21-Year-Old Opens an 8-Seat Akasaka Coffee Shop "ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA", Crowdfunding for Lifetime-Locked Gold and Platinum Memberships Accelerates Rapidly on CAMPFIRE, Reaching 2 Million Yen in Four Days.
Elysia Coffee Co., Ltd., led by 21-year-old Q-Grader Taishi Hotta, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on CAMPFIRE for "ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA," an 8-seat luxury coffee bar set to open in Akasaka, Tokyo. The campaign quickly surpassed 2 million yen in four days, nearing its 3 million yen goal, driven by popular lifetime-locked membership options.
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- 📰 Published: May 1, 2026 at 00:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 30, 2026 at 16:01
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Elysia Coffee Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Akasaka, Tokyo; Representative Director: Taishi Hotta) has launched a fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding platform "CAMPFIRE" for the opening of "ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA," a luxury coffee bar scheduled to open in Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo in the summer of 2026. The target amount is 3 million yen. The returns focus on "ELYSIANS" (Elysian), a lifetime-locked membership at a special crowdfunding price, offering both Gold and Platinum options, seeking supporters who resonate with this new endeavor to provide coffee not as "consumption" but as an "experience."
Representative Hotta, at the age of 20, was a Q-Grader who successfully bid approximately 2.5 million yen for "Panama GW-13" at the "Best of Panama 2025," one of the world's highest-regarded coffee auctions. This store is being established as a flagship store for his challenge to redefine coffee not as a "cost" but as an "experience" that updates people's sensibilities.
The crowdfunding campaign, launched on April 24, 2026, quickly reached 1.5 million yen on its first day and exceeded 2 million yen in just four days, achieving a 67% success rate towards its goal. This pace is exceptionally fast for a food and beverage crowdfunding project on CAMPFIRE.
The core return of this crowdfunding campaign, the ELYSIANS membership, is driving the support. Supporters during this campaign period will be able to renew their membership at this special crowdfunding price for life, even after regular membership prices are revised. This "lifetime lock" design strongly resonates with supporters who wish to be part of the brand from its early stages.
Supporters include professionals from specific industries, F&B/hospitality personnel, and coffee enthusiasts. The expectation for a rare lot experience offered in an extremely small 8-seat space is understood as the motivation for their support.
Not just "going to drink coffee," but "going to update one's sensibilities."
In Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo – a city with extremely high density of information and consumption – we deliberately establish an 8-seat space.
ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA does not offer an efficient cup. The time spent savoring rare specialty coffee, personally sourced by Representative Hotta, a Q-Grader, from around the world, in a space where extraction, temperature, and conversation are all meticulously designed – that very time is the product.
The menu will feature rare lots rarely encountered in regular distribution, including the "Panama GW-13" from the Best of Panama 2025. In an era where coffee can be bought for 200 yen at a convenience store, why confront a single cup in an 8-seat space? The store itself presents the answer to that question.
We redefine coffee not as a consumable good to be processed as a cost, but as an experiential value that updates people's sensibilities.
Representative Profile:
Taishi Hotta, the Representative Director, was enrolled in Waseda University's School of Commerce (currently on leave) when he placed 5th in a national coffee competition. Subsequently, he acquired the international Q-Grader certification as a coffee appraiser and served as a judge for the Japan Brewers Cup 2025.
In the summer of 2025, at the age of 20, Hotta successfully bid for the "Panama GW-13" lot of that year at the Best of Panama auction, where roasters and buyers from around the world compete for rare lots. His success at such an exceptionally young age in Japan attracted significant attention both within and outside the industry.
ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA is the flagship store of Elysia Coffee Co., Ltd. (established February 2025), led by Hotta, and is positioned as the crystallization of all his achievements and philosophy to date.
Certificate of Successful Bid for Best of Panama 2025 GW-13.
Store Overview:
Item | Content
---|---
Store Name | ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA
Location | 1F MA2201, 2-20-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Seating Capacity | 8 seats
Business Type | Coffee Shop
Planned Opening | Pre-open: May 20, Grand Open: June 1
Offerings | Rare specialty coffee, including top-award lots from Best of Panama
Keywords:
Representative Hotta, at the age of 20, was a Q-Grader who successfully bid approximately 2.5 million yen for "Panama GW-13" at the "Best of Panama 2025," one of the world's highest-regarded coffee auctions. This store is being established as a flagship store for his challenge to redefine coffee not as a "cost" but as an "experience" that updates people's sensibilities.
The crowdfunding campaign, launched on April 24, 2026, quickly reached 1.5 million yen on its first day and exceeded 2 million yen in just four days, achieving a 67% success rate towards its goal. This pace is exceptionally fast for a food and beverage crowdfunding project on CAMPFIRE.
The core return of this crowdfunding campaign, the ELYSIANS membership, is driving the support. Supporters during this campaign period will be able to renew their membership at this special crowdfunding price for life, even after regular membership prices are revised. This "lifetime lock" design strongly resonates with supporters who wish to be part of the brand from its early stages.
Supporters include professionals from specific industries, F&B/hospitality personnel, and coffee enthusiasts. The expectation for a rare lot experience offered in an extremely small 8-seat space is understood as the motivation for their support.
Not just "going to drink coffee," but "going to update one's sensibilities."
In Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo – a city with extremely high density of information and consumption – we deliberately establish an 8-seat space.
ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA does not offer an efficient cup. The time spent savoring rare specialty coffee, personally sourced by Representative Hotta, a Q-Grader, from around the world, in a space where extraction, temperature, and conversation are all meticulously designed – that very time is the product.
The menu will feature rare lots rarely encountered in regular distribution, including the "Panama GW-13" from the Best of Panama 2025. In an era where coffee can be bought for 200 yen at a convenience store, why confront a single cup in an 8-seat space? The store itself presents the answer to that question.
We redefine coffee not as a consumable good to be processed as a cost, but as an experiential value that updates people's sensibilities.
Representative Profile:
Taishi Hotta, the Representative Director, was enrolled in Waseda University's School of Commerce (currently on leave) when he placed 5th in a national coffee competition. Subsequently, he acquired the international Q-Grader certification as a coffee appraiser and served as a judge for the Japan Brewers Cup 2025.
In the summer of 2025, at the age of 20, Hotta successfully bid for the "Panama GW-13" lot of that year at the Best of Panama auction, where roasters and buyers from around the world compete for rare lots. His success at such an exceptionally young age in Japan attracted significant attention both within and outside the industry.
ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA is the flagship store of Elysia Coffee Co., Ltd. (established February 2025), led by Hotta, and is positioned as the crystallization of all his achievements and philosophy to date.
Certificate of Successful Bid for Best of Panama 2025 GW-13.
Store Overview:
Item | Content
---|---
Store Name | ELYSIA COFFEE AKASAKA
Location | 1F MA2201, 2-20-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Seating Capacity | 8 seats
Business Type | Coffee Shop
Planned Opening | Pre-open: May 20, Grand Open: June 1
Offerings | Rare specialty coffee, including top-award lots from Best of Panama
Keywords: