Photo/Illutration “Toromi” (thickened) coffee is seen at the Komeda Holdings Co. headquarters in Nagoya's Higashi Ward on May 30. (Photo taken by Maiko Ito)

One scoop or two? Komeda’s Coffee outlets are serving a thickened brew that people can eat from a spoon, a product aimed at older diners who may have difficulty swallowing.

Nagoya-based Komeda Holdings Co., which operates the plush-lined coffee shops, developed “toromi” (thickened) coffee for diners who tend to choke when swallowing a liquid.

Toromi coffee is spooned into the mouth. It gently coats the tongue and the rich, bitter flavor spreads slowly. A cup of toromi also lasts longer because it takes longer to cool.

Development of the novel coffee product began in 2020. Yayoi Ito, Komeda’s chief marketing official, heard from a friend working in elderly care that when coffee is thickened it no longer tastes good.

When someone ages or falls sick, they often lose the power to chew or swallow. They tend to choke when drinking fluids and need a thickened product instead. There are more than 1 million such people in Japan, according to one estimate.

And as people begin to choke more, they start avoiding coffee, giving up a beverage they once loved.

Ito set about developing a replacement drink to reduce the number of people who are “sadly graduating from coffee,” she said.

At first, the team tried 20 or so commercially available thickening agents. This was not a success. The substances caused the coffee flavor to fade away.

One by one, the blenders narrowed their search to a thickener that would retain the deep, robust flavor that Komeda coffee is known for.

Komeda began marketing the thickened coffee online in the fall of 2022 and started serving it at around 260 Komeda’s Coffee outlets this May.

The coffee was trialed with the help of professor Hiroshige Taniguchi of the faculty of dentistry at Asahi University. He supervised its commercialization by inviting patients at the university hospital to try it.

Taniguchi recalls one male patient in his 80s who used to visit a Komeda’s Coffee outlet up to three times a day. When asked what he wanted to eat, the patient said his greatest wish was “the morning set at Komeda.”

When the man tasted toromi coffee, he immediately recognized the Komeda flavor. “I am bubbling with excitement,” he said.

Taniguchi says there is often a tradeoff in taste when adapting menus for elderly diners.

“When it comes to food for the elderly that focuses on safety, the flavor tends to be sidelined,” he said. “In particular, discretional items are not given much thought.”

Meanwhile, rehab specialists notice that when patients eat the food they love, their swallowing power improves.

“The fundamental joy of eating tasty food can enhance the power to eat,” Taniguchi said.

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