Photo/Illutration Yuta Tanaka, store manager of a Starbucks, back left, explains how to make coffee to participants of a barista experience event in Nagoya on March 14. (Ken Miyazaki)

While ever popular with young people, Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd. is reaching out to the older crowd through hands-on barista and exercise experiences. 

“The ideal water temperature for pouring is about 90 degrees. Let the water sit for 30 seconds after boiling to reach this temperature,” Yuta Tanaka said at an event on March 14 where seniors learned to make coffee like a barista.

Tanaka is a Starbucks manager at the Kamiotai Mozo Wonder City 4th floor store, located in a commercial facility in Nagoya.

“First, we do a warm-up called steaming to make the coffee beans swell,” he explained to eight women, ranging in age from 57 to 84, clad in green aprons.

The women sampled the coffee and noted how different it tasted from what they normally made at home.

“I’d never thought about steaming the beans first. I just poured as much hot water as I could,” one of the women said.

The participants seemed to enjoy learning from the staff, who were closer to their grandchildren’s ages than their own.

This was the first time the company had held a barista experience event aimed at seniors.

“There are obstacles for seniors to visit Starbucks stores. We wanted to make it easier by offering an experience that includes lively conversations over coffee,” Tanaka said.

Starbucks opened its first store in Japan in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 1996. The company now has about 2,000 stores across the country.

The chain’s trendy atmosphere and diverse menu have proven popular. However, most of its customers are students and young people.

To expand its customer base across different age groups, Starbucks has been working on ways to appeal to seniors.

Since 2016, the company has been hosting gatherings for people with dementia and their families to socialize with others in the same situation in a relaxed atmosphere. About 40 stores across the country held these events in the year leading up to last fall.

In 2022, the company also started hosting early morning radio exercise sessions for locals in its store parking lots. About 30 stores nationwide held these events in the year leading up to last fall.

The radio calisthenics gathering was suggested by an elderly staff member who worked at a Starbucks in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, and is said to have led to deepening ties with the surrounding communities.

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