The workshop was held in the middle of the season when art and culture flourish. Kenji Kojima of FUGLEN TOKYO, who supervised the production of the café menu at INTERSECT BY LEXUS, joined Chiaki Kasahara, the producer of Takashi Murakami’s art management company, Kaikai Kiki, to rediscover the city café as a place where the worlds of art and coffee meet. Tasting sessions were held where guests could experience the difference in taste between coffee beans used at INTERSECT BY LEXUS, and coffee beans sold commercially, but prepared identically. They were also able to taste 3 different kinds of coffee, to learn more about their own preferences. In this way, as well as increasing their knowledge about coffee, they were also able to experience the different facets of the drink first hand.

Mr. Kasahara took to the stage in the run up to the opening of Bar Zingaro, a café run by Kaikai Kiki where everything from the menu to the entire space design was produced by FUGLEN. Mr. Kasahara drew parallels between coffee and art, noting that when Mr. Murakami tasted Kenji Kojima’s coffee for the first time he was taken aback by its fruity flavor, comparing the shock to his first encounter with contemporary art. He professed that it was not just the taste of the coffee but the entire space design and décor, including the Norwegian furniture that he found so captivating about FUGLEN. Bar Zingaro throws art into the mix. Mr. Kasahara described it as a café that contributes a unique flavor to its Nakano Broadway location.
Honeyee.com Editor-in-chief Tetsuya Suzuki, who planned and hosted the workshop, explained the relationship between city and coffee, noting that the local environment and cultural climate of a place can change the way a cup of coffee is enjoyed. He went on to describe FUGLEN Tokyo’s role as coffee shop and coffee chain, where all kinds of coffee can be enjoyed. “One of the motivations for FUGLEN to open a branch in Tokyo was to increase the number of coffee fans,” he said. “In Oslo, coffee encourages conversation between people who meet in cafés. It’s a facilitator more than the focal point, though, and serves as something that can be enjoyed unselfconsciously.”
Over the course of the workshop, fans of FUGLEN compared the flavors and aromas to wines. FUGLEN’s owner, Einar Kleppe Holthe, was also in attendance to greet guests, who were able to experience the vast culture and ties that are created between people through coffee. After what could only be described as a success, the workshop came to a close.
A detailed report on the event is available at honeyee.com.

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