Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県), located next to Tokyo, may not be the first place that comes to mind when one thinks about Japanese coffee, but it is home to a coffee brand cherished by both locals and international tourists alike.
SAZA COFFEE (サザコーヒー) is a testament to Japan’s dedication to excellence and tradition in coffee making. Founded in 1969 in Hitachinaka City (ひたちなか市), this local business has grown from a humble coffee shop to a renowned name in the coffee industry.
As part of our “Autumn in Ibaraki” Omiyage Snack Box this November 2024, JAPAN RAIL CLUB had the privilege to speak with President and Representative Director Mr. Taroh Suzuki (鈴木 太郎) and his team at the SAZA COFFEE Main Store (サザコーヒー本店 Sazakohi Honten) in Hitachinaka City.
SAZA COFFEE Main Store: The gateway to great coffee
The SAZA COFFEE Main Store, the brand’s flagship location, is a must-visit for coffee enthusiasts. Its warm interior, reminiscent of a stylish cafe nestled in a forest, is furnished with wooden tables and adorned with crafts from South America and Africa.
Here, one can enjoy hand-dripped coffee of various profiles, served with your favourite tea-time snack, which are served with elegant tableware.
Additionally, the store features a beautiful garden and gallery space, along with a shop offering SAZA COFFEE products and various items like ceramics and decor for sale.
From cinema to coffee: The journey of SAZA COFFEE
Suzuki san, thank you for taking time to speak with us in this beautiful space! Please tell us more about SAZA COFFEE, including its origins.
This is the story about how a movie theatre operator started a coffee business in post-war Japan.
Before SAZA COFFEE was born, my family was involved in the cinema business and owned the Katsuta Takarazuka Theatre (勝田 宝塚劇場) during the post-war years from 1942.
With business worsening after the invention of television, we shifted our attention to the F&B industry. This was a turning point for the company, as we entered the coffee business in 1969 by opening our first coffee shop, or kissaten (喫茶店 traditional Japanese coffee shop), called “SAZA COFFEE”.
The name “Saza” was derived from a concept practiced in Zen Buddhism “Shaza Kissa” (且座喫茶), which means “to sit down and have a cup of tea” (さあ、座してお茶を飲んで下さい Saa, zashite ocha wo nondekudasai). SAZA COFFEE was opened with the hope of providing coffee with a Zen spirit.
At the beginning, we worked with Key Coffee Inc. for their coffee beans, who had facilities in the Katsuta area (now Hitachinaka). We also purchased beans from local wholesalers, and roasted our beans with our in-house roasting machines.
Then, in late Showa, in the 1970s to 1980s, Japan saw the kissaten boom, where the craze for a more refined experience of enjoying coffee was on the rise. We ventured into paper drip as our main business, and started purchasing beans from Mexico. In 1989, SAZA COFFEE’s main store and attached factory was opened in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki. And the rest, as they say, is history!
Branching out: From Ibaraki to Tokyo and Beyond
Thank you for the detailed introduction to SAZA COFFEE’s origins and history. Could you please share with us more about the other locations where SAZA COFFEE is situated?
After opening our main shop, we started opening shops in other parts of Ibaraki, namely in the prefecture’s major cities like Mito (水戸), Hitachi (日立), and Katsuta (勝田) or Hitachinaka (ひたちなか). On 1 October 2005, we opened our first shops outside of Ibaraki, in Tokyo and Saitama; at ecute Shinagawa in Shingawa Station, and ecute Omiya in Omiya Station, respectively.
Following this, we started attending and organising pop-up events to promote our brand in Tokyo. Our latest branch opened in ecute Shinbashi in Shinbashi Station in 2022, bringing our total to 17 stores in Japan.
The symbiotic relationship between SAZA COFFEE and JR East
Wow, that’s a lot of coffee shops! We noticed that most of SAZA COFFEE’s shops are located within or nearby JR train stations… Is there a reason for this?
Yes, the answer is simply because I love trains. Actually, I love taking the Limited Express HITACHI & TOKIWA (ひたち・ときわ) between Katsuta to Tokyo on the Joban Line, which I have always found to be convenient for my business trips. Despite living quite a distance away from Tokyo, it amazes me that in just 2 hours, I can shuttle between business meetings and my residence!
That was actually one of the reasons why we created the limited edition drip coffee bag product featured in JAPAN RAIL CLUB’s Omiyage Snack Box this November.
