Noda Coffee – Specialty store promoting Japanese coffee drinking culture

Coffee drinking has become increasingly popular in Hong Kong. This may be the reason why ca-fés and coffee places can be found almost in every corner of the city. Other than big coffee com-panies and café chains; there are also a number of coffee shops that serve specialty coffee. From bags of green coffee beans transforming into a fine cup of coffee— Noda coffee, a one-stop shop promoting Japanese coffee drinking culture is here in town to bring fresh and authentic Japanese coffee to local consumers.

Founded by two passionate Japanese culture lovers who are also coffee enthusiasts; a shop with Japanese style minimalist interior design, along with a whiff of coffee aroma was born in 2021. The name of this shop, as you can guess, is named after a Japanese man called Noda— Mr. Noda is an important person to one of the founders. As a benefactor, Mr. Noda solved numerous prob-lems and provided significant help to the founder over the years. This has inspired them to name their coffee shop as a tribute to this very special person.

You may wonder what makes Noda coffee shop exceptional. Founders of Noda coffee would like to share not only authentic Japanese coffee with their customers, but also aiming to deliver the knowledge and stories behind the culture of coffee bean roasting and coffee tasting. All the beans Noda coffee uses for coffee brewing are freshly roasted in the shop by themselves. Besides drink-ing a nice cup of delicious coffee brewed from freshly ground coffee beans; consumers can also purchase green beans from a wide range of imported bean selection directly from Noda coffee, with over 20 different origins and no less than 80 different types to choose from. Two J.C.Q.A and CQI (Coffee Quality Institute) Q-grader (Arabica) certified coffee masters would perform quality checks to assure the coffee beans sourced by their local Japanese purchasing team are at their best quality.

Being the key concept of Noda coffee, “Bean to cup” provides a one-stop-experience to their cus-tomers. From beans being imported from Japan, freshly roasted, then turning into a cup of cof-fee— Step by step in every procedure, “Bean to cup” embodies the dedication of Japanese crafts-manship by conforming to their brewing standards and techniques. Coffee masters and baristas in Noda coffee are always ready to offer their customers professional recommendations of green beans based on individuals’ coffee perception and specific preferences. On the spot coffee roast-ing is also available because selling coffee freshly roasted, has always been that one thing the founders stood firm with. These all together enable local consumers to learn and experience Japa-nese coffee drinking culture without leaving town. “The taste of a cup of coffee can be significant-ly transformed when brewed with freshly roasted coffee beans, even for beans with cheaper price,” said one of the founders, Ms. So, “that is why promoting the benefits of drinking freshly roasted coffee has always been what we wanted to share with local consumers.”

The entire bean roasting procedure takes about 20 minutes. Roasting curves are drawn and pre-pared by Noda Coffee’s Hong Kong team. For the purpose of safeguarding their roasted beans from being spoiled by turning rancid, bitter or moldy; all green beans were to be checked and hand-picked before being placed on the roaster. Gases and carbon dioxide will immediately begin to produce naturally after roasting and this process, is known to be essential for extracting the best flavors and aroma of the coffee. Noda coffee suggests customers to let their beans sit and degas for 7 days before consuming. On the other hand, roasted coffee beans would gradually oxidize and turn stale with exposure to oxygen— Within 1 month after roasting is therefore the best timing to enjoy the coffee at its best flavor.

Apart from the most sought-after Jamaican blue mountain coffee beans, beans with the hint of fruity and herbal notes have been growing popularity amongst young specialty coffee lovers. Ac-cording to Ms. So’s observation, local consumers’ all-time favorite goes to crisp coffee with strong fruity berries notes whereas younger generation fancies coffee with notes of green tea and lemon tea.

Freshly roasted beans and coffees are not the only goodies to be expected from Noda coffee—Wide range of specialty coffee brewing equipment, barista tools, coffee cups produced in different parts of Japan can be also found in the shop. For example the famous Coffee KOGU Series, origi-nating from a historical metalworking town, Tsubame-Sanjo in Niigata, could be purchased here in Noda coffee.

Each and every single coffee cup sold in the shop are Japanese-made. 39 Arita is a well-known brand from Saga prefecture. They are one of the bestsellers in Noda Coffee.

Noda coffee has designed flash card sized coffee information cards matching all of their coffee beans. These little cards will be handed to customers along with the beans they have purchased, so that they can always remember their own favorite coffee and would make tracking or re-ordering hassle free.

A newly introduced flavorful adventure “Coffee Omakase course for two”, including 3 cups of coffee brewed with different types of coffee beans, is available by reservation. During the Omakase course, Noda coffee’s professional barista would first chat with the customers to get a glimpse of idea on the aroma and flavors they personally appreciate. The barista would then pre-pare 3 cups of specialty coffee accordingly, allowing an easier way for customers to search for their “perfect bean match”.

“Japanese understood the tastiness of coffee brewed with freshly roasted beans dated back since decades ago. It is also our aim to introduce Japanese coffee drinking culture to our customers through offering them various experience,” said Ms. So. Noda coffee is certain that they can bring Hong Kong consumers an even wider range of imported green coffee bean selection; as well as popularizing this Japanese coffee drinking culture amongst the community.