“Mamechiyo Coffee Roastery” was newly opened in Kamiyama in 2018.

Kamiyama-cho is a town ahead of its time, and attracts much attention from inside and outside Tokushima.
And now, a new coffee bean roaster has opened up on a corner of the Yorii Shopping street, located in the center of Kamiyama-cho.
Can you see the chimney on the roof of this roastery?
This is the one for the “pechka”, a Russian stove.

The iron sign which hangs along the front door seems very simple.
But, if you look at it closer…, you can find a cute design of coffee beans coming out like smoke from a chimney!

When you look into the shop from the outside, there are some bottles of coffee beans and tools for coffee brewing on the counter!
Also, there is a sign along the door saying “you can sample some cups of coffee here. Enjoy COFFEE time.”
OK, why not? Just don’t hesitate to go inside, and have a taste!

Cherishing the human connections built through coffee

Takako Chiyoda, who runs this roaster, moved to Tokushima 7 years ago from Chiba prefecture.
At first, she was living in the Tokushima City, but she decided to rent a house in Kamiyama after her friend introduced the place to her.

By the way, why did she start roasting coffee beans?
It was an encounter with a secondhand hand roaster, which was given to her for free when her friend was moving house.
After she got the roaster, she roasted coffee beans just for her family for many years.
But she made a decision, and started to share the coffeebeans she roasted so delicately at her own roastery after she moved to Tokushima.

After opening the roastery, many people became fans of her coffee.
Actually, this shop is not a café, just a roastery which sells coffee beans.
However, many people visit again and again,and taste and choose their favorite coffee at the bench.
Some restaurant owners, including “totto79” in Tokushima City, have selected their coffee here and are serving it at their own shops.

A Mild and tender taste is common to all Mamechiyo coffee beans.

Also, please check out the really popular baked sweets by “Elisabeth,” sold here, starting every Tuesday.
One of her friends in Kamiyama bakes these with flour from the U.K.
Chiyoda’s recommendation is the “Country Scone,” one of the standard sweets among the 6 or so kinds at the counter.

There are 5 kinds of coffee beans at this roastery, originating from East Timor, Brazil, Guatemala, and Ethiopia.
You can taste a shot of each, so you can buy your preferred coffee after finding your favorite flavor.
One of the popular products here is “taste comparison set” which is a set of small portions (enough beans to make a cup of coffee) for each type of bean.

For example, the “Yirgacheffe” from Ethiopia is the lightest roasted coffee at the roastery
“I roast these beans to be a mild coffee, because I want to drink it every single day.”
Yes, coffee is a daily drink and mildness is key. Chiyoda is always considering the desires of the people who drink her coffee.
You can have Mamechiyo Coffee at the pizzeria in Kamiyama “Yusan Pizza,” and “Kamapan Store” sells the coffee beans and even some bread made from dough kneaded with Mamechiyo coffee.
So it is good idea to stop by some of the other restaurants or stores to find various kinds of Mamechiyo Coffee in Kamiyama!

Mamechiyo Coffee Roastery
Address／85-3, Kita, Jinryo, Kamiyama-cho, Myozai-gun, Tokushima
Phone／080-8863-9090
Open／12:00～17:00
Closed／Saturday, Sunday, and national holidays
https://www.facebook.com/mamechiyo.coffee

Photographs and text by Takashi Shigeto