SUSTAINABILITY Special Feature : MACHI café

From Coffee Beans to a Customer's Cup of Coffee
MACHI café's Quality Control, Social Contribution and Environmental Activities

MACHI café, Lawson's in-store freshly brewed coffee service, gives full consideration to quality control, society and the environment in everything from the coffee beans to the cups of coffee served to customers. Paying special attention to the beans, milk, roasting method and coffee machine, we pour our enthusiasm into every cup of coffee we hand to our customers.

 

Carefully selected coffee beans, including ripening coffee beans from Ipanema Plantation in Brazil

* The photo is for illustrative purposes

Roasted in the best way that maximizes the characteristics of each bean

* The photo is for illustrative purposes

Milk made from 100% raw milk with natural richness and sweetness*

* Heat sterilized raw milk

Quality considerations

Born from our enthusiasm for serving customers

The origins of MACHI café extend back to a time when cups of coffee were selling especially well at a few of the stores selected to offer coffee on an experimental basis. These were stores that provided exceptional customer service and at which a relationship of trust had been formed between the store crew and the customers. This inspired the decision to establish a MACHI café that focuses on “service” instead of “self-service.” Discussions of the coffee machine and sales system followed.

The tastes customers want

Ponta card data were thoroughly analyzed to discover the tastes customers desire most. Based on this analysis, MACHI café began serving blended coffee, a standby for middle-aged male customers taking a break from work, cafe latte, a popular choice among female customers, and other customer favorite.

Coffee at the MACHI café is made from Arabica beans from farms or production regions designated by four countries capable of effective management from each single bean to shipment, thereby achieving a high-quality, sweet, and gentle mouthfeel combined with flamboyant acidity and fruity taste.

Roasted in the best way that maximizes the characteristic of each bean. Our café late milk is made from 100% raw milk* that offers natural richness and sweetness.

*Heat sterilized raw milk

Among the three leading extraction methods (drip, siphon, and espresso extraction), MACHI café uses the espresso extraction method for customers can enjoy the delicious essential flavor of coffee beans. This method brings out the full flavor of freshly ground coffee beans by applying high pressure to them to instantaneously brew coffee.

Social and environmental contributions

Safety, reliability and environmental consciousness

In developing products, we focus not only on taste and quality, but also on social and environmental concerns.
We ask our suppliers and business partners to pay careful attention to product safety and reliability, moreover, as well as to human rights and the environment.

Only coffee beans certified by the Rainforest Alliance are used

Lawson strives to improve the human rights of farmers and workers through MACHI café by using only coffee beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms with farming methods friendly to natural resources and the environment*. This certification is awarded to farms that meet rigorous standards concerning the environment, society, and economy.

* Mocha Blend is not of the scope.

Recycling used coffee grounds

Waste produced in the coffee-roasting process includes the thin skins of the beans and the used coffee grounds. These are recycled as fertilizer and cow bedding.

Bring your own tumbler for an eco-friendly discount

Customers who bring their own tumblers receive a 10 yen discount* from the drink menu prices (on most items). This helps to reduce the amount of waste produced by the service (paper cups).
*Except self-service machines

Rainforest Alliance Certified
Find out more at ra.org (external link)

MACHI café Partner Plantation
Efforts made on Brazil's Ipanema Coffees plantation
Consistent Quality Control from Seed to Shipment

Ipanema Coffees

Located in Minas Gerais, Brazil's traditional coffee-producing state, Ipanema Coffees owns one of the world's largest coffee plantations. Coffee beans are produced on an area of about 6,100 ha (61 square kilometers). The high quality of the beans is recognized by specialist coffee buyers from around the world. The plantation has received various certifications, including Rainforest Alliance certification. Taking advantage the three areas on the plantation, the Conquista, Capoeirinha and Rio Verde units with their different altitudes and geological formations, the plantation grows a number of coffee varieties, applying harvest methods suitable to the respective areas.

< Overview of Ipanema Coffees >

Location: State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Farm area: About 6,100 ha
Coffee trees are planted on an area of some 3,200 ha; about 2,000 ha are dedicated to a nature reserve

Number of trees planted: 140 million
Annual production: 110 thousand bags (6,600 tons)
Coffee varieties: 100% Arabica (Acaia, Mundo Novo, Bourbon, etc.)
Certifications: Rainforest Alliance Certified- (2004), others

Seeds - Seedlings

Seedlings are grown exclusively from seeds harvested on the plantation to avoid introducing diseases and pests. They are also planted in soil from the plantation, moreover. Black vinyl sheets are spread over the ground to raise the temperature to help the seeds germinate. Seeds sown in April germinate in June. Two seeds are planted in a pot with lime and fertilizer and the stronger seedling is kept. A net is used to block 50% of the sunshine. Sand is spread over the surface of the pot soil to retain moisture. After they are transplanted in October or November, the transplantations wait for Brazil's rainy season to begin.

Flowering - Seed setting

Coffee trees flower two years after transplantation and bear fruit three years after germination. The flowers bloom between September and November, and the berries are harvested from May through July. About a year and a half after transplantation, their height is about 1 meter (3.3 feet). GPS is used to determine what varieties should be planted in which areas of the large plantation to achieve systematic production. A coffee tree reaches full growth in three years and continues to produce berries for the next 30 years. The introduction of irrigation facilities for effective use of water has not only reduced the effects of drought, but it has also contributed to growth in production volume by 1.3 times.

Harvesting

●Mechanical harvesting Using a harvesting machine is 100 times more efficient than manual harvesting. It is suitable for harvesting from trees growing on flat land that are 5 years or older. The machine operates 20 hours a day for three shifts during the harvest season. ●Semi-manual harvesting Electric rakes are used to harvest the coffee berries. This method is effective for harvesting from tall trees and trees on hilly terrain. ●Manual harvesting Berries are harvested manually from young, 3-to-4-year-old trees that are not yet rooted deeply and trees on steep ground where it is difficult to use harvesting machines. Harvesting is conducted manually or mechanically depending on the formation of the land and the age of the trees.

Sorting

Sorting methods (vary from country to country) ●Natural (black): Ripe coffee berries are dried naturally on the tree. They are then separated from other berries and dried further. These berries produce a rich taste. ●Washed (red, yellow): After fully ripe coffee berries are removed, the remaining berries are submerged in fermentation tanks to ferment, and the mucilaginous (sugary) substance is removed from the surface. They are then washed with clean water and dried. These berries produce a fine, clean taste. ●Pulped natural (red, yellow): After the fully ripe coffee berries are removed, the remaining berries are dried with the mucilaginous (sugary) substance intact. This process produces a pure, clean, aromatic coffee that retains the coffee beans’ uniquely soft, fruity sweetness. Because this process requires more highly skilled, delicate techniques than natural and washed processing, only a limited number of producers employ it. The harvested berries are managed by lot. First, twigs and leaves are removed by blowing them with air. In the washing process, natural (black) berries are separated from the others by gravity. The natural berries are then sent on for drying processing. The fully ripe berries (red, yellow) and unripe berries (green; * Unripe berries are not used for MACHI café) travel on to the pulping machine. Ripe berries have a soft pulp and skins that can be removed easily, making it possible to separate them.

Drying

The drying area, which covers 80,000 ㎡ and has 60 dryer units installed, boasts a drying capacity of more than 150 tons (2,500 bags) per day. Each dryer is controlled hourly according to a control table until the specified moisture value is reached.

For sun drying, the coffee berries are turned frequently to assure even drying. Naturals with pulp are dried longer (2 days), while pulped naturals are dried for just one day. Traceability is enabled by indicating the production area, variety and other information on each bag. For machine drying, the berries are dried at about 40°C for approximately 35 to 60 hours to reduce the moisture content to 12% or lower. The dryer employs thermal exchange with heated water and produces no smoky smell. Wood from eucalyptus trees grown on the Ipanema plantation and coffee berry hulls are used as fuel.

Storing and hulling

The dried berries are aged in wooden warehouses for an appropriate period. Naturals have their hulls intact, while pulped naturals and washed berries have no skin (parchment state). Finally, they are processed into green coffee beans by a hulling machine. The beans are also sorted by color with an electronic sorting machine.

One of the most important steps in the coffee bean production process is the separation of the green coffee beans from the cherries and parchment (husk).
At Ipanema, the mineral-rich parchment left over from this process is reused as fertilizer for the plantation, thus creating a rich soil suitable for growing coffee.

Quality control

Quality appraisers examine the coffee beans carefully to ensure their good taste.

Samples are extracted to check the quality of the beans and the percentage of broken and cracked beans. Quality checking is performed 24 hours a day during the harvest season. After checking, cupping is performed. Cupping is conducted to check the coffee’s taste by pouring hot water into a cup of sample coffee.

Shipping

A jute bag containing 60 kilograms of coffee beans with a Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal. The beans are then loaded for transport to the port for export. It takes about two and half to three months from the time of shipping to sales of the coffee in Japan.

Ipanema Coffees' Social and Environmental Activities

●Ipanema Reforestation Project: [Ipe Amarelo]

This project was started in 2004 to recover and preserve the local ecosystem. A plan to increase nature preservation areas has been developed and trees are planted under the plan. In order to create an environment where wild animals can live and thrive, forest corridors are built to enable them to migrate through forests. Furthermore, animal populations are counted and reported.

Within the nature reserve, there are a waterfall and a forest corridor created to provide habitat for wildlife. Seedlings grown on the plantation are planted to contribute to successful recovery of the ecosystem. Water used in the berry-sorting process is recycled to irrigate the fields. Its potassium content makes it an excellent fertilizer.

In addition, we have created a research facility called EMC to constantly monitor our activities on the plantation to ensure that they are sustainable.
For example, we aim to grow 400,000 seedlings in the nursery over the next 20 years to be used for the greening of the plantation's 2,000 hectares of forest through the establishment of technology to optimally manage plant and water resources on the plantation.
In order to achieve this goal, we are also running a telemetry system, which aims to operate the plantation's tractors more efficiently, thereby reducing wasted operating time and fuel, and contributing to the sustainability of the plantation.

In order to nurture a healthier ecosystem, we are working to increase biodiversity by promoting the pollination of various native plants. As part of this effort, we have set up 200 beehives in a protected area to produce honey in a natural setting.

●Institute's activities

Ipanema Coffees works to improve the working environment by such means as setting up temporary toilets, drinking water facilities and tents in the fields. Among its other social contribution, it has founded an organization called the Ipanema Institute to provide support such as after-school tutoring and sports activities for employees' children living in Conceição de Rio Verde near the plantation. It also conducts support programs to help drug addicts and alcoholics deal with their addictions and reintegrate them into society.

We are committed to producing coffee with the mindset that we are in control from the seed to the cup

In order to meet the demands of our customers, we at Ipanema Plantation are committed to producing high quality coffee by focusing on every step of the coffee production process, from selecting seeds for seedlings to producing custom blends.
We obtained Rainforest Alliance certification in 2004, and have been working to achieve a balance between coffee production and ecosystem conservation through a number of sustainability programs, including the planting of more than 400,000 virgin forest trees. The most important thing for us is to maintain a stable supply of high quality coffee to our customers.
We will continue to ensure consistent management so that our customers can enjoy the taste of our coffee produced in a sustainable manner.

Cristiano, CEO, Ipanema Coffees



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