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Answerman - How Is Coffee Brewed In Japan?


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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
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PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 2:00 am Reply with quote
Given the popularity of green tea, one would think some Japanese would opt for green coffee.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 2:31 am Reply with quote
nargun wrote:
hickey92 wrote:
You could say the same thing about electric kettles being fairly uncommon in US kitchens, but utterly ubiquitous in UK ones.


They don't work in the US. Countries with 110V electricity don't have the ubiquitous high power you're used to; UK house wiring is ridiculous -- forty amps, or basically 10kW, which is why UK power cords are fused -- but in australia, say, a standard power outlet will deliver 10A or 2.3kW. In the US it's 15A, but it's at 110V, so it's only 1.6kW.

Most curious. I dare say this could account for a great many cultural differences; the varying popularity of tea and drip-filtered coffee between the respective countries may be exacerbated if not caused outright by the peculiarities of our mains supplies. (Indeed, the act of "putting the kettle on" brings about a certain calming, ritualistic affect that becomes embedded in the psyche.)
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amagee



Joined: 08 Nov 2010
Posts: 333
Location: Orlando, FL
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 5:19 am Reply with quote
I am currently in Japan and I don't like coffee. However, when my fellow tour mates dropped in for a coffee at a place in Osaka, I thought I would try a cup since they said it was very good. I had a Dominican bean coffee as a latte without sugar and that was, legitimately, the first time in my 29 year life that I liked coffee. I was stunned; there was no bitterness at all and just this smooth, unctuous toasty flavor to everything. This trip has been incredible but I never expected to find a coffee place I liked in the process.
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Sakagami Tomoyo



Joined: 06 Dec 2008
Posts: 941
Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 5:46 am Reply with quote
hickey92 wrote:
You could say the same thing about electric kettles being fairly uncommon in US kitchens, but utterly ubiquitous in UK ones.

Pretty much ubiquitous in Australian kitchens too. Tea isn't quite as popular here as in the UK, but it's not too far off.
DerekL1963 wrote:
The Navy runs on coffee... like most submarines, as soon as we left the yards we rewired the coffee machine onto the Vital bus. (The same bus that powered lighting and ships control.) The only way for the coffee machine to go cold was to lose all ship's power - primary, auxiliary, *and* backup.

Sounds about right. Reminds me of stories of WW2 era soldiers firing a water-cooled machine gun at nothing because it was a quicker way to boil the water for a cuppa than putting the kettle on.
DerekL1963 wrote:
nargun wrote:
hickey92 wrote:
You could say the same thing about electric kettles being fairly uncommon in US kitchens, but utterly ubiquitous in UK ones.


They don't work in the US.

o.0

For something that doesn't work - one wonders why every major retailer sells them. One also wonders why I've seen them work. Or, in other words - you're wrong.

It's not that they don't function at all, they function but not well enough. Or just well enough for decent coffee, but not quite well enough for decent tea. When my parents - major tea drinkers - were on the US leg of their round-the-world trip a few years ago, they complained greatly about that.
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TheAngryOtaku



Joined: 26 Jul 2007
Posts: 29
Location: New York
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:36 am Reply with quote
I just realized another potentially very significant reason electric coffee machines are not as prolific in Japan is because appliances are often incredibly expensive there, thanks to strict import rules/tariffs. My first summer in Tokyo I bought a regular electric fan, and the least expensive model I could find cost the equivalent of US$ 65. Most were over $100. And no these weren't some technology-loaded smart-fans. They were the kind of fans you'd by at a Wal-Mart in the us for $9.99 or something. So now looking back, I remember what Americans would call "run of the mill" coffee machines at Bic Camera costing something like close to $100. So why bother when the brew-cone from the 100 yen shop does just as good a job right?
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Eivion



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 569
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:23 am Reply with quote
As someone who drinks coffee pretty much every day I'm not sure why I have never tried the method in the article. Its not like I've only just heard of it. Will have to try it at some point.
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Paiprince



Joined: 21 Dec 2013
Posts: 593
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:32 am Reply with quote
Kadmos1 wrote:
Given the popularity of green tea, one would think some Japanese would opt for green coffee.


