When you discuss Japanese coffee, Key Coffee is unavoidable to refer to. Since its inception in 1920, this particular coffee label has become one of the most esteemed and dependable in the nation.

Key Coffee has an ageless charm that made it well-known around the world before the “third wave” of coffee culture led to increased appreciation for Japanese coffee. This applies to coffee businesses that have launched since the beginning of the 2000s, which have given people the idea that coffee is a craft and that being able to appreciate it enhances the way it can be enjoyed.

Key Coffee’s Story

For 100 years, Key Coffee has achieved continuous growth and established a distinguished history. Like many international success stories, its beginnings were humble. It all began in the month of August, 1920 when the creator Bunji Shibata set up Kimura Shoten, which was a grocery and a coffee processing and roasting place, in Yokohama. A year after that, he started making and advertising his first hugely successful item called “coffee syrup”, which had superior quality, therefore it was quickly made in large amounts and became widely popular. From then on, Shibata continued manufacturing canned coffee, tea, coca, and other fizzy drinks.

In 1928, the label of the firm changed to “Kimura Coffee Store” and its signature brand became “Key”. At this juncture, the corporation was considering the possibility of growing coffee in Taiwan as well as broadening its facilities both domestically and abroad. The company adopted the image of a key and the letters of the alphabet as its logo.

It soon spread its reach to not only Japan but also Taiwan, China, and Korea. In 1936, Shibata travelled to New York to request that the esteemed coffee assessor W.H. evaluate the grade of coffee grown on his plantation in Taiwan. Bennett. The business began bringing in coffee from Taiwan that had been collected one year after this happened.

Kimura’s business spread over multiple countries until they experienced some difficulties during the war. Despite the difficulties, the company quickly sprang back and decided in 1946 to switch the main office from Yokohama to Tokyo. In 1952, the Kimura Coffee Store became an official business and quickly began to acquire Kilimanjaro coffee from Tanzania and Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica.

Within the next 20 years, Key became a well-known brand due to the introduction of such items as Key Instant Coffee, Key Modern Pack (containing coffee, tea, and cocoa in vacuum packs), and the Key Rainbow Series, which offered special, mocha, and Blue Mountain blends. Shibata achieved an esteemed honor in recognition of their corporate victory and was awarded a medal for being a foremost figure in the coffee business. He initially explored Toraja, Indonesia as a possible business opportunity in the 1970s. Eventually, the Toarco Toraja was issued, and it is still thought of as one of the signature products of Key.

Key Coffee’s Range of Products

Based on what has been learned from its past, Key Coffee offers a wide range of items. As expected, its primary offering is coffee. To give you an overview of what products are available from the company right now, here they are sorted into the following categories:

Professional Use Product Series

Key Coffee has offerings specifically designed for restaurants and coffee shops. In addition to coffee, the business provides a selection of high-grade cooking components. These are the products listed under this category:

• Toarco Toraja

  In the 1700s, European upper classes had a preference for an extraordinary brew of coffee that was imported from Sulawesi, a location in Indonesia. It was given the title of “The Masterpiece of Celebes” and could only be gathered from that specific location. This coffee went missing from the market due to the effects of the war for an unfortunately extended period. But, due to the efforts of Key Coffee, the deserted estates were revitalized and this famous coffee was brought back to the public.

  • Single Origin/Blend

  Key Coffee brings in the top-notch coffee products from global locations. Key Coffee offers an array of coffee products, from Kilimanjaro, Blue Mountain, Colombian, and Brazilian, to ensure that any coffee shop or restaurant can satisfy their coffee needs.

  Non-Coffee Products

  • The Estate

  Key Coffee is also known for its tea products. The Estate makes sure to use plenty of tea leaves that have not been processed, so as to maximize the pleasant taste and aroma of tea. The company offers a wide variety of teas, including higher quality Darjeeling, Earl Gray, and jasmine varieties.

  • Sucreange Series

  These are some desserts that go well with Key Coffee.

  • Prosine Series

  This encompasses a large selection of delectable items which cooking experts use for their meal offerings.

  • Gransapore Series

  There is a wide selection of 100 percent semolina durum pasta available to chefs from all over.

  Home Brewed Product Series

  Key Coffee is geared towards the individual customer. People who love coffee can be found worldwide, and many of them prefer to savor a cup of their favorite beverage in the coziness of their own residence. Key Coffee provides a selection of coffees and equipment for people to make coffee in their own homes. Let’s divide them into the following subcategories.

  • Fresh Roasted Beans

  Key Coffee allows its customers to see what kind of coffee experience best fits their individual preferences with a variety of whole bean coffee blends, and promises premium quality for each variety.

  • Instant Coffee

    This is a great choice for those who need to make their coffee quickly, but still want to get a great cup. Key Coffee doesn’t sell your run-off-the-mill instant variety. Rather than any other type of bean, this variety only uses the finest, carefully made, 100% high-grade arabica legumes that are cold processed in order to keep the flavor and freshness perfectly preserved. There’s no requirement to possess any unique equipment in order to make instant Key Coffee. The company does offer appealing cups, mugs, saucers, and other items related to coffee that can improve the pleasure of enjoying coffee within your own home.

