It’s a little after 2 p.m. when I get to Bear Pond Espresso, in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. Inside, Katsuyuki “Katsu” Tanaka is standing where he always standsโbehind his La Marzocco FB80 espresso machine. Itโs here that he makes the Angel Stain: Bear Pondโs famed signature espresso, served only until 1:00 p.m., with a maximum of 10 per day.
The quiet, stoic coffee shop has developed a cult following since opening in 2009โbecause of bothย the unique, obsessed approach of itsย craftsman and theย “life by my own rules” mantra that seeps from every pore of the shop, and drips into every espresso.
So it felt a little odd, when I visited, to talk about coffee for camping. But thatโs what we did.
Things slow down at the counter, and Tanaka sits and discussesย his new product: the Coffeedust Poke. He wipes his coffee-stained hands on his coffee-stained jeans and sits against the wall. I look over toย aย thin, wallet-size cloth filter in the display case and askย about it.
Tanaka explainsย that whileย a coffee shop providesย perfect conditions for brewing and serving coffeeโequipment, tools, flat surfaces, temperature, and water-flow controlโnature makes no such promises. Heย says he designed the Coffeedust Poke with this in mindโitโs a method anyone can enjoy anywhere, even in unfavorable conditions.
โWhen you think about [brew] methods for bad conditionsโout in natureโand which work best, and which maintain consistency, itโs steeping. You donโt have to concentrate on the pour; you just submerge the grounds. You donโt even have to worry about the speed of the pour, or working on a flat surface. The easiest way to brew out in nature is just to put the grounds in, add water, wait three and a half minutes, and pull the filter out.โ
And thatโs exactly how the Poke works, he says, before headingย back to the counter to make lattes for two girls who’ve stopped in. (It’s one thing to hear that only Tanakaย ever touches the espresso machine at Bear Pond, but itโs another thing to see that policy in action.) When he comes back, I ask what inspired the Poke. He replies by sayingย coffee is about equationsโand the Poke is like a new one.
โThereโs an endless series of numbers for coffee,โ Tanaka says. โEach brewing method is like its own equation. Thereโs the variety of coffee beans and the variety of roast methods, but the equation always ends at the brew method.โ
He continues, โWhile working as a Chemex global ambassador, I thought, ‘The Chemex is like its own equation.’ Itโs like a manual drip equation. Thereโs addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. But what if there was something else? I wondered what would happen if I made my own equation.โ
Tanaka offers to brew a cup so I can see how the Pokeย works. He takes a cloth “survival pack” from behind the counter and shows me its contents:ย a Porlex grinder, a small scale, a timer, a camping burner, an enamel mug, and 200 grams of beansโhe says you could just throw this in the back of your car. Coffee whenever you feel like it.
He gets a pitcher of hot water and a Poke filter filled with coffee, a coarse grind from Guatemala, he says. As Tanaka brews, he explains what went into the making of the Poke.
It took two years to develop, heย says. They had to find the right materials, and then they had to work on getting the size of the filterย right, as that can affectย taste. The handles were specially designed to prevent water leaking from the cup. Each prototype was testedโit needed to be sturdy, easy to use, and easy to clean.
And, watching Tanaka useย it, it really does look like the easiest thing in the world. He pours in the water and waits. He tells me about his motorbike, and how he doesn’t take trains, ever. He talks about traveling to America and getting back to nature. Barbecues, hammocks, trail walking, and driving with his dog. He starts talking about surfing, then looks down at the timer.
Three minutes thirty. In the outdoors, he says, this is it: you pour, you wait, and you talk as you go. At the end of it, coffee with body. Afterward, you shake out the grounds and rinse the filter, he says, or just put it in a Ziploc bag to wash later if you donโt have the water or the time.
Tanaka says he doesnโt plan to mass-market the Coffeedust Poke. Heโs not sending them overseas, orย anywhere, for that matter. He says theyโre handmade, and thatย takes timeโhe prefers that people simply come visit when they want one.
Which isย unfortunate; it really does seem like a great piece of outdoor equipment.
But at the same time, it also seems to fall neatly in line with the Bear Pond way: thereโs thought and detail in everything Tanaka does, but if you want to experience it, you have to go out and find him.
Hengtee Limย (@Hent03) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Tokyo. Read moreย Hengtee Lim on Sprudge.
Photos courtesy of Rie Miyoshi.