MID CAREER
The Coffee Guy
I'm Takeshi Wada. I joined Cafe Company in 2001, since when we first started. I like nature and hiking. For me, the most important things are coffee and family.
I decided to focus my career on coffee after the earthquake of 2011. I want up with some friends to the devestated Tohoku area and made coffee for those affected there. Seeing how much joy can be brought to someone with such a simply drink made me decide to make coffee my life work.
It was by coincidence. During university, I had worked in restaurant kitchens, and found it so fun, that I decided to become a chef. However, after a while I got antsy and decided to drop out of school and travel the world.
When I was backpacking around the world, I came across many types of cafes and fell in love with that culture. After returning to Japan, I was living in Koenji and just happened to walk by the first Planet3rd Koenji on its opening day. I liked the atmosphere and people there and was reminded of the cafes I saw in my travels. I thought, "It's my destiny to work in this cafe!". I applied for a job then and have been here since.
I now help open new cafes, and in general am in charge of all coffee sourcing and coffee quality control.
Last year, I traveled with my family to the coffee producing East Timor. My kids loved experiencing the nature, and the way those coffee growers lived in the mountains.
I think community is the underpinning of society.
The one thing I can say about Cafe Company is that you won't find such a strange collection of talented people anywhere else!
CAREER / PROFILE
Dropped out of college in 2000 and joined Cafe Company in 2001 as a part-timer.
Shops worked: Planet3rd Koenji No.1 (Part-timer) → WIRED CAFE Dining Lounge Roppongi Hills (Full-timer) → A971 (Manager) → CAFE SALVADOR Marunouchi (Manager) → The WIRED COFFEE ROASTERS (Producer)
Favorite food: eggs
Favorite drink: coffee
Favorite vegetable: carrots