KŪ - by Coffee Tech

"Everything means nothing, nothing means everything."

Welcome back to Bean of the Month: a monthly-ish review of coffee I think you should try.

2024 brings a different kaupapa to BOTM. This year, my goal is to showcase coffee from roasters I haven’t tried before, or haven’t had in a while. I want to lift my gaze above the regular roasters I drink, and explore the wonderful roasters we have across Aotearoa.

This month I’d like to introduce to you: KŪ by Coffee Tech.

KŪ by Coffee Tech

Sometimes it’s hard to explain how or why things happen in life. Sometimes, they just do. A fleeting moment of serendipity, a random look above a page in a book, a video prescribed by the algorithm gods, can lead to wonderful discoveries.

I discovered KŪ by Coffee Tech in this very way. And it might just be a very KŪ way to discover it…

I was following the journey of Akio Teramoto, the 2023 New Zealand AeroPress Champion, as he took on the best in the world. I wanted to see how his trip to Melbourne was going, and how the whole experience was. Alas, Akio’s Instagram is private, so I looked over to his partner, Hanna Teramoto, to keep us informed.

Hanna Teramoto is a name that should sound pretty familiar, as she is a two time winner of the NZ Barista Champs. And she’s an absolute legend of life. So, I kept tuned into Hanna’s IG for updates.

At the end of the competition, Hanna mentioned she had some Third Wave Water packets that she picked up from the comps, and offered them up. It was a last minute decision to ask for one. But I’m glad I did, as in the mail, along with the Third Wave Water, came a bag of the KŪ Kuro blend.

The Kuro blend was epic.

The Kuro blend i roasted a bit darker than the normal filter coffee you see around New Zealand. It’s called an ‘omniroast’ where it works for both filter and espresso drinks. Feels like a new trend that is starting to take off here (Grey’s do an omni for some of their roasts).

The Koru blend didn’t have the bitter, roasty flavors you get with a darker roast. It was smooth. It was sweet. It had an amazingly silky mouthfeel that made it feel like a decadent treat.

I smashed through that bag in record time, with my favorite brews being an AeroPress and a cold brew made with the Clever Dripper.

With that one in the dust, I needed another bag - a Panama Gesha. I always feel a bit nervous when I buy an expensive bag of coffee, especially one that has such a storied history, but I needn’t worry.

The Gesha was delightful. It had all the things you expect from a Gesha. A tea-like, light and delicate body, floral and sweet flavours, amazing smell. Happiness in a bag.

These two coffees made it clear that KŪ was smashing it out of the park.

Not satisfied with just drinking this great coffee, I reached out to Hanna to understand more about KŪ. I was blown away by her responses.

What was the inspiration behind Kū and what got you into roasting?

KŪ 空 is a word used in zen. It means “everything means nothing, nothing means everything”.

We supply high end coffee and equipment but this is not our final goal. Our goal is to create an opportunity for people to feel happiness and inner peace through brewing and drinking coffee.

To make this possible, we need good coffee and good equipment. By utilising these tools, our brewing process becomes our meditation. Just focus on the simplest things in front of you. And respect the coffee and the tools. Because the outcome is always about treasuring every brew for it will never recur.

All the good coffees and equipment means nothing, but these are the key to bring you happiness and inner peace which to us means everything.

What's your roasting style/philosophy?

While most of our KŪ range is coffee is for filter, we use omni roast for our Kuro Blend because KŪ uses high end coffees even in the Kuro Blend.

We believe when we see things from the coffee point of view rather than seeing from the brewing side, there is only one best tasting roast degree for most of the good coffees.

Quite often this degree of roast sits around Agtron 80 which is in general a filter roast. However, Kuro Blend is delicate but versatile coffee that is also suitable for espresso.

We only roast our high end coffees to the degree that brings out the best of the coffee flavour because it is part of the journey for the consumers to find what brewing method best suit their palate.

What's your favourite coffee right now?

My favourite coffee right now is Santamaria Typica Natural. I can drink this everyday and now considering to make a blend with this coffee through our KŪ range.

What other Kiwi roaster is killing it right now? 

There are many good roasters in this small country, but if I was to pick one, I would choose a roaster that I am really wanting to try and that is Sister Coffee. I had a batch brew of their coffee at my go-to cafe and that was delicious so I would be keen on buying a bag very soon!

Shut the front door. What a heck of a reply.

This is quite clearly more than just a coffee for Hanna and the team at Kū. It’s a life philosophy.

So darn cool.

Get yourself a bag or two. Right now.

I’m off to brew some inner peace.