Introducing SAZA COFFEE’s “Limited Express” Drip Coffee Bag
Oh yes! Please tell us more about the Saza One Cup “Limited Express HITACHI” Drip Coffee Bag!
In an exciting collaboration between JR Katsuta Station and SAZA COFFEE, I’d like to welcome coffee and train enthusiasts alike to try this “Joban Line Limited Express” coffee set which comes in 6 different colours (Hitachi Tokiwa, Green Lake, Yellow Jonquil, Blue Ocean, Scarlet Blossom, Orange Persimmon)—each with a unique flavour inspired by the distinct colours of the Series E657 trains.
In particular, the Hitachi Tokiwa variation is a special blend of Shogun Coffee and Panama coffee inspired by Mukona’s favourite things (Mukona is the stationmaster character mascot of JR Mito Station!).
This unique blend, which has a rich taste with notes of raisins and red wine, was created in supervision by SAZA COFFEE’s head barista, Mr. Wataru Iidaka (飯高 亘) who is the World Brewers Cup 2024 runner-up, and the champion of Japan Brewers Cup 2023-24.
The other coffee bags in this set are also equally delicious:
- Series E657 Revival Color Green Lake: A rich flavour with caramel-like sweetness and a refreshing aftertaste.
- Series E657 Revival Color Yellow Jonquil: Characterised by a rich sweetness and powerful aroma.
- Series E657 Revival Color Blue Ocean: Features a refreshing aroma, smooth texture, and a richness and sweetness similar to brown sugar.
- Series E657 Revival Color Scarlet Blossom: Rich sweetness and aroma reminiscent of strawberry jam and pineapple.
- Series E657 Revival Color Orange Persimmon: Rich sweetness similar to milk chocolate.
Shogun, Geisha, from across the globe
It is a very heartwarming collaboration, and we can’t wait for our subscribers to try the various coffee flavours! What about SAZA COFFEE’s flagship products?
At SAZA COFFEE we sell a variety of specialty blends and single-origin coffees from various renowned coffee-growing regions, but we are especially proud of two products: Geisha Coffee (ゲイシャコーヒー) and Shogun Coffee (将軍珈琲).
Our Geisha Coffee is one of our most prestigious offerings, known for its exceptional quality and unique floral and fruity flavour profile. Our team travels to coffee bean production areas like Ethiopia, Brazil, and Panama to handpick coffee beans.
Notably, since 2009, we have been purchasing high-quality Panama Geisha coffee beans, which are considered the world’s most expensive, for about ¥1.5 million (~US$10,000).
Another iconic product of ours is the Shogun Coffee, named after Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last Shogun of the Tokugawa Dynasty. A fun fact about this coffee is that I had the opportunity to collaborate with his great-grandson, Tokugawa Yoshitomo, who is a fellow coffee enthusiast, to create this unique roasted blend, reminiscent of the coffee that was consumed by the shogun during the Edo Period.
My team and I are committed to delivering dark roast coffee that is not influenced by overseas roasting, and rivals the best. While we roast our coffee beans in-house, we work with local agricultural corporations in Colombia where we grow our own beans in our coffee farm. Our Colombian coffee farm has over 80,000 coffee trees, ensuring only the highest quality beans are selected for roasting.
SAZA COFFEE: Home Roasted Since 1969
Thank you so much for your time, Suzuki san and team. It has been a very insightful session learning not just about SAZA COFFEE but about Japan’s coffee culture altogether. Do you have any message for our fellow readers?
In our journey to spread the love of high-quality coffee throughout Japan, we are also committed to sharing this passion with the rest of the world, particularly with our friends in Asia, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.
If you have the time, please visit SAZA COFFEE Main Store in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki to enjoy hand-dripped coffee of various profiles, served with your favourite tea-time snack. We hope you will get to experience the richness of Japanese coffee through SAZA COFFEE when you are in Japan!
SAZA COFFEE Main Store is a 10-minute walk from Katsuta Station, just 1.5 hours away from Tokyo Station by Limited Express Hitachi / Tokiwa on the JR Joban Line. Explore the world of Japanese coffee with SAZA COFFEE when you receive the “Autumn in Ibaraki” Omiyage Snack Box this November 2024–subscribe to JAPAN RAIL CLUB today!
