Last year, REDPOISON Yokohama, the second store of REDPOISON led by Tomomichi Morifuji , opened about a 15-minute walk from Yokohama Station. The concept of the store is "Yokohama Night Coffee," and it is a coffee shop for adults that is open mainly in the evenings.

We visited REDPOISON 's new base in pursuit of the ultimate clear, fruity, red, sweet coffee.

In contrast to the striking name of the shop, Morifuji aims to make gentle coffee that "many people will find delicious." Morifuji , who operates an original roasting machine that he designed himself and faces coffee at Tetsu Manabu with his own unique technical theory, shared his thoughts on roasting.

"I want to make coffee that has a good texture. It may sound cliché, but I like coffee that is silky, smooth and viscous."
Morifuji strives for the ideal texture that lasts until the very last drop, and the key to achieving this is the technique of "water removal."

"I think the texture also changes greatly depending on how the water is drained. You should drain only the parts that are necessary, at the right time. With beans like Panama Geisha , which are hard and have a lot of moisture, if you don't drain them properly at the beginning, the water won't come out and the flavor won't develop. But if you drain too much, all the ingredients will come out and it will taste hollow, so it's difficult to judge how much water you need."

This delicate sense of balance is the Shin of Morifuji 's roasting. He continues to pursue the ideal cup of coffee by using his imagination to fill in the gaps that cannot be seen through numbers.

Morifuji spent three years developing his original roasting machine, "SOLID." There is a clear philosophy behind its design.

"We've designed our roaster to have low heat retention. The more heat a roaster has, the more stable the roast will be, but on the other hand, it means it's difficult to make adjustments mid-roasting. It's hard to know what's best for each type of bean, so we wanted a roaster that would let us make corrections even if we felt something was off."

It has twice the heat and exhaust volume compared to its capacity, and is designed to allow for fine control. It is packed with ingenuity to accommodate beans roasted for the first time, and to ensure consistent quality regardless of the season.

Contrary to the impressive name of the restaurant, REDPOISSON, Morifuji aims to create flavors that will be loved by everyone.
"I think about what my customers will think when they taste it. I want everyone to enjoy this wonderful product as much as possible, and for them to realize that coffee is delicious."

"I'm not very good at communicating, but I subconsciously try to make coffee that can be understood even if you can't speak a word. I used to work in design, but this shop is the first one I've made 100% as a hobby. People say it's hard to come in, but I want to convey that with coffee it doesn't have to be that way."

Morifuji 's roasting philosophy, Manabu , is based on his desire to express his kindness through coffee, taking advantage of the contrast with its appearance.

Morifuji 's attention to coffee doesn't end with roasting.
"I think that no matter how you brew it, it will be easy to drink and taste good. Originally, we only sold it online, so we aimed to make it so that no matter how you brew it, it would taste good."

The shop uses an immersion-type Clever Dripper and follows a style that "follows the cupping protocol and does not intentionally create flavors through extraction."

"If you tell people to brew it a certain way, it limits the ways you can enjoy it, and in some cases it just won't taste as good unless you brew it that way, which is a shame."

"This may be the ultimate idea, but what I would most like to roast is coffee that I have grown myself. Whether it tastes good or not is a different matter, but I would like to harvest the beans myself at the farm, select them myself, and roast the raw beans myself."

Morifuji originally chose jewelry design because she wanted to experience making something, from start to finish. Her inquisitive mind is now pursuing new possibilities in the world of coffee.

"I believe that you can only Manabu from failure, and I actually like failing. When something seems like a failure, there is a seed of success ahead, and that's why I got into coffee."

Morifuji 's coffee, born from a tireless pursuit of technology and a deep love for its customers, continues to warm the hearts of many people today.

REDPOISON Yokohama

Rising Building 1F, 2-101-3 Asamacho, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

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