October 17, 2013

Old Beans?/オールドビーンズ?

In Japan, the term "old beans" refers to green coffee beans aged for years. There are not a few coffee shops in Japan that serve coffee brewed with old beans, such as Cafe de l'Ambre in Ginza, Tokyo, run by Ichiro Sekiguchi. For those who don't know about this famous coffee shop, here are some links:
 
日本では、「オールドビーンズ」とは、何年も熟成させたコーヒーの生豆(きまめ、なままめ)のことです。日本では、オールドビーンズで淹れたコーヒーを出す喫茶店も少なからずあります。関口一郎さんが経営する、東京都銀座のカフェ・ド・ランブルもその一つです。
 
Here are some Mocha coffee beans that I have left indoors at room temperature for nine years. Rather than throwing them away right away, I decided to give it a try.
私が9年間、室内で室温で置きっぱなしにしていたモカの豆です。すぐに捨ててしまう前に、試してみることにしました。
 
Roasted for 15 min.
15分焙煎しました。 
Probably due to my poor roasting skill, they were rather unevenly roasted (although I kept shaking my milk can roaster constantly).
焙煎技術がうまくないせいか、ちょっと焙煎にはムラがあります(ミルク缶焙煎機は常に振り続けたのですが)。
 
Anyway, I brewed some right away.
ともかく、すぐにちょっと焙煎してみました。
Not bad at at all. In fact, it was quite good!
悪くなかったです。というか、とても美味しかったです!
Glad that I didn't throw them away.
捨てずに良かったです。

19 comments:

Fräulein Trude said...

No way. Don't coffee beans turn rancid too?

Sissi said...

I must go to this shop next time! Thank you for the recommendation. Aged beans sound very intriguing!

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: My Mocha beans still smelled grassy.

Sissi: Here's YouTube video showing how they brew coffee at this particular coffee shop, if you are interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WerGd5opsk

Fräulein Trude said...

Next month I am going to stay in Tokyo for nearly 2 weeks - maybe I will find a seat in the coffee shop you kindly recommended via Link.
I already made a list of shops I am going to visit (laugh).

Sissi said...

Thank you, Hiroyuki.

Sissi said...

Kiki, do not forget a 100 yen shop!!! Choose a big one. I have filled half of my luggage with their bowls and plates and some kitchen gadgets which prove of good quality! And if you need any food recommendations (yakitori serving rare chicken breasts, ramen, etc.), write me an email. There are some places I loved so much first time, I have come back this year too in spite of a huge choice in Tokyo. Have a wonderful trip!

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: That's great news! That must be exciting! I hope you enjoy your stay there!

Kiki and Sissi, I do not necessarily recommend this particular coffee house. (How can I recommend a coffee house that I have never been to...?) This coffee house serves ONLY coffee LITERALLY! Don't you think that's women-unfriendly? (laugh)

As for 100 yen shops, note also that there are Daiso, Seria, and Can Do 100 yen shops, each of which carries different products and that drug stores such as Matsumoto Kiyoshi (マツモトキヨシ), "home centers", and supermarkets may offer some products for lower prices.

Fräulein Trude said...

Thanks for the hints. First thing to do is to take a stroll to Kappabashi Market and then I will see (laugh)

Why is a coffee house serving nothing else but coffee women unfriendly. I hope they will serve a single foreign elderly lady in that coffee house some coffee. If not I am going to write a feminist's manifesto to Lonely Planet and post it right on (laugh).

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Are you women satisfied with having only a cup of coffee in a coffee house? You don't want to have some kind of sweet together with a cup? OK, I should have said, "customer-unfriendly" or something like that.

As you may know, many coffee houses in Japan offer a special service called "morning service" or simply "morning" (toast, boiled egg, salad, etc.). In English, it's usually called "breakfast special".

Fräulein Trude said...

So if I order morning service モーニング サービス I get some breakfast with toast and egg? Good to know, the Ryokan doesn't serve meals but there is a coffee house/shop next to it. The reason why I was laughing was: Usually during the week my co-workers and me will have a coffee break around noon in a coffee house next to our offices. We usually go for some espresso or italian milk coffee and nothing else (because we already had launch in our canteen).

Sissi said...

Kiki, Kappabashi is full of traps. In Kappabashi shops you can get many good products but also lots of low quality stuff and not at cheapest prices (I went there after several daiso shops at 100 yen and saw really inferior products several times more expensive, so make sure you visit a 100 yen shop first to have a comparison). You should be very attentive!
I bought there a cheap tamagoyaki pan. I went to about twenty shops in the same street before in which the same quality/look pans were sometimes double priced, sometimes 50% more! In short, go first to visit a 100 yen shop... (I don't advise the one in Harajuku though: they have a very small kitchenware section).
In short you can find in Kappabashi street good quality but also bad quality, Chinese products at too high prices. It's however and amazing experience for a passionate cook!

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Yes, but be cautious. Ask the inn staff if they know of a kissaten (coffee house) that offers good "morning service". Morning service is typically a cup of coffee (or other beverage) plus one or more of toast, boiled egg, salad, and so on.
Note also that morning service is usually available until 11:00 a.m. and that some kissaten may charge you an extra charge for morning service.

I've been to Kappabashi only once, and I don't have any particular comments/recommendations.
I found two sites giving recommendations in Japanese:
http://ch.nicovideo.jp/seak_kitchen/blomaga/ar245870
http://ch.nicovideo.jp/seak_kitchen/blomaga/ar248288
Pretty interesing even to the Japanese!

Anonymous said...

We had some similiar over here...
the most fancy i ever had is 20 yeard aged civet cofee..
a single cup cost me about 25 USD

Fräulein Trude said...

Sissi: Yes, I will be careful and will have a look twice and first visit a 100-Yen shop (and a super market) to be able to compare prices. Thank you!
Hiroyuki thank you for the links. Looks really good (cookie cutters yeah!!!). Though I think the biggest enemy of my piggy bank will be Ginza antique mall but I found some flea market too...

Hiroyuki said...

dentistvschef: 25 USD?! Really expensive!

Kiki: Are you goin to Ginza, too? How about Ameyoko (アメ横) in Ueno? I made some mistakes there in my 20s, buying very cheap, low-quality nori and cheese sold cheaper at supermarkets.

Fräulein Trude said...

Ameyoko? I will visit. Ueno is next to Taito so it is convenient. Guess I am not able to find all the good shopping malls on a first visit. I am going to visit Ginza because one has to see Ginza (laugh) and I am very interested in antiques - even for watching only. Next on my list is Nippori for shopping sewing fabric (I would like to find some cute japanese fabrics to sew aprons: X-Mas presents). If you know some more points of interest, please mail me a list kabamix(add)web.de.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Nippori? Then you should be familiar with this particular shop:
TOMATO
http://www.nippori-tomato.com/

There is one Yuzawa-ya shop in Ginza:
http://www.yuzawaya.co.jp/information/tenpoannnai.html

According to some sites, shops in Nippori are, in general, cheaper than Yuzawa-ya.

Are you interested in shopping malls rather than specific shops?
Here is a ranking list of 30 shopping malls in Tokyo in Japanese:
http://ranking.goo.ne.jp/ranking/051ki/tokyo_shoppingstreet/p1/

Unknown said...

Green coffee beans are not new in market it has been used by many from the old days to loss weight effectively.

Thanks
Finn Felton

Kopi Luwak

Fräulein Trude said...

Hiroyuki: Thank you for the link, very helpful.