"Coffee War" Ongoing in Japan

Coffee has its long history in Japan since its entry in the Edo Period through Nagasaki as a cure for edema. The first cup of coffee was served on April 13, 1888, at Japan's first coffee cafe "Coffee Tea House" in Shitaya, Tokyo.

History aside, a rather wild war is ongoing in Japan over coffee.

An extra-hot summer passed, the coffee-related industries are readying themselves for a crucial battle over hegemony in the coffee market in this country. That serious? Yes, indeed, and here's the reason why.

In recent years, Japan's coffee market is dominated by a "Third Wave" in the coffee making featuring not only particular coffee beans from particular countries of origin but methods for roasting and percolating. More coffee shops in town are geared to prepare coffee in unique ways to attract their customers.

Particularly outstanding is the way convenience stores are serving their just-percolated cups of coffee fresh and cheap. Some analysts go out and say these convenience stores are virtually dominating the market right now.

Kazuhiro Miyashita of Inryo Soken, points out that canned coffee is marketed in Japan through two pipes- one channelling high-quality brands, like Premium  BOSS and Georgia the Premium, and the other a series of bottle-canned coffee. The bottle-canned coffee has its share in the market for its portability and also for the joy of enjoying aroma as you to squeeze open the cap, he adds.

Yet, the overall trend is undoubtedly drifting in favor of convenience stores. After all, as you step by one of those, you can have your cup of coffee made right from the beans, ground and percolated, nice and fresh, full of aroma,  and cheap, too. You would love it, not unless you happen to be where no convenience stores are around.

The war is here to stay, so it seems.