Zenbird Editorial TeamCircular roastery ATARAO opens its permanent roasting store today. The facility roasts coffee beans exclusively using solid fuel produced entirely from recycled spent coffee grounds.
This Tokyo roastery collects spent grounds by bicycle from local cafes and eateries to tackle municipal waste barriers. Japan imported approximately 359,000 tonnes of green coffee beans in 2025, but coffee ground recycling has remained limited due to high collection costs and rapid mould development during storage. “We aim to create a relationship where consumers become part of that cycle without even realising it,” said ATARAO representative Nozomi Aoki.
The collected waste is processed by hand into 100 percent coffee-ground solid fuel briquettes to power the roastery’s roasting machines. Because the physical properties of the grounds vary across sources and seasons, combustion conditions shift between batches. The roastery measures and records the Agtron colour value alongside the roasting date on each bag to document these lot-by-lot variations.
The retail lineup includes Colombian Typica Geisha, decaffeinated options, house blends, and Brazilian beans sourced from farms practising regenerative agriculture certified under Organic JAS and Regenerative Organic Certified standards. Beans are priced from 1,000 yen for 50 grams, with free in-store tastings available. Unused timber is used for the store’s retail shelving and table surfaces.
ATARAO is currently inviting commercial enquiries from cafes, restaurants, and hotels for wholesale coffee supply and custom blend development, with paid samples provided upon request. The venue will also hold reservation-only roasting workshops where participants use hand roasters fuelled by the recycled grounds in the future.
[Reference] PR Times (Japanese)
