A "tasting party" was held on December 24th at Starbucks Coffee Hirosaki Koenmae (Kamihiragincho).

This is the first time that the event was jointly planned with Hirosaki City, aiming to experience the culture unique to Hirosaki by utilizing the same store that was opened in the official residence of the 8th Division Commander of the Army, a nationally registered tangible cultural property.

Participants listened to a local apple farmer today, tasting coffee and apples.

Tetsuto Sasaya who runs an apple farmer in the Higashimeya district of the city. Mr. Sasaya gave a variety of stories about apples for about one and a half hours, from the history of his farm to the differences in sweetness and sourness between varieties and how to grow apple trees. “Starbucks House Blend” was offered to customers and tasted along with the 6 varieties of apples brought by Mr. Sasaya.

A woman in her 40s living in Hirosaki City who participated said, “I learned a lot from all the things I didn't know. Coffee and apple also had different sourness, and I found that they could be eaten together. Cakes using apples I would like to devise various kinds of coffee for my own cooking."

Kenichiro Takahashi, store manager of the same store, said, “We would like to contribute by making connection activities that match the characteristics of each region that also operates stores as Starbucks coffee. Hirosaki Koenmae store is based on its location and the history of the building. It is suitable for such a project. I want to continue to work on it."

Sasaya said, “Including related industries, apples are still the foundation of Hirosaki's economy. It is important for the region to have a deeper understanding by interacting with the local people. If there is, I would like to do it again."