Baristart, Sapporo

Coffee, sometimes, isn’t really about the coffee.

Sure the quality and provenance of the beans matter, especially when “single origin” has entered common usage nowadays. It can be startling to overhear an eleven-year-old in a café asking the barista where their coffee beans are from, and what sort of processing they use. (I don’t know about you, but I didn’t start drinking coffee till my late teens and didn’t even begin to like it till much later. Oh how things change!)

But things are changing. In Hokkaido, the northernmost Japanese island famous for their dairy cattle, the source of a coffee bean takes a back seat to where the milk comes from. At Baristart Coffee in Sapporo, nestled in a side alley a stone’s throw away from Odori Park, everyone orders a caffè latte even though espresso and pour-over coffee are on the menu too.

The reason becomes clear when you realise you can choose from three different types of fresh milk from all over Hokkaido to be incorporated in your coffee. Owner Yuki Takeuchi had traversed the island for his favourites, unique in flavour but similar in that they have a high fat content to ensure perfect foaming.

The shop itself is compact, clean lines with a large mural inside and a takeaway counter outside. Blonde woods dominate. A clever design mimics the outline of a roof. You feel as though you’ve stumbled upon an alpine lodge in the heart of the city. A home for hipsters.

While the beans come from And Coffee Roasters in Kumamoto, the milk is the draw here. You may choose from sweet Jersey milk from Tokachi Kato Ranch in Obihiro City; another Jersey milk, albeit a stronger tasting one, from Farms Chiyoda in Biei-Cho; and a balanced Holstein milk from Hakodate Gyunyu in Hakodate City.

Sometimes Baristart offers seasonally limited milk. Part of the fun is in making conversation, asking the barista for their recommendation. You’d be told that a sweeter milk will go well with an acidic coffee blend; a darker roast of beans would require a creamier milk. Delight in discovering just what you like best.

在許多主打精品、單品咖啡的館子里，
你可以依據個人喜好，選擇自己喜歡的豆子，甚至沖調方式，
但，你有沒有想過，
有一天會來到一家可以讓你選擇牛奶產區的咖啡館？

Baristart是一家位於北海道札幌市的咖啡館，
就隱藏在大通公園不遠的一條小路中，
咖啡館的外觀設計成一棟房子的模樣，
辨識度非常高，經過這裡肯定不會錯過。
咖啡館裡頭的空間不大，
木質家具，一些壁畫，在配上橙黃的的燈光，
在這下雪天里，給人一種額外溫暖舒適的感覺。

和許多其他咖啡館一樣，Baristart也提供意式濃縮或手沖咖啡，
不過來這裡的咖啡客們最愛點的，還是他們的牛奶咖啡，
因為在這裡，你可以選擇來自北海道不同地區的牛奶，
偶爾還有限量的季節性牛奶。
這些牛奶有的味濃，有的香甜，
據咖啡師的透露，不同的口味的牛奶適合搭配不同的豆子，
例如甜味較重牛奶用來搭配酸度較高的豆子，
而深焙的豆子則適合用奶油味較強的鮮奶。
如果不知道該如何選擇的話，問問咖啡師準沒錯。