Even they think combining the two will lead to a terrible concoction no one would even so much as sip it.
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DerekL1963
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Joined: 14 Jan 2015
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Location: Puget Sound
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:39 am Reply with quote
Zin5ki wrote:
nargun wrote:
hickey92 wrote:
You could say the same thing about electric kettles being fairly uncommon in US kitchens, but utterly ubiquitous in UK ones.


They don't work in the US. Countries with 110V electricity don't have the ubiquitous high power you're used to; UK house wiring is ridiculous -- forty amps, or basically 10kW, which is why UK power cords are fused -- but in australia, say, a standard power outlet will deliver 10A or 2.3kW. In the US it's 15A, but it's at 110V, so it's only 1.6kW.

Most curious. I dare say this could account for a great many cultural differences; the varying popularity of tea and drip-filtered coffee between the respective countries may be exacerbated if not caused outright by the peculiarities of our mains supplies.


The first problem with that theory is this: The cultural differences (between the US & UK) were pronounced (and essentially set) by the mid 1800's - long before mains voltages were an issue. The second problem is that it fails to explain the popularity of electric kettles, electric boilers, and tea in Japan - which has the lowest mains voltage (100v) of the countries under discussion.
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FLCLGainax





PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 11:55 am Reply with quote
hickey92 wrote:
You could say the same thing about electric kettles being fairly uncommon in US kitchens, but utterly ubiquitous in UK ones. It sounds stereotypical, but it's because we drink a hell of a lot of tea, and we wouldn't wanna be heating water on the stove every time we needed it. Even though I don't drink all that much tea myself, I still couldn't imagine having a kitchen without one, since they can seriously speed up any cookery that requires you to boil water.
This is true. Coffee makers are common where I live, but kettles are rare. Some people microwave their tea.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 5:12 pm Reply with quote
I used to drink coffee years ago...It tasted intolerably bitter unless I added cream and/or sugar to whittle away the bitterness.
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Sakagami Tomoyo



Joined: 06 Dec 2008
Posts: 941
Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:38 pm Reply with quote
Mr. Oshawott wrote:
I used to drink coffee years ago...It tasted intolerably bitter unless I added cream and/or sugar to whittle away the bitterness.


This brings up another question on cultural differences I've always been wondering: why do Americans put cream in their coffee rather than milk?
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s0nicfreak



Joined: 20 Jul 2016
Posts: 21
Location: near Chicago
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:58 pm Reply with quote
Sakagami Tomoyo wrote:
Mr. Oshawott wrote:
I used to drink coffee years ago...It tasted intolerably bitter unless I added cream and/or sugar to whittle away the bitterness.


This brings up another question on cultural differences I've always been wondering: why do Americans put cream in their coffee rather than milk?


I've heard this cliche before but, I'm American and I just haven't seen it! Maybe it's common in some parts of America but not others? I've never known an American that actually keeps pure cream in their house. Some people put half and half (half whole milk, half cream) in their coffee but I'd say milk in coffee is way more common. Milk is certainly more common than cream in purchased coffee drinks. "Creamer" is quite common to put in coffee made at home but that's a vegetable oil based thing.
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Sakagami Tomoyo



Joined: 06 Dec 2008
Posts: 941
Location: Melbourne, VIC, Australia
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:28 pm Reply with quote
It might be I'm getting a distorted view of America via TV and movies and even novels, but I've only ever heard of Americans offering cream with coffee. And I'm fairly sure my parents mentioned Americans putting cream in coffee when they were over there. And even you refer to artificial whitener as "creamer", that's gotta be coming from somewhere.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 10:27 pm Reply with quote
s0nicfreak wrote:
I've heard this cliche before but, I'm American and I just haven't seen it! Maybe it's common in some parts of America but not others? I've never known an American that actually keeps pure cream in their house. Some people put half and half (half whole milk, half cream) in their coffee but I'd say milk in coffee is way more common. Milk is certainly more common than cream in purchased coffee drinks. "Creamer" is quite common to put in coffee made at home but that's a vegetable oil based thing.

Then we're perhaps living on opposite sides of the world, as I've never known anyone to put milk in their coffee...
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s0nicfreak



Joined: 20 Jul 2016
Posts: 21
Location: near Chicago
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2017 10:35 pm Reply with quote
Mr. Oshawott wrote:

Then we're perhaps living on opposite sides of the world, as I've never known anyone to put milk in their coffee...

You've never seen anyone have a frappe coffee or Frappuccino?
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