Kissaten in Japanese literally means a 'tea drinking shop'. In recent years however the word has become the embodiment of a new coffee drinking culture sweeping their nation. Like with tea drinking imported from China over 800 years ago, the Japanese like to put their own spin on things: Buddhist monks turned the activity of drinking tea into an elaborate ceremony and today young Japanese people have incorporated an appreciation of craftsmanship, art, movement and atmosphere into the simple task of making a cup of coffee. All over Tokyo new artisan coffee specialists are setting up shop, offering new ways to enjoy this age-old drink.
At its core the culture revolves around slow-brew drip coffee. Dispensing with presses, percolators and machines, slow-brew coffee simply requires a filter placed above a mug or jug. Add your coffee grounds, slowly pour on boiling water and five minutes later you have a cup that truly celebrates the flavours of the bean. The process has been dubbed 'Slow Coffee Style' by leading brand of Japanese coffeeware, Kinto.
Kinto has been one our fastest growing brands after we introduced it in late 2018, so we thought we'd take a quick look at the key products we currently offer. They could soon become the essential products for your daily adventures.
The Slow Coffee Brewer Set has everything you need to start making coffee the Japanese way (apart from the grounds). A stand is made from rich walnut wood, with a solid brass arm and a gold stainless steel filter to use repeatedly. A heat-resistant glass pouring jug, which sits underneath and lets you closely observe the dripping process. The jug has minimal measurement markings on the side - so you can see how many cups of coffee have been made. The set is completed with a glass cup for both measuring beans and for holding the filter after the brewing process.
Metals filters create a different cup of coffee than a paper filter. They allow the natural oils from the grounds to pass through, which makes a bolder, darker more flavoursome cup. It also means that you will never run out of filters and will cut your carbon footprint a little!
When you're out and about or on the daily commute, you probably drink more coffee than at any other time. Takeaway plastic and paper cups have recently been rightly named and shamed as one of the single biggest products to harm our environment. Which begs the question... what to drink from? Kinto have the answer with their Travel Tumbler. The 500ml version is big enough for a 'grande' size coffee and it will keep it hot literally all day long! As with all good minimalist products, much work has gone into keeping the product both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
Travel Tumbler has some simple notable improvements over most vacuum flasks: The opening is wide enough for large ice cubes and the extra width allows you to pour fluids in with less chance of spillage. After unscrewing the lid the tumbler is then ready to drink from directly. The 360º drinking cap is structurally designed to stop ice cubes and hot drinks from coming out vigorously, so you can drink comfortably from any direction until the very last sip.
Now that you have a way of making slow-brew coffee and taking it everywhere, you may be ready for the next step and embracing all the Kissaten ideals. When making your drip coffee you can of course just pour direct from a regular kettle. However when you compare it to a Kinto Pour Over Kettle it will probably not be anything like as easy to use. This kettle has been designed for preparing the finest slow drip/filter coffee. With it's ergonomic handle and narrow spout, the pour over kettle allows precise pouring until the very last drop - No more water spilt over your brewer and kitchen worktops.
Aesthetics and functionality are balanced perfectly with this product, not only is a beautiful object but every aspect of it's design intends to make the brewing process more enjoyable. It's usable on most hob types so you can heat water in it directly or transfer it from another source.