Ashgrove’s newest cafe Kimino is celebrating excellent coffee and Japanese craftsmanship
Kimino, the new Wardell Street hideaway, is a masterclass in stylish minimalism, with a Kyoto-born expat enlightening caffeine lovers to the magic of pour-over coffee. This top-notch brew is available alongside pastries, treats and a range of imported ceramics.
Kimino’s owner Minekazu Hirayama first fell head over heels in love with coffee roughly 17 years ago, when Weekenders Coffee opened its doors just around the corner from his home in Kyoto. Trying the roaster’s espresso brews opened Miné to the wonders of specialty coffee, then still a relatively unknown phenomenon in Japan.
“The coffee was just different,” recalls Miné. “In those days, it was very rare to find good espresso coffee – pour-over coffee had a big culture in Japan. It’s very familiar – even my mum and my grandma drink pour-over coffee.”
Miné didn’t know it at the time, but that first silky sip had set him on a new course. Soon after, Miné enacted a career change, ditching his office job in favour of a globe-trotting odyssey. After immersing himself in the coffee cultures of Europe and America, Miné found himself in Melbourne in 2012 – a period when the city’s coffee scene was surging, with the likes of Proud Mary, Seven Seeds and ST ALi having cemented themselves as pioneers of Australia’s specialty coffee wave.
It was in Melbourne that Miné first worked as a barista before eventually joining the roasting team at AU79 in Abbotsford, where he learned the ins and outs of the industry from farm to cup. Naturally, Miné’s thoughts soon turned to opening a cafe of his own, but it wasn’t until moving to Brisbane three years ago that the dream became a reality.
“I wanted to have a shop because then I could do whatever I want,” says Miné, with a laugh. “I wanted to have a shop that I’d want to go to as a customer.”
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Last month, after stints working at Florence and Cavalier Coffee Roasters, Miné opened Kimino on Wardell Street in Ashgrove in the tenancy previously home to Macchiato Me. Miné and his wife Haruka have implemented a crisply minimalist interior scheme boasting nods to Japanese craftsmanship, with concrete floors offset by blonde timber furniture and white walls and benchtops.
To hear Miné tell it, the inspiration for the overall design came from Haruka, who first decided that a paper lantern from Isamu Noguchi would be the perfect fit to hang in front of Kimino’s street-facing window. Its slightly misshapen spherical form represents the beautiful rawness of handmade craftsmanship – small imperfections that are regarded more as a strength than a flaw, which became a guiding mantra for Kimino’s aesthetic and operational ethos.
This approach mirrors that of coffee making in general. While consistency is always the aim, no two coffees are ever exactly the same. Kimino’s coffee menu is anchored by a pour-over menu, with a separate brew bar equipped with everything needed to concoct delicate drops.
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“I think it’s the best way to feel and to taste coffee’s character,” says Miné. “It’s the best way to experience the delicate flavours. But I want the customer to feel like they can brew at home, that’s why I don’t use fancy equipment.”
Kimino sources beans from Weekenders Coffee and Cavalier Coffee Roasters, with pour-over sips loosely categorised by flavour profile and tasting notes. There’s a complex, but balanced Colombian drop with floral notes, an Ethiopian number with hints of citrus, ginger and black tea, and a juicy Kenyan option with hints of blackcurrant, blood orange and rhubarb, among others. Soon, Miné will add beans from Aoma Coffee in Osaka to his rotation.
“All coffees have a character or personality,” explains Miné. “It can be very difficult to choose, so I want to make it simple. All of our coffee has flavour notes to assist. This one is floral, this one is fruity, or complex or comfortable.”
For espresso, Cavalier is also supplying Kimino’s specially roasted house blend and a rotating single origin, available alongside an assortment of teas, iced matcha and cold-pressed juices.
On the food front, Kimino is serving two kinds of toasted sandwiches (ham and cheese, and spicy smoked chicken), a small selection of pastries from Danny’s Bread, as well as house-baked treats like caneles, financier, raisin butter sandos and cookies.
In addition to bags of take-home beans and pour-over gear, Kimino’s retail shelf is stocked with a curated selection of imported ceramics from Japanese brands and artisans like Chie Fuji, FUTAGAMI and yumiko iihoshi porcelain.
Kimino is now open to the public – operating hours and other details can be found in The Directory.