ICHI Sakuraneko Support Coffee
COFFEE FOR CATS
ICHI
Sakuraneko Support Coffee
SUPPORTING COMMUNITY CATS
Enjoy delicious coffee
while supporting stray cats
ONE BAG, ONE DONATION
\10 donated for every bag sold
ICHI Sakuraneko Support Coffee is a special coffee created to support activities that protect and care for stray cats.
For every bag sold, \10 is donated to the Animal Foundation , a public interest incorporated foundation in Japan.
Sales are calculated each month, and the donation is made the following month. Donation amounts are reported regularly on our website.
SUPPORTED BY HARUKIYA
Ongoing support from Harukiya
This initiative is managed by Harukiya Coffee Roastery, located in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture.
Our responsibility extends beyond selling the coffee. We will continue to make the donations and report the results openly.
SPECIALTY COFFEE
Created for support,
crafted for exceptional taste
We use only high-quality specialty coffee beans. The blend is centered on Ethiopian coffee, complemented by beans from Brazil and other carefully selected origins.
It is a mild and approachable blend with gentle acidity, natural sweetness, a smooth texture and a rich aroma.
Enjoy it black or with milk and sugar. Brew it slightly stronger and rapidly cool it over ice for a refreshing iced coffee.
FUJI SPRING WATER
Green coffee beans polished
with Mt. Fuji spring water
Like our other coffees, the green beans are washed and polished with spring water from Mt. Fuji before being roasted using heated steam.
The African wildcat, an ancestor of domestic cats
COFFEE & CATS
Coffee and cats,
connected by North Africa
The ancestors of domestic cats are believed to have lived in and around North Africa. For this reason, Ethiopian coffee, from one of Africa’s most celebrated coffee-producing countries, forms the heart of this blend.
Ethiopia is widely known as the birthplace of coffee. Cats and coffee therefore share an unexpected connection through their regions of origin.
DOUBUTSU KIKIN
The Animal Foundation
and the Sakuraneko program
The Animal Foundation supports community cats through its Sakuraneko program, helping stray cats live out their natural lives within their local communities.
Working with municipalities and partner veterinary hospitals across Japan, the foundation promotes animal welfare and TNR programs nationwide.
WHAT IS TNR?
Helping cats and communities coexist
Simply feeding stray cats out of sympathy can result in uncontrolled population growth, conflict within the community and further hardship for the cats themselves.
One way to address this issue is TNR: Trap, Neuter and Return. Cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered and returned to the area where they were found.
SAKURA EAR
A sakura-shaped ear
shows that surgery is complete
A small, sakura-petal-shaped cut in the ear identifies a community cat that has already been spayed or neutered.
The ear marking is performed while the cat is under anesthesia for surgery, with careful consideration given to minimizing pain and stress.
A CUP THAT SUPPORTS LIFE
Drinking coffee
becomes an act of support
Beginning a donation and continuing it over time is not always easy.
We created this project in the hope that people could participate naturally, simply by enjoying delicious coffee, while helping to support stray and community cats.
Baby
OUR STORY
The small encounter
that inspired this coffee
Two former stray cats now live with the owner of Harukiya. One of them is a cat named Baby.
Our unexpected connection with Baby became the starting point for the Sakuraneko Support Coffee project.
PIKO & BABY
A stray cat appeared
at the back door of our shop
One autumn afternoon in 2014, while we were having lunch near the shop’s back entrance, a stray cat with dirty, unkempt fur slowly appeared.
We gave her a small piece of salmon from our lunch. She ate it happily and soon began returning to the shop regularly. We named her Piko.
The following year, Piko appeared with a kitten. That kitten was Baby, who now lives with the owner’s family.
A WARNING FROM PIKO
Piko’s cries may have
saved the shop from a fire
One day, Piko appeared at the back entrance and continued crying in a way that was completely different from usual. Hearing her voice suddenly reminded us that the coffee roaster upstairs had been left running.
When we rushed upstairs, white smoke was rising from the machine, and part of the chimney had become red with heat. A few more minutes might have resulted in a serious fire.
We can never know what Piko was trying to tell us. Even so, we cannot help feeling that she was warning us about the danger.
We have kept the fire-damaged chimney as a reminder
THE REALITY OF STRAY CATS
The difficult reality
faced by stray cats
Not long afterward, Piko was found collapsed behind the shop and passed away. We never learned the cause.
Stray cats generally face much shorter lives than cats living safely in homes. Piko’s death forced us to confront the difficult conditions in which stray cats live.
After losing her mother, Baby was taken in and welcomed into the family.
Piko and Baby together
OUR WISH
A community where cats
can live out their natural lives
Our relationship with Piko and Baby made us deeply aware of stray cats―animals who are both lovable and exposed to extremely difficult living conditions.
Fujiyoshida City also works with the Animal Foundation’s Sakuraneko TNR program. We sincerely hope these efforts will continue to spread, allowing stray cats to be accepted as community cats and live out their natural lives.
ICHI SAKURANEKO SUPPORT COFFEE
Gentle support,
beginning with one cup.
Enjoying delicious coffee can help support
the lives of stray and community cats.