Kuro Neko Values, Goal and Coffee - For Your Consideration!

I know I said ‘Black Cat Boons’ next time but this one will make sense.

I’ve been reaching out to a few cafes and one of them asked me to talk about myself, Kuro Neko and my values behind it. It got me thinking and I wrote back to them. Realizing it sounded like a blog-post that I write here, I decided to share it for your reading pleasure as well. Enjoy:

My name is Phillip and I am a small roaster based in Hamilton Ontario.

As per my website 'about' page  I am passionate about Coffee, design, learning and cute black cats. I recently got into specialty coffee back in 2023, with then being my first ever cup of coffee. Since then, I've done my best to learn, listen and connect with people, cafes and producers in regards to what makes specialty coffee so meaningful. 

Truly it is such a wonderful community, the friendliness, helpful attitude and eager openness is refreshing and lovely. Sharing coffee is what makes it taste better and that has helped inform not only how I roast but how I build Kuro Neko.

I do my best to connect with all my customers, I connect with all the cafés, and I connect with every farmer and producer of the beans I buy from the importers and then send the farm and producers a bag of the roasted beans as a gift and thanks for their labor. They’re working and producing such wonderful coffee that I use and then share with others via roasting and to me it's important to honour that work.
I got into this for the fun, for the connection, for the community and to share that with everyone via my coffee and to continue promote those values that got me into coffee itself.

I started with making small coffee animations(I am brand new to not only coffee roasting but animating as well haha but it's been a great experience from learning to making!) to help with education on coffee and help people better understand the drink they're enjoying and my goals is to conitnue to share and educate in easy, fun and playful ways.

My site: kuroneko.cafe, and instagram: kuroneko.ca is a good reflection of that.

I fully believe in transparency and source an information card from every coffee I use from the importer and then put this information on my bags to showcase the processing, origin, region, farm, producer and other details to help better inform as to where, how and what's so special about this coffee. I want to help again with the education and to get people more curious about coffee, its practices, varying differences and exciting new processes and approaches.

My style, as I hope you find out and enjoy, for roasting is aiming to be balanced, sweet and clean. 

I am growing and learning with every roast and to me these are the coffees I enjoy drinking the most and have fun with. As such, I want to share them with others.

I made Kuro Neko for creative expression, connection and building those bonds with others in the best way possible. I try to be myself if every aspect and reflect that in my care for the work, cute animations and honest blog-posts and conversations with customers, producers, cafes and other roasters too. I am a very curious person and love sharing that with others and I think that and the rest of my nature comes through my company and coffee!

Please visit my website to see more, please ask any questions- I'll be more than happy to answer, and I hope the coffee I'll be mailing this week arrives soon for you all to enjoy!

Sincerely,

Phillip - Kuro Neko

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So that’s what I wrote, I hope my voice carried the same tone as usual and I think it did. I find myself writing as I vocalize it so if you read this or ever hear me it’ll all match and make sense. What you see is what you get and I hope you have as much fun as I do with that!

Cheers from Kuro, Shiro and Myself.

PS Don’t worry, ‘Black Cat Boons’ is coming ;)