  • Drip-On (Single-Serve Pour-Over)

This is a brilliant invention that allows you to enjoy a cup of hot coffee quickly and easily – all you have to do is place the filter packet on your cup and pour heated water over it. So many Key Coffee drinkers prefer this option for the following reasons:

• You get triple aroma goodness, which means the coffee smell you love hits them at three different stages: when you first open the bag, when you pour hot water onto the coffee, and when you bring the cup to the mouth for a sip.
• You get convenience in its setup and disposal. The pack’s indentations fit on the brim of any cup, no matter its size (within reason). Meanwhile, its tabs make removal and disposal quick, tidy, and easy.
• The filter allows a slow drip that extracts a more refined flavor from the coffee.
• Key Coffee Drip-on guarantees that only the finest beans are selected for inclusion in the pack.

Brewing Directions for a Perfect Cup of Drip-on Key Coffee

1. Take one bag from the pack.
2. Pinch the top of the coffee bag and slowly open it, following the direction of the arrows.
3. Fold the ends of the brown areas to make the bag look like a paper boat.
4. Place the bag on a cup, hooking the indentations of the bag on the rim of the cup.
5. Pour hot water onto the coffee just until it’s soaked. Allow the water to drain, and then repeat two or three more times, using about 140ml of water.
6. Remove the drip-on bag from the cup and enjoy your coffee.

The beginnings of coffee marketing

Mark Pendergrast says that the beginnings of coffee marketing began before the “first wave” of large-scale commercialization. Consequently, the initial period of coffee advertising started in Ethiopia and Yemen, where Arabica coffee was first cultivated and coffeehouses were established first, before the consumption and popularization of coffee throughout the Arab region between 1500 and 1650.

As the area of colonialism widened, coffee began to be transported from Africa’s Horn and Middle Eastern countries to America and Europe during the 1600s. In 1652, Pasqua Rosée printed an advertisement for Coffee and founded one of the earliest London coffeehouses. During the latter part of the 17th century, Coffee was a luxurious item that only individuals in Europe were able to experience. Being rich is seen by many as a sign of prestige and success, and only those who possess a lot of money have the capacity to purchase it.

During the 1700s, Coffee came to be seen as a rare or unusual item because it was not native to Europe. This is a highly exclusive, pricey treat that only the rich can afford. At the beginning of the 1820s, coffee beans were valued very cheaply, thus making it doable for people living across mainland Europe to acquire it.

Jonathan Morris stated that coffee was sold in shops that carried products from colonized territories; A small number of such stores began to roast their own coffee beans during the 1800s. The famous coffee roasting firms of Europe have their roots in coffee shops, such as Julius Meinl’s coffee shop in Vienna, which opened in 1862, and Luigi Lavazza in Turin, established in 1895.

At first, European roasters sold their coffee as less expensive and more convenient than buying unroasted beans and roasting them on a stove at home- the way many people make their coffee. This alteration in the way things were done revolutionized the coffee industry for good. Since the late 19th century, Coffee has been held to a high standard, and people now expect it to have been roasted ahead of time when they buy it.

Coffee marketing from the early to mid-20th century

Marketing strategies became more refined in the early 1900s in an effort to raise the demand for roasted coffee in the United States.

Alexander Sheppard & Sons introduced a unique “Morning Sip” coffee in 1916, with the assurance that the bitterness had been removed thanks to a machine designed to extract the outer skin of each bean. The Coffee is ground into a fine powder that brings out the bitterness, then it is blown away. You get nothing but sweet, delicious Coffee, and by 1917 Morning Sip had gotten so popular that Sheppard & Sons built a new center to take care of the public’s need.

Other major roasters soon followed suit. In 1920, it is thought that US coffee roasting companies shelled out about three million dollars (equal to over US$39 million in today’s dollars) for yearly advertising. In 1924, Maxwell House boasted an advertising budget of $275,000 (which would be roughly equivalent to $4 million in today’s currency). In a relatively short period of time, the company obtained considerable recognition throughout the country as one of the top coffee companies.

Mark Pendergrast reports that in the 1920s and 1940s, radio stations and billboards were used to promote and advance the sale of coffee, for example, The Maxwell House Show Boat program generated profits from Coffee sales to its performers.

The Continuity of Coffee Marketing in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Post-WWII, the main objective of instant coffee enterprises was largely to enhance their visibility among the masses.

The origins of Instant Coffee can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century, when a Japanese chemist named Satori Kato invented what he called “coffee extract”. This was the precursor to the contemporary instant Coffee. The U.S. military embraced it rapidly and it is noted for offering an energetic jolt in a short amount of time.

At the start of the 20th century, the convenience of instant coffee became the main aim of its advertisement campaigns. Particularly in 1945, George Washington’s version of Coffee had a well-known commercial with the catchphrase “No need for a coffee pot, no grounds, no mess.” This indicates that the business is looking to take advantage of a value that is still very important in today’s world: convenience.

Jonathan Morris has observed that advertisers are no longer emphasizing the source of coffee but instead focusing on how people can benefit from it. This marketing approach values its customers, particularly those who are female, for not being familiar with coffee, while also assuring them that their issues can be remedied through the dependability of the brewing process.

During the 1940s and 50s, the introduction of television caused a shift in the way coffee was marketed and advertised in the US and around the world. Roughly 6,000 homes in the United States had television sets in 1946. By the year 1951, the amount increased to twelve million after a period of five years.