The final of the 1ST CRACK COFFEE CHALLENGE (1CCC), a roasting competition that aims to discover and nurture young roasters under the age of 35, will be held at Tokyo Culture Culture on Friday, September 13, 2024.

At the final stage, the six finalists gave a presentation based on this year's theme , "What we can do as roasters for sustainable coffee, " and were served a welcome drink containing more than 50% green coffee beans provided by ORIGIN COUNTRIES. Four judges scored the nine evaluation items on a 5-point scale, and the overall score determined the ranking.

The winner will receive a Giesen Coffee Roasters original trophy, a round-trip flight from Japan to the Netherlands + a Manabu of the Giesen factory, an invitation to Ajinomoto AGF Co., Ltd.'s Tokunoshima Coffee Harvest Festival, and support when purchasing a roasting machine.

In this article, we will be sharing live from the event only a small portion of the presentations by the six finalists who advanced to the final stage.

Kuroda's conclusion on this year's theme is "succession." However, this is not just about the issue of local coffee farms being unable to continue because they are not profitable. Having worked in the food and beverage industry since graduating from Manabu School of Confectionery, he believes that coffee alone is not enough, and so he says that "succession" also means preventing the younger generation from abandoning coffee because they entered the coffee industry with dreams but are unable to continue. He says that it is important to ensure that the coffee industry is one in which people can make a good living and that there are a variety of jobs available.

As actions to address these issues, he emphasized the need to consider pricing and that underselling technology would destroy the industry. He concluded that the key to sustainability in the coffee industry is to build relationships with young people, maintain ties with universities, and improve the treatment of workers.

The welcome drink was a blend of Kenyan and Panama Geisha Natural, and as mentioned in the theme, the extraction was left to Manabu san, who was there to support us, and the presentation was a great way to convey our support for young people.

Teruya, who was selected as an individual finalist, believes that his goal for this year's theme is to "sell at a fair price."

He began by asking the audience, "What comes to mind when you hear the word 'coffee'?" He then introduced himself and began talking about his hometown, Okinawa, while sharing the general image of coffee.

In response to the question, he said, "How many of you think of fair trade?" and introduced the topic of fair trade in coffee. He mentioned that there is a huge difference between the fair trade market in the world and Japan, and in per capita consumption, and pointed out that the reason for this is low awareness and understanding.

The reality was that of the 500 yen per cup of coffee, 90% goes to cafes and retailers, 7% to local exporters and trading companies, and only 1-3% goes to coffee farms.

On top of that, what I can do is to convey correct information to the customers in front of me and convey the thoughts of the producers and sellers. Then, returning to this year's theme, I concluded by saying once again, "Selling at a fair price."

The third person was Mr. Ikeda, who usually works as a barista at the Geshaly Coffee Hibiya store. First, he started his presentation by making a welcome drink.

Based on the concept of "maximizing aroma," he chose a blend of Kenyan and Ethiopian coffee, as well as Koshun Sencha tea from Tenryu, Shizuoka. He created an iced drink with citrus and chamomile flavors, and the refreshing taste of Sencha tea, a specialty of his hometown, Shizuoka Prefecture.

In response to the theme, he proposed, "Why not collaborate between roasters and companies?" Although the coffee industry is approaching sustainability, which is about caring for the global environment and enriching the lives of producers, he frankly confessed that as someone who works at a storefront, he never talks to customers about sustainability, and that "it doesn't get through to customers."

He then revealed his desire to spread sustainability through collaboration between roasters and companies, leveraging his strengths in the pursuit of coffee flavor and providing knowledge, in response to product planning and seminars for sustainable events held by general companies.

Hosoi, who had aimed to enter Koshien in his high school days, reflected on his experience of competing alongside his friends and confessed that he lost in the finals last year due to a lack of experience and knowledge. With his innate competitive spirit, he challenged himself to rebuild his roasting method and sought advice from friends he met in the finals, aiming to win again this year.

The welcome drink was a blend of the sweet fruity texture of Nicaraguan Anaerobic Natural and the gorgeous, pleasant aroma of Panama Geisha , and the roasting aim and brewing method were explained carefully over time. The trick to brewing delicious coffee was to "get intoxicated with yourself brewing coffee," and 30 seconds was set aside for participants to concentrate on brewing in silence, incorporating a different performance from previous participants.

His thoughts on this year's theme are "creating connections and communities between roasters and continuing the shop." While the number of cafes is increasing year by year, thanks to the availability of roasting know-how and roasting machines, the reality is that the number of cafes going bankrupt has increased in just the first half of 2023, more than the previous year.

