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Why autumn is the best season for coffee in Sendai
Sendai's autumn arrives quickly. By mid-September the evenings are already cool enough to want something warm in your hands, and by October the mornings have a sharpness that makes the walk to the shop feel purposeful. The season also happens to coincide with the arrival of new-harvest beans from the northern hemisphere, which makes autumn the most interesting time of year at the pour-over bar.
New harvest timing and what it means
Coffee from Ethiopia and Central America is typically harvested between October and February, depending on the altitude and the specific region. By the time it is processed, dried, exported, and shipped to Japan, the new harvest beans from the previous season's crop arrive at importers in Osaka and Tokyo around late summer and early autumn.
At Cozy Zephyr, we usually receive our first new-harvest shipment in September. The beans are denser and have a higher moisture content than older stock, which means they behave slightly differently in the drum. Tsuyoshi typically runs the first roast of a new harvest a little longer than he expects to, then adjusts from there.
How the weather affects brewing
Grind consistency is affected by humidity. In Sendai's humid summer, coffee grounds absorb moisture from the air and can clump slightly, which slows extraction. As the air dries out in autumn, the grind flows more freely and extraction speeds up. We adjust the EK43 setting slightly finer in October and November to compensate.
The cooler ambient temperature also affects the brew water's retention of heat. In summer, a V60 brew stays hot through the pour. In autumn, we pre-heat the server and the cup more carefully to avoid the water dropping below 90 degrees Celsius mid-brew, which would flatten the extraction.
The seasonal latte and why it changes
The autumn seasonal latte at Cozy Zephyr this year is a roasted chestnut syrup latte. Tsuyoshi makes the syrup himself by roasting whole chestnuts in a dry pan, then simmering them with water and a small amount of sugar until the liquid takes on the flavour. It is not a sweet drink. The chestnut note is earthy and slightly bitter, which works well against the espresso.
It is available through November 30, dine-in only, and it changes every year. Last autumn it was a persimmon and black sesame latte, which divided opinion but sold out every batch.
The autumn menu is up now. Come in on a cool morning and take your time with it.
Tsuyoshi Komatsu · Autumn · Seasonal · Sendai · Single origin · Latte