coffee beans&tools note", a rare coffee equipment specialty store in Japan

Do you like coffee?

I start each day by making coffee. I boil water in my sleep, grind my favorite coffee beans, and hand-drip the coffee. For some reason, the moment when I am gradually awakened by the aroma of coffee is one of my daily pleasures!

As a coffee lover, I visited " coffeebeans&tools note," located about a 5-minute walk from Motoyama Subway Station. I caught wind of the fact that along with selling coffee beans, they also sell rare coffee tools in Japan!

This time, I will introduce the charm of this shop and the coffee equipment that even coffee beginners can enjoy.

The location is in front of Aichi Gakuin University Kusumoto Campus. "Coffee beans&tools note" stands quietly in a quiet residential area. This shop just opened on January 11, 2020.

Look for this sign

Inside the small shop, there are a lot of coffee equipment! There are standard equipment that you have seen before, as well as rare equipment.

The moment I entered the store, I was so moved that I thought, "It's like a dream to have so many tools!"

This store is run by "note LLC," a Nagoya-based company specializing in coffee, which conducts seminars on opening cafes and coffee, and operates the "note coffee house" cafe near Kakuozan Station.

Wanted to create a space where people can touch specialized coffee equipment.

Right: Mr. Kiori Funato, representative of note LLC
Left: Staff Junko Yanaso

We interviewed Mr. Funato, the owner of “coffee beans&tools note” and representative of note LLC, and Ms. Yanaso, a staff member.

– I was surprised by the variety of coffee equipment!

Mr. Funato: "When I give lectures on how to brew coffee and how to compare coffee drinks, I get a lot of questions like, 'Where can I buy coffee equipment?' and ' Is there a coffee machine that suits me?' That's why I opened this place, to create a space where people can touch specialized coffee equipment."

- Because they offer coffee seminars and cafes, they are happy to suggest equipment from the perspective of experienced and knowledgeable professionals.

Mr. Funato: "We actually have coffee equipment at this store, including equipment used in barista competitions. The store's owners and baristas also visit us, so we have a wide selection of products.

I think that it is rare to find such a wide range of coffee equipment even if you look for it all over the country. In addition to cups, we also propose espresso equipment and unusual drippers. There is also equipment used by hand drip champions. ”

– It goes without saying that coffee lovers come here to choose equipment, but it is also recommended for those who want to enjoy coffee at home.

Mr. Funato: “I think many people who are just starting to make coffee find it difficult to choose equipment. In addition to professional equipment, we also have equipment that is easy for beginners to use.

I recommend it for people who don't know what to do with too many different kinds of equipment, or for people who want to choose something that is easy to start with. Depending on how you choose, you won't have to buy this or that, so it's friendly on the wallet, too. (laughs)"

-I had a hard time choosing equipment, so if you come here, you can solve it immediately! By the way... the taste of coffee changes depending on the equipment, right?

Mr. Funato: "It does! There are various coffee makers such as kalita and melitta. The number and shape of the drip holes are different, so just by changing the dripper, you can change the flavor completely. I think the great thing about hand drip coffee is that you can customize the flavor to suit your taste at that time just by changing the utensil depending on the day.

– Mr. Funato, did you originally start the company because you liked coffee?

Mr. Funato: "Actually, I couldn't drink coffee until I was a student. When I was a graduate student, I had my first cup of coffee at a café in Motoyama, where one of the staff, Hamachi, who is also one of the current Note chief lecturers, was working at the time. I was so impressed with the taste of the coffee. I wanted to bring delicious coffee to more people, so I started a company specializing in coffee with Hamachi.

And then we started seminar box note, a space that proposes coffee classes, seminars, and visiting baristas. We created coffee classes for beginners and professionals alike. After that, we opened the note coffee house café in Kakuozan, bringing the charm of coffee to people from all walks of life."

- Being the driving force behind Nagoya's coffee culture, how do you feel about the values of coffee in Nagoya? Is everyone a coffee lover because of the coffee culture?

Mr. Funato:"Actually...surprisingly, I hear that many people in Nagoya don't drink coffee. Even if you look at the amount of coffee consumed per person in Japan, it's faster to count from the bottom up. Although there is a cafe culture in Nagoya, this is not necessarily a coffee culture.This is surprising, isn't it?

That's why I think the Nagoya area will develop a culture of enjoying coffee in the future. One of the reasons I set up a coffee equipment specialty store is that I want to enrich Nagoya's coffee culture.

- What is your outlook for the future?

Mr. Funato: "We have started a menu that allows us to sell beans and utensils at wholesale prices to people in the restaurant industry if they give us their business cards. We hope that people who are opening cafes will also take advantage of this service. Through this store, we hope to increase the number of connections between professionals, the general public, and vendors through coffee, and to provide everyone with lots of new information about coffee."