STORY

CROWD ROASTER from a roaster's perspective [ TAKAMURA COFFEE ROASTERS Yuya Iwasaki ]

 
This project asks participating roasters about `` CROWD ROASTER .'' The second time is " TAKAMURA COFFEE ROASTERS Yuya Iwasaki ".

He joined a wine specialty store as a barista, and after finding a sample roaster covered in dust, he decided to become a roaster. We won the 2nd place in the Japan Coffee Roasting Championship (JCRC) 2018 and the 1st place in the JAC Roast Competition 2019.

We asked Mr. Iwasaki about what he felt after participating in CROWD ROASTER and what was appealing about it.

I'm roasting while rotating my shoulders.

 
─ How did you feel when you learned about CROWD ROASTER ?

Iwasaki : It all started when Kiyo ( Suzuki Kiyokazu ) from GLITCH contacted me directly. At first, I just thought it looked interesting and thought I'd give it a try. At first, there were many roasters from the Kanto region and few from the Kansai region, so I was happy to be chosen by Hikaru Sakae.

Roasters and roasters don't have much of a public profile and are very quiet. I think the best job is to be a barista who makes coffee right in front of the customers, so being up front didn't really suit my personality. However, I decided to participate because I thought it would be interesting for consumers to know what kind of person the roaster is.

However, that's only 10% of the reason, and 90% of it was just because I thought it was funny (lol).

─What do you find appealing about actually roasting with CROWD ROASTER ?
 


Mr. Iwasaki : I think it's interesting that the consumer can choose the individual roaster, and I think it's an unprecedented service.

Actually, at TAKAMURA COFFEE ROASTERS I am in charge of basic quality control and managing roasting profiles for quality control, but I am not the only one doing the roasting.

However, when it comes to CROWD ROASTER , I am the only one who made it. Now that I don't have to be on site as much, it's fun to be able to roast while looking over my shoulder and saying, "Okay!"

Also, we often receive comments from users, and we reply in a chat-like format, and personally, I'm happy to be able to have such personal interactions with users. I'd be happy to hear more negative comments like, ``This time it wasn't good enough'' (lol).

I want people to feel close to roasters.

 
-What are your expectations for CROWD ROASTER ?

Mr. Iwasaki : I hope that through this service, you can feel closer to the people who roast coffee.

-It's true that until we started running CROWD ROASTER , we had very few opportunities to talk directly with roasters.

Mr. Iwasaki : Even though I'm called a roaster, I'm just someone who roasts beans, and just because I'm a roaster doesn't mean I'm too arrogant (lol). I would be happy if you could reach out to me with comments, requests for roast events, etc. without being too nervous.
 


-I think exchanging comments is a unique feature of this app. Are there any others?

Mr. Iwasaki : In the world of coffee, it is common knowledge that the selling price is determined by the price of raw materials. However, I also think that the price should vary depending on the roaster.

Just as a three-star chef and a housewife can cook the same meat, the price is completely different, so it's interesting to see the selling price change depending on the skill and track record of the roaster. I hope you can understand that this is different.

Also, it would be fun to do set sales or set roast events. I think it's interesting to send out roasted foods that each person thinks they want.

- Thank you, Iwasaki -san.



TAKAMURA COFFEE ROASTERS " href="https://takamura-coffee.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> TAKAMURA COFFEE ROASTERS
Address: 2-2-18 Edobori, Nishi-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
 

What is CROWD ROASTER ?

Roasters with high-quality coffee beans from around the world and top-notch technology.
If you could freely choose the combination, wouldn't it be possible to create a cup like never before?
CROWD ROSTER is an app that proposes a new way to enjoy coffee, helping coffee lovers realize their dreams.

You can request your favorite roaster to roast the beans you have selected on the app. If you don't have enough beans to roast, invite others to join you. When users gather together, they can enjoy special coffee beans that can only be obtained here.

Click here for details on CROWD ROSTER