Located in the shopping district of Aomori City, this small coffee shop has just seven seats. In this town lined with traditional coffee shops, COFFEEMAN good is a roastery that serves specialty coffee under the concept of being a "community stand that connects people through coffee."
The barista and roaster is Yudai Hashimoto , originally from Aomori Prefecture. After working as a barista in Tokyo and Yokohama, he returned to Aomori with his wife, Yuri. Many fans visit the cafe in search of a coffee that is approachable and easy to drink, even for people in Aomori who are not yet familiar with specialty coffee.
An encounter brought about by coffee
Originally from Manabu Prefecture, Hashimoto moved to Tokyo for Manabu studies, Manabu the International Manabu , and after obtaining a teaching license in social studies, he started working at Manabu Juku. He found relief from the fatigue of his unfamiliar job and intense workload thanks to the Ethiopian Natural coffee from Cafe Obscura, a coffee shop in Sangenjaya, Tokyo, that specializes in home-roasted coffee and siphon-style roasting.
"I came across this shop by chance, and the taste was completely different from any coffee I had ever had before. It was the first time I'd ever tasted coffee that I thought was delicious. When I was in Aomori, my aunt would often buy Kilimanjaro or Blue Mountain beans, and I would blend them myself, but sugar and milk were essential."
Hashimoto became addicted to coffee after coming into contact with specialty coffee, which was still rare at the time. Since his work at Manabu Shukujuku was mostly at night, he visited over 200 cafes in the Tokyo area.
"I bought up all the coffee-related magazines and visited cafes during the day and on weekends, learning more about coffee and the differences between them. I found some Ethiopian coffee at one store and tried it. Even though it was the same beans, it tasted completely different from Obscura. When I asked why, I was told it was because of the difference in the selection method between washed and natural coffee."
Enter a specialty store and take part in a competition
Hashimoto wanted to work in a job that involved coffee, so in 2014 he decided to change jobs to CAFE LEXCEL, a new business concept that had just been launched by Doutor Coffee.
"It was a specialty coffee shop that offered a choice of brewing methods - French press, hand drip, or espresso - which was unusual at the time. I started working there as a part-time barista."
After honing his brewing skills here, Hashimoto entered the Japan Brewers Cup (JBrC), a brewing competition he had long been interested in. He passed the preliminary round and placed 7th, and his achievements were recognized, leading to him being promoted to a full-time employee.
His passion for coffee never stopped, and he actively participated in competitions such as the Barista Championship and AeroPress, honing his coffee knowledge and skills. He advanced to the finals of the Japan AeroPress Championship and won second place. He continues to challenge himself to this day.
A unique coffee stand I stopped by on my way home
During his third year as a barista, he returned home with a Panama Esmeralda Geisha to take to a competition and stopped by a coffee stand in the shopping district in front of the station. This was COFFEEMAN good , which Hashimoto would later run himself.
"I stopped by thinking it seemed like an odd place to be in a shopping arcade, but I told him that I'm also a barista and talked about the challenges of running a cafe. I gave him Geisha as a souvenir and we talked about how to brew coffee and what it tastes like."
The next day, when he returned to Yokohama, the owner of " COFFEEMAN good " came to meet Hashimoto and asked him if he would like to work for him.
"To be honest, at the time I still had no intention of returning to my hometown. However, I had a desire to save up money and one day have my own store, and I sympathized with the owner's enthusiasm, so I decided to return."
Roasting beans from around the world
He moved to Aomori with his wife, Yuri, and began working as a barista at " COFFEEMAN good ." Initially, he purchased roasted beans from "COFFEE FACTORY" in Ibaraki Prefecture, but did not roast them himself.
"The coffee was delicious, but since I was running my own shop, I wanted to roast the coffee myself. There were also cost reasons for running a small coffee stand, so I decided to switch to roasting my own coffee."
At first, he used a Hama Coffee 1kg roaster. It was a simple direct-fire type that didn't allow for profile recording or precise control, but this actually helped Hashimoto to hone his roasting techniques.
"There were other coffee shops in the same shopping district, and many locals preferred dark roasts, so specialty coffee wasn't very popular. That's why I started trying out beans from different countries and roasting them to different degrees to find the coffee that I thought was delicious."
They also traveled to South America, including Bolivia and Peru, and tried coffees such as Geisha , Bourbon , Caturra, and Catuai, which they began to focus on.
By roasting the coffee myself, I learned things I had never noticed before: the terroir of each farm, even within the same producing country, and the efforts and ingenuity of the producers.
"Having visited over 200 cafes, I knew that you could get good coffee anywhere. So I wanted to sell coffee from my favorite producers. Roasting my own coffee has made that possible."
The new taste of " COFFEEMAN good " realized in Giessen
In 2024, they changed to a Giessen W15A roaster. They say that they were able to roast more precisely the way they wanted, something that had previously required trial and error.
"Up until then, roasting machines were really simple, but the clean cup part was quite difficult. But with Giessen, we can do more in every aspect, such as adjusting the profile, roasting time, and exhaust. If coffee up until now has a familiar taste, I think coffee today is more refined than ever."
Make new discoveries at CROWD ROASTER
At " COFFEEMAN good ," Mr. and Mrs. Hashimoto place great importance on communication between people at the storefront. Thanks to their friendly greetings and customer service, the store has become a popular community stand, just as the concept suggested. "I feel something similar at CROWD ROASTER ," says Hashimoto .
"Looking at the app, I see that there are a lot of people who make requests and comments to roasters. I usually have quite a few people who send me DMs on Instagram and mention me, but I haven't had much opportunity to communicate with them in writing. I'd be really happy if I could respond directly through CROWD ROASTER ."
What I'm hoping for from CROWD ROASTER is that I can taste the difference between different roasters.
"It's really fascinating to be able to enjoy coffee roasted by different roasters using the same beans. Even if the degree of roasting is the same, it will be completely different. It's great that users can make requests. I'd love to try comparing the tastes myself."
There's more than one way to enjoy coffee
With over 10 years of experience as a barista, Hashimoto says his goals have changed since he first set out to become a barista.
"When I started as a barista at CAFE LEXCEL, I wanted more people to know about and spread the word about light to medium-dark roast specialty coffee. But now that I'm also roasting at COFFEEMAN good , I don't want to force my ideas on people. I want to roast the coffee that my customers want to drink, and brew coffee that I think is delicious. In other words, coffee that I can relate to."
Currently, COFFEEMAN good stocks over a dozen types of beans roasted to varying degrees, from light to dark. At the shop, he values the conversations he has with each customer, something he wasn't able to do when he was aiming to become a barista.
"Even back then, when I was simply taking orders and brewing, I wanted to listen more to customers' preferences and provide them with the coffee they wanted.
Coffee is an opportunity to connect with others. Because we are a small coffee stand with only seven seats, we are able to carefully provide coffee that suits each customer's taste."
COFFEEMAN good a husband and wife team that continues to provide heartfelt specialty coffee every day.
In March 2024, they won the TYPICA GUIDE and became a roaster that attracted attention from all over the country.
However, the coffee produced by Mr. and Mrs. Hashimoto continues to be the same as before, so please come and try it at CROWD ROASTER .
Shop Information
COFFEEMAN good
1-17-1 Furukawa, Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture, 1F
OPEN: 11:00-18:00 (Monday, Thursday to Sunday, public holidays)
CLOSE: Tuesday and Wednesday
