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전 세계의 균형 잡힌 브랜드를 매월 하나씩 소개하는 광고 없는 월간지 『매거진 B(Magazine B)』 제76호《Blue Bottle Coffee(영문판)》. 새로운 비즈니스를 구상하는 브랜드 관계자부터 브랜드에 대한 감각을 익히고 싶어 하는 이들까지, 브랜드에 관심을 가진 모두를 위해 만드는 진지하지만 읽기 쉬운 잡지이다.

■ About the Publication

Magazine B is an ad-free monthly publication that dedicates each issue to one well-balanced brand unearthed from around the globe. The magazine introduces the brand’s hidden stories, as well as its sensibility and culture, and is an easy but also serious read for anyone with an interest in brands.

■ About the Issue

Welcome to the 76th issue of B .

We all have heard of the idea of taking a “coffee break.” It’s when we take a break from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives and refresh with a cup of coffee. Similarly, people rely on coffee for its stimulating effect when they need to stay focused and totally immersed in a task. To some, coffee is something like a delicacy, and these aficionados take extra time to seek out the best coffee joints as they traverse the world. Others equip their kitchens with coffee makers and other paraphernalia to craft the best self-brewed cup of joe in the comfort of their own home. And in this digital era, coffee draws people out to offline gatherings. In short, the way contemporary society consumes coffee is nothing short of a craze. And it wouldn’t be overreaching to say that coffee is the only beverage with such a significant social and cultural influence for as long as it has. One of my interviewees, a businessman from California, said, “the US was built on coffee.”

This coffee craze has largely been propelled forward by certain coffee houses or brands, rather than by the coffee itself. Blue Bottle Coffee, featured in this issue, is the leading coffee brand behind the beverage’s phenomenal popularity for the last decade. As a frontrunner of specialty coffee?which is regarded as the third wave of coffee?Blue Bottle Coffee managed to create its own distinctive tastes and improve the entire coffee experience. Thanks to the brand’s concerted efforts, the high-end coffee industry has seen incredible growth over the years. Harking back to our publication seven years ago, B also covered Intelligentsia, another specialty coffee brand that is often referenced alongside Blue Bottle.

Featuring these two specialty coffee brands seven years apart, B discovered some interesting facts. In 2012, the concept of specialty coffee was just gaining momentum with mainstream consumers, and Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia, and other specialty coffee brands were not much different from one another. They all sought to connect with local communities, provide customized services, and improve distribution and farming systems. Specialty coffee carved out its stake in the market, and Blue Bottle Coffee decidedly embarked on a different path with an insatiable desire to discover and start another new wave in the industry. A good brand grows as it establishes core values and commits to them, and Blue Bottle took this concept one step further to expand and modify brand values so that it would stay relevant as a brand through changing times. In this process, brands often risk losing some of their customer base and get involved in a few internal quarrels. But this seems inevitable, as new things can only be achieved when a few brave visionaries take that important leap of faith.

As Blue Bottle founder James Freeman put it: “If we were so boring and obsessed over brand purity as others do, then we would’ve never started serving lattes. We will never be that company.” Excellent sports teams experiment day in and day out with new tactics and bolster players to triumph amid generational changes. Similarly, Blue Bottle held back nothing and embraced new frontiers without reservation. The brand acquired a coffee bean subscription startup and a grinding tech firm, improved its website with a bit of help from Google Ventures, and established a systematic employee training program. All these initiatives are part of the brand’s ever-evolving road map. This issue of B presents Blue Bottle’s story of passion from 2002 to today, starting with the first tasty coffee they ever brewed to the establishment of their brand value to make good coffee accessible to everyone. Moving forward, I hope this brand’s stories provide readers an opportunity to stop for a moment, just like a coffee break, and reflect on what it means to grow.

Eunsung Park
Content & Editorial Director

[매거진 B(Magazine B) No.76: Blue Bottle Coffee(영문판) 목차]

02 Intro

09 Editor’s Letter

12 Welcome
Blue Bottle patrons of Tokyo

16 Opinion
Michael Phillips, Director of Coffee Culture, Blue Bottle Coffee

20 Slow Coffee
Blue Bottle’s three extraction recipes for balanced tastes

26 Mates
Baristas and roasters representing Blue Bottle’s distinctive coffee culture

30 Backstage
Oakland roastery and cupping room the control room for taste at all Blue Bottle cafes

34 Essentials
Various Blue Bottle products showing off the brand’s aesthetic and use of new technology

42 Opinion
Taesu Im, creative branding director of Stndrd

46 Atmosphere
Blue Bottle cafes in California bring out local cultures and quirks

50 Experience
Spaces that materialize the Blue Bottle brand philosophy and coffee experience

63 Opinion
Saki Igawa, Executive Vice President of Experience, Blue Bottle Coffee

66 Atmosphere
Blue Bottle caf?s in Japan reflect characteristics of different neighborhoods while remaining welcome and friendly

70 Cafe Society
Blue Bottle’s influence and driving force for growth, as explained by those involved with the brand

80 New Wave
Roastery caf?s in Tokyo that are spreading specialty coffee culture after the arrival of Blue Bottle in Japan

86 Refined

96 Brand Story
The stories behind Blue Bottle’s birth and growth

104 Interview
James Freeman, Founder, Blue Bottle Coffee Bryan Meehan, CEO, Blue Bottle Coffee

112 Henry House
Henry House, the Blue Bottle Coffee headquarters in Oakland

116 Session
Blue Bottle training imparts its corporate culture and hospitality philosophy to new employees

118 Partners
Large-scale investments and acquisitions that laid the foundation for the brand’s growth

122 Origin
Locations where Blue Bottle Coffee’s single origin coffee beans are sourced

124 Coffee Capitals
Four cities with distinctly unique caf? cultures

128 Seoul
A look at Blue Bottle’s second global destination

132 Figures
Blue Bottle’s specialty coffee business and influence in numbers

135 References

137 Outro