ahoy!

I am alive, I think. At first it was unreal, especially after a truly disorienting 14-hour flight into Seoul, and then a 45 minute flight into Fukuoka. Izaki-san and his two sons were waiting for me at the airport when I arrived with a Honey Coffee sign embedded with my name. Too cute.

The Katsuhide family is incredible. Truly amazing. The hospitality I am receiving is five stars... I have my own bedroom, every meal is cooked for me, and they are all very helpful with teaching me Japanese as much as they are eager to learn English. I couldnt have asked for more. They are SO FUNNY, I am laughing all day long. They are all very full of love and have a great passion for coffee.

Everyone, including myself and their other two staff members, work every day except when the shop is closed on Tuesdays. They roast every day in the shop, and it is definitely a team effort. The mother, Yuke, is actually the master roaster! Izaki has great respect for her, and that I find truly admirable. Everyone cups every roasted batch and feedback is appreciated. I am learning new things about new coffees, and ways to cup/taste them.　I am having a hard time recalling the estate names at the moment, but the Ethiopia Hamu (I think) and a Costa Rican coffee are proving to be my favorites. Izaki-san definitely leans towards clean coffees with chocolate and floral notes. No complaints here. Ethiopia Sidamo will be arriving in his shop next week. YUM! Hide (the oldest son who I am training for JBC) is very exicted about the Sidamo. Good call. This 17yr old is teaching me a thing or two about coffee. I am so impressed.

Yesterday, Hide, Izaki, and myself rode our bikes to the clothing district in Fukuoka to buy a nice apron for competition. Yes, there is a shop that ONLY has aprons. I cannot tell you how many ideas I had floating around in my mind... not to mention they are also a screen printing shop. No joke. Anyway, on our way back I hit a hidden curb and took a pretty nasty fall. I scraped up my knee pretty bad and tore a hole in my favorite jeans. I was bummed, but I got up and rode the bike home thinking I was ok. Today, it was a different story. My knee is extremely swollen and I can barely walk. I felt like it was a bad omen of some sort, but that seems to be the extent of my complaints. Everything else is pretty magical.

I am a little homesick, and I definitely wish some people could be here with me, but this seems like home a little more every day. Pictures coming soon, the sunrise is beautiful... zya, mata ne!