Kunie Inaba, Canada | 2024 World Brewers Cup | Round One

Summary

Kun, a seasoned coffee professional, shares his 10-year journey in coffee, highlighting the unique GAA Sake coffee from Colombia, which is processed with cherry juice to create sake-like flavors. He introduces an innovative brewing method using immersion and pour-over stages to enhance the coffee's acidity, sweetness, and mouthfeel. Kun invites the audience to savor the coffee's rich aroma, floral flavors, and smooth texture, emphasizing how coffee connects people and enriches life. The presentation is both a celebration of coffee's artistry and a personal reflection on the connections it fosters.

Takeaways

• 😀 Kun has been in the coffee industry for 10 years, starting in Canada, and has built meaningful connections with people worldwide through coffee.
• 😀 Coffee has brought Kun into contact with people from all over the world, including both local and international customers and baristas.
• 😀 Kun is particularly active on Instagram, where he follows and connects with coffee professionals and enthusiasts from around the globe.
• 😀 The coffee Kun is sharing today is called 'GAA Sake' from Colombia, a unique coffee that involves a vacuum packing process to preserve the coffee's original cherry flavors.
• 😀 The coffee's unique processing method, which minimizes fermentation, enhances its flavor and gives it an intriguing sake-like quality, with notes reminiscent of Japanese rice wine.
• 😀 Kun uses a multi-stage brewing method to bring out the coffee's best qualities, including a pre-infusion, extraction, and an emerence (slow extraction stage).
• 😀 The brew uses a Japanese Harrier switch base, a plastic dripper, and fast paper filters to create a smoother brew and reduce bypass water.
• 😀 The coffee is brewed using specific water temperature and mineral levels (92°C, 35 PPM calcium, and magnesium), enhancing its vibrant acidity and mouthfeel.
• 😀 The brew method features a 1:15.4 coffee-to-water ratio, with a total brew time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds for optimal extraction.
• 😀 The taste profile includes floral, honey, and plum flavors when hot, transitioning to floral mandarin orange and honey as it cools, and eventually to a crisp white wine flavor when cold.
• 😀 The coffee has a silky to smooth mouthfeel, evolving into a crisp finish, and has a fruity sweetness reminiscent of stone fruits and honey throughout its temperature range.
• 😀 Kun encourages attendees to connect with their coffee and reflect on the connections in their own lives, as coffee brings people together and creates meaningful moments.

Q & A

What is the speaker’s background in coffee?

The speaker, Kun, began their coffee career 10 years ago in Canada and has since connected with many people internationally through coffee.

What coffee did Kun choose to present and why?

Kun selected an elongated washed Geisha called 'GAA Sake' from Colombia. It has a personal connection because its flavor reminds Kun of sake, and the Japanese name resonates with their heritage.

What is unique about the processing of the ‘GAA Sake’ coffee?

The coffee beans are vacuum-packed with their own coffee cherry mucilage and stored in the fridge to minimize fermentation. This allows more absorption of original cherry flavors, creating a sake-like profile.

Why does Kun use a three-stage brewing method?

Kun uses immersion, pour-over, and immersion again to balance even extraction, highlight acidity and positive flavors, and then enhance sweetness and texture while avoiding bitterness.

Which brewing equipment does Kun choose and for what reasons?

Kun uses a Japanese Hario Switch base with a plastic dripper. The switch allows toggling between immersion and percolation, while the dripper’s grooves and fast filter reduce water bypass and enable smooth transitions.

What grind size and preparation technique are used for the coffee dose?

Kun uses 13 g of medium-fine ground coffee and removes chaff for cleanliness. They also use a WDT tool to break coffee clumps and flatten the bed for even extraction and richer body.

How does Kun structure the three-stage pouring process?

First, a 40 g immersion pre-infusion at 92°C and 35 ppm water. Then, opening the switch, a pour to 100 g to enhance acidity. Finally, closing the switch again, a pour to 200 g using 75°C, 85 ppm water to pull sweetness gently.

What are the flavor notes of the coffee at different temperatures?

Hot: floral, honey, plum. Warm: floral, mandarin orange, honey. Cold: floral bouquet, plum, white grape.

How does the mouthfeel evolve as the coffee cools?

The mouthfeel shifts from silky to smooth and eventually becomes crisp, reminiscent of semi-dry rosé wine or sake.

What experience does Kun want the audience to take away?

Kun hopes the audience enjoys the crafted coffee, reflects on how human connections enrich their coffee experiences, and appreciates coffee as a meaningful connector in life.

What instructions does Kun give for tasting the coffee?

The audience should lift the lid immediately to enjoy the aroma, stir vertically five times with a cupping spoon, and place the lid and spoon on the provided white plate before tasting.

What is the intended overall brew ratio and total brew time?

The brew ratio is 1:15.4 with a total brew time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.