He said that from his own experience, the reason for the high number of bankruptcies is a lack of experience and knowledge, and that to address this, it is important to increase horizontal connections between roasters so that they can share knowledge with each other and improve the quality of coffee.He concluded by saying that to that end, he would like to hold roaster competitions to help young roasters develop their skills and knowledge.

Nishikawa, who is 35 and working as a company employee, is aiming to become independent, and this year is his final challenge. He started his presentation by talking about the appeal of his hobby, professional wrestling, and how he first encountered coffee. He shared his experience of brewing coffee while wearing a professional wrestling mask, and an episode with his wife that led to his encounter with coffee.

The welcome drink is brewed according to a Senton-style hand-drip recipe that conveys the joy of brewing coffee with your favorite tools, making it easy for anyone to make delicious coffee. The beans are a blend of 75% Kenya and 25% Brazil, and we aimed for a well-balanced drink that is delicious both hot and cold, and can be enjoyed even by people who don't like sour flavors.

As for this year's theme, based on what he can do as a roaster with his feet on the ground in the local area, he has chosen to "make my shop a hub for the community, increase the number of coffee lovers, and establish a coffee culture in the local area."

While they are facing challenges such as a decline in customers due to the declining population in rural areas, they also list benefits such as less competition, low rent, and the ability to utilize local connections. They are also promoting eco-friendly initiatives such as secondary use of coffee grounds and using empty containers.

He concluded by expressing his gratitude to the many people who helped him achieve his dream of owning his own shop while working for a company, and talking about what coffee has given him.

Tatsuno-san is currently 20 years old and Manabu at THE ROASTERS in Wakayama. He only started roasting this year, making him the youngest finalist in this competition.

At the beginning, he talks about his journey from graduating high school to meeting THE ROASTERS and aspiring to become a roaster. He met THE ROASTERS while helping out at a fruit parlor run by his parents, who were farmers, and was surprised by the encounter, which overturned his conventional image of bitter drinks. He started roasting in April of this year, starting with a hand-cranked roast.

However, after deciding to participate in "1CCC" because it was a competition for young roasters, he realized that he didn't know anything after a few months. He learned about SDGs, sustainability, supply chains, and the reality of coffee producers and workers, and he learned about the importance of agricultural techniques that he had heard from his father, who runs a greengrocer, the importance of inheritance, and the existence of producers, all of which he connected to coffee and roasting.

In this context, when thinking about this year's theme, Tatsuno came up with a realistic idea of "What I can do from now on."

In response to the question of whether conveying information gained from visiting producers and coffee-producing areas contributes to sustainability, the participants raised issues such as deepening relationships with consumers and buyers from the perspective of roasters, and thinking more deeply about the people involved in the process of getting the beans into their hands.

He also suggested "changing the supply chain into a circle" from the perspective of a roaster. In addition to the connections between producers, unions, exporters, buyers, consumers, and roasters that surround the coffee industry, he is also discussing with fellow local roasters the idea of exchanging opinions through systems such as social media, media, and message boards that allow for direct connections in this day and age.

After the final stage, a "Barista & Roaster Party" will be held where the finalists will serve drinks. The winner of "1CCC 2024" will be decided at around 8pm.

■Final Rules

- Create a presentation and welcome drink based on the theme within the time limit (20 minutes)

・Any type of coffee drink provided (alcohol is not allowed)

- As long as the blend contains at least 50% raw beans provided by ORIGIN COUTRIES, you can also use your own beans.

・Up to one assistant can be arranged on the day to help prepare and serve drinks.

- The judging will be done by 4 judges, each giving 50 points, for a total of 200 points.

・Evaluation item 9 will be evaluated after all competitors have finished (9 is out of 10)

■ Evaluation items

(1) Did you enjoy the drinks provided along with the presentation?

(2) How was the quality of the drink provided?

(3) Is the athlete's own story woven into the presentation?

(4) Did you empathize with the story?

(5) Did the competitors have sufficient knowledge about coffee and the environment surrounding it?

(6) Is there sufficient research into what the athlete wants to communicate and related issues?

(7) Does the presentation show any creativity or originality?

(8) Are the competitors' future ideas persuasive and feasible?

(9) Overall evaluation of the presentation and whether you would like to support this contestant

* (1) to (8) are scored out of 5 points, (9) out of 10 points, for a total of 50 points

■ Final judges

Toshikazu Muromoto (Editor-in-Chief of STANDART JAPAN)

Shin Shiozaki (Executive Director, Fairtrade Label Japan)

Yuya Kosakada (Co-CEO/Head Roaster, Raw Sugar Roast )

Yoshiteru Hamana (Ajinomoto AGF/Q Grader)