Stories from Allpress: Petter

For nearly 12 years, since the Tokyo Roastery first opened, Petter has roasted at Allpress, now serving as Japan's Head Roaster. We spoke with him about the time he's spent here in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, his feelings about continuing to roast coffee day after day, and the planned relocation of the Tokyo Roastery in autumn of 2026.

First, please introduce yourself and tell us how you came to work at Allpress.

My name is Petter. I am currently the head roaster at Allpress Japan, and I've been working here for 12 years now. Prior to coming to Japan, I lived in London and worked at a wholesale partner café of Allpress in the United Kingdom. In that sense, I've been part of the Allpress family for nearly 16 years, or more than 16, really.

What led me to work at Allpress Japan was meeting Allpress' CEO on my last day at the café I worked at in London. After that, I moved to Japan, and it turned out he was traveling the world and also in Tokyo, so we happened to meet again. So, I met him on my last day in London, and then when I first arrived in Japan...It felt like I was somehow destined to end up here.

Have you been working at the Tokyo Roastery since it first opened?

Pretty much, yes. I started about two or three weeks after it opened, so I'm not really clear on the exact date, but I was there just a few weeks after it opened.

Do you remember your first time roasting, or using this roasting machine?

Initially, I started out as a barista. So for the first half year, I worked full-time in the café, and then slowly moved into a roastery position. All of my experience was learnt and built here.

Looking back, what do you think makes Allpress such a special brand?

I think there are broadly two things. One is simplicity. Allpress isn’t preoccupied with fussy, difficult recipes; we value the idea that anyone can brew our coffee deliciously.

And the second thing, which is probably the biggest reason, is the people. Everyone's connected - the team working here, our staff, our wholesale partners, all of it. Back when I was in London, Allpress felt completely different from other coffee shops. The first time I stepped into an Allpress roastery, what struck me was the friendliness of the people. There wasn't really anywhere like that in London at the time.

When I came to Japan 12 years ago, it was right around the time the specialty coffee movement began in Japan, just as third-wave coffee was trending. And I think Allpress stood out a bit from other Japanese coffee shops back then too - thanks to our approachability. It wasn't all about this or that particular variety of coffee. Of course our staff has that knowledge, and we can share it the moment someone asks, but the flavor of the coffee always comes first.

Flavour and simplicity. Those two things are the foundation of everything we do.

You're the head roaster at Allpress, but you also run your own café. Did the desire to open a café come to you naturally while working here?

I never thought I'd end up owning my own café and pulling shots as a barista again. Roasting is fun, but it's also physically demanding and a pretty solitary job. It's just you and the roasting machine. So at some point, I started to miss interacting with people. I enjoy making those connections.

I always think roasting coffee is very similar to the photography work I used to do. Fashion photography, for example, is a lot like barista work. Of course you need to have the photography skills, but a photographer communicates with the models, just like a barista communicates with the customers at a café. Roasting, on the other hand, is much more repetitive, so it's a lot like studio photography - you can be very meticulous, making adjustment after adjustment.

When I'm roasting, there's very little interaction with people, but I like both. I want to continue to do both, and that’s what keeps me here - I get to run my own business while still getting to roast at Allpress.

What does roasting coffee at Allpress mean to you?

It’s nice because I get to let go of my ego (laughs). Running my own café is, in a way, an expression of my own ego; it's my world in there. But here, I'm part of Allpress' bigger team, part of the brand. I can't just decide on a whim, "Today, Allpress blend is going to taste like this." There's a shared flavor profile we follow across the world.

Honestly, it’s quite nice. We’re always roasting to hit the same flavor, and it might look simple on the surface, but Tokyo has such dramatic seasonal shifts that it is actually quite hard. Summer and winter are totally different, and during the rainy season, like now, roasting can change between morning and afternoon. So it's never really a simple, monotonous task. We're roasting the same coffee over and over, but the way we do it is constantly shifting, day to day and season to season. Adapting to that change while roasting the same familiar flavor makes this job interesting.

How did you feel when you learned the Tokyo Roastery would be closing and relocating to Miyota?

I didn’t feel sad. I think this place has served its purpose. We're moving to a beautiful roastery next, and it's going to be a wonderful place. Very beautiful. And thankfully, the volume of coffee we roast has grown so much that this space has become too small for us. The next roastery will be bigger, and the environment will be better too. We will be able to deliver what we value most, a “flavour that never changes," even more consistently and better than before.

I'm not so into nostalgia, either. I like looking forward. From here on out, the future for Allpress will be good. Of course, I will miss the roastery. It's been my home away from home, especially as a foreigner living in Tokyo. It's been one of my anchors, a safe place. But it's time to let go.

What are you hoping for from Allpress after the move to Miyota? What do you think will become possible?

I hope we can keep growing. The location in Miyota is going to be very different. Of course, the roastery itself will be different, but we're also moving to a higher altitude with a cooler climate, so shifts in the weather won't affect roasting as much as they do now. That means it should be easier to roast the flavor we're aiming for consistently, all year round, in any season. That's probably the biggest change. I think quality will become even more stable.

What would you like to say to the café customers and wholesale partners who've supported Allpress over the years? Do you have any memories with them that particularly stand out?

First of all, thank you for being a part of this journey with us. And second, don't worry - Allpress is only going to get better from here. The flavor of our coffee isn't going to change, if anything, it's going to taste even better than it does now.

As for memories, before I started roasting full-time, I worked as a barista trainer, traveling all over Japan visiting our wholesale partner cafés. I went to ski resort areas a lot in particular, and it was lovely to see how much people there enjoyed our coffee. It was nice how the coffee we roasted in Tokyo was bringing joy to people so far away. Even running my own café now, I feel that everything is connected. And not just connected within Japan - we reach the UK, Australia, Singapore, even New Zealand. Being here makes the world feel surprisingly small.

Is there anything you'd like to share or say to the team?

Of the original members from when we first started, there's only one person left besides me. Just recently, I was counting up how many people have been part of this team over the years, but I want to say thank you to everyone. Without the people that make up Allpress, I would not have stayed here for 12 years. As I said, this place has been my home away from home, and that's entirely thanks to everyone, from the management to every person who's worked here as a barista.

This isn't an ending. It's just the beginning. A new beginning.

Along with 12 years of experience from the Tokyo Roastery, we move forward to our new roastery in Miyota, Nagano Prefecture. Our journey as a specialty coffee brand began in the streets of Kiyosumi-shirakawa. Now, thanks to the customers, community, and team members who've supported us along the way, we continue onto our next chapter.

Even as our location changes, our values remain the same. The coffee you drink today will taste the same as it did yesterday. No matter where or when, we promise to keep delivering that same, unwavering "perfect cup" to you all.