Coffee & Chocolate Marley is a small coffee shop with a sign that says "Coffee Shop" in Susukino, Sapporo, commonly known as "5 no 5" (Minami 5-jo Nishi 5-chome). As the only coffee shop in Susukino, it is popular with a wide range of customers, from businessmen to locals.
In Hokkaido, where winters are long, dark roasted coffee with a rich, sweet flavor has long been popular. Marley continues to offer new coffee ideas, carrying on this tradition and offering chocolate made with home-roasted cocoa beans and carefully selected specialty coffees from around the world.
Manabu Narita is the owner of Marley , and also serves as a barista and roaster. His roasting techniques, developed in Manabu , are a reflection of his experience outside the Manabu industry, honed through the palate and sensibilities he has cultivated in various food and beverage businesses.
Roasting techniques acquired at the long-established Miyakoshiya Coffee
Narita started working in the food and beverage industry at the age of 18, working in restaurants in big cities such as Tokyo and Sapporo. After many different experiences, he decided to start his own business in his late 20s. It was at this time that he came across Miyakoshiya Coffee, a long-established coffee shop that originated in Sapporo.
"Until then, I had been working in the alcohol industry as a bartender in clubs and music bars. That's when I found myself drawn to Miyakoshiya Coffee, which has the concept of carefully brewing home-roasted coffee one by one and serving it in a beautiful cup so that customers can enjoy a relaxing time, including the space."
When Narita saw the master using the cloth drip method to make dark roasted coffee, he thought it was cool and decided to become his apprentice. While Manabu on creating the atmosphere at Miyakoshiya Coffee every day, he learned that coffee has a very wide range of aspects, from dripping to roasting and bean selection, and became even more absorbed in it. After four years of training, he opened the coffee shop " Marley " in the same location.
What Third Wave Coffee and Wine Have in Common
Having trained at a long-established coffee shop, it makes sense why Marley has such a great atmosphere and focuses on dark roast coffee. However, what makes Narita so unique is that he didn't simply carry on tradition. He took on the trend of serving lightly roasted single-origin specialty coffee at the time with a unique Marley approach.
"Light roast specialty coffee became popular about 10 years ago, and I often drank it in Tokyo and other places because of my job. Coffee with a beautiful color and clean acidity and aroma is still popular today.
However, I personally roast these specialty coffee beans a little more to bring out the undertones. This gives the beans a much wider range of flavors, from a clean acidity to a strong coffee flavor."
Narita compares the way this specialty coffee is handled to that of wine.
"I thought the trend for natural wines with bright acidity and aromas was very similar to the light roast culture of third wave coffee. But at the same time, beautiful wines like classic Bordeaux and Burgundy are also popular."
City roast brings out the special sweetness
Marley uses a 2kg roaster made in Tokyo, and sometimes roasts coffee while the shop is open. The roast level is tailored to the beans, but they are a "dark roaster," even if it's only light.
"The reason we use a dark roast is overwhelmingly for its sweetness. We sometimes brew at around 68°C, and at that temperature the coffee tastes very sweet. I think that CROWD ROASTER users probably tend to drink lightly roasted, clean coffee, even when it comes to specialty coffee, so when they drink our coffee, they will probably find that even though it's the same beans, it has a lot more body.
We often hear comments like, "I didn't know they could roast specialty coffee this dark," and "This is a little different from other coffee shops."
We want to deliver classic coffee that is unique to Sapporo
Although Narita is a firm believer in dark roasts, when he opened Marley 13 years ago, he received negative feedback from local residents compared to his previous shop, Miyakoshiya Coffee.
"After starting our own roasting, we gradually began serving medium roast coffee with a beautiful acidity, while still retaining dark roasts. At first, some people had trouble getting used to it. They also didn't like the lukewarm coffee. However, it took a while, but gradually people started to get used to it."
He learned his roasting techniques entirely through trial and error at Manabu , but he also orders and tests a wide variety of beans from around the world, and there are very few countries and farms he hasn't tried.
Regarding his participation in CROWD ROASTER , Narita responded to user requests by saying, "I want to deliver a dark roast that is typical of Sapporo."
"Using the high-quality, cutting-edge specialty coffee beans available at CROWD ROASTER , I want to convey a classic Sapporo-style city roast with a strong undertone, something a little bit classic. I want people to enjoy the balance of acidity and bitterness."
Among the roasters participating in CROWD ROASTER , Narita is Hokkaido's first and the poster child for city roasting. Please try requesting a variety of beans to enjoy the classic flavors that are unique to Sapporo.
To commemorate Narita 's participation CROWD ROASTER , a tasting set has been released.
This set allows you to enjoy the following three types of coffee in dark and medium roasts.
[CSLC] Colombia El Paraiso Farm Double Anaerobic Lychee [SJBA] Brazil Sant John Grande Farm Bourbon Anaerobic [GLP] Ecuador La Primavera Farm Typica , Caturra, Saltimol Washed
Narita 's roasts retain a fruity flavor even when roasted darkly, so if you're interested, be sure to give them a try.
<SHOP INFORMATION>
coffee&chocolate Marley
Head office: 10 Minami 5-jo Nishi 5-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
East store: 2F Lydia Building, 8-9 Minami 4-jo Nishi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
OPEN: 15:00-2:00
