Guidance
COFFEE JOURNAL is a platform that brings together coffee logging, discovery, and the sharing of specialist knowledge. It carries over selected content from the former Coffee Journal website while adding user posts, profiles, search, analytics, and other community features.
The core service is free to use. The features shown in the dashboard depend on the role selected for the account.
The standard role for anyone who wants to record coffees, brewing recipes, gear reviews, and events. It is available whether or not coffee is your profession.
For people who want to share coffee-related knowledge, skills, or activities, including baristas, brewers, roasters, buyers, coaches, cuppers, technicians, media professionals, academics, and enthusiasts. In addition to USER features, PRO accounts can use an EXPERTS public profile, publish blog and verification articles, and post updates.
You do not have to work professionally in coffee to choose PRO. However, the EXPERTS profile must be reviewed and approved before it is published.
For owners or representatives of coffee-related businesses, including roasteries, cafés, farms, mills, importers, and retailers. In addition to USER features, OWNER accounts can use an ORIGINS public profile, publish blog and verification articles, post updates, receive business inquiries, and connect an online store.
You must have been, currently be, or plan to become the owner or representative of a coffee-related business. The ORIGINS profile must be reviewed and approved before it is published.
This role is reserved for site administration and cannot be selected by general users.
ORIGINS includes producing countries and regions, farms, mills, roasters, shops, and events. Each page may show a profile, locations, official links, updates, posts, public recipes, and gear reviews.
Some ORIGINS pages exist without an account owner. If you do not want an entry to be listed or if its information needs to be corrected, please contact the site operator.
EXPERTS lists people involved in coffee according to the primary category they select. An EXPERTS page is created only after the person's PRO profile has been approved and published. The site does not create personal EXPERTS pages before the person registers.
Header search finds user accounts, ORIGINS, EXPERTS, and supported post types. Advanced search lets you combine varieties, processes, taste tags, and gear to find tasting posts.
JOURNAL contains news, events, columns, and website announcements published by the site operator.
The website is available in Japanese and English.
/ja/enThe language switcher in the header changes the language of the page you are viewing. The language switcher in the dashboard changes the language you are editing or posting. These controls have different purposes.
Posts written in Japanese appear on Japanese pages, while posts written in English appear on English pages. Always select the correct language in the dashboard before creating or editing content.
PRO users are encouraged to register with a work email address, and OWNER users with a business email address. If you do not have one, you may use a personal email address.
You can change your role in dashboard settings. If you change to PRO or OWNER, the corresponding specialist profile must be submitted and approved before specialist features become available.
The dashboard is where you manage profiles, posts, your library, analytics, notifications, public pages, and account settings.
Its main sections are:
You must save a USER profile before using USER posting features. PRO and OWNER specialist features become available after the corresponding profile has been approved and published. PRO and OWNER accounts may still use USER tasting, event, and gear-review features once their USER profile has been completed.
Posts and calendar entries support the following visibility settings:
“Members” does not mean paid members. It refers to users who are signed in to the website.
Begin by setting up your USER profile under Public Profile in the dashboard.
Your USERNAME is the unique identifier displayed after @. It may contain half-width letters, numbers, and hyphens. In principle, it cannot be changed after it has been set.
It is used in the URL of your USER page and, if you are a PRO user, your EXPERTS page.
https://coffee-journal-app.com/ja/users/USERNAME
https://coffee-journal-app.com/en/users/USERNAME
https://coffee-journal-app.com/ja/experts/USERNAME
https://coffee-journal-app.com/en/experts/USERNAME
Do not use a name that impersonates another person or organization or is likely to mislead visitors.
This is the name shown on the page. Separate display names may be set for USER, EXPERTS, and ORIGINS profiles.
Avatar and cover images are shared by the account. Updating them is reflected on the relevant USER, EXPERTS, and ORIGINS pages.
Enter a short introduction. Japanese and English profile content must be configured separately in the corresponding dashboard language.
You can add schedules and announcements. The dashboard supports creating, editing, and viewing entries; public profiles display them in read-only form. Titles are limited to 40 characters and memos to 400 characters. Each entry has its own language and visibility setting.
Record information about a coffee, your sensory impressions, and brewing recipes.
Source, Market, Variety, and Process must be selected from registered suggestions. If the correct item is unavailable, use Request registration if not found. Replies are available in the request and notification area of the dashboard.
Choose from:
You may combine up to five “Brewed by me” and “Brewed or served by someone else” records. If you add a recipe, at least one field must contain a value.
Available fields include:
When Brew Ratio and TDS are entered, approximate and corrected Extraction Yield values are calculated automatically. Enter numbers without units in numeric fields; the interface displays the units.
Recipes can be saved as templates and reused in later posts. Saved templates can also be deleted.
Taste tags are grouped into:
Parent and child tags can be selected independently. The groups are a guide for organizing expression, not a restriction on how coffee should be described. Missing tags can be requested through the registration-request form.
Select a piece of coffee equipment and publish a review.
If the brand has a corresponding ORIGINS page, a link to it appears in the post. If a PRO or OWNER selects the same item under “Coffee gear used regularly” in their profile and publishes the review themselves, it may also appear on the approved EXPERTS or ORIGINS page.
Publish a record of an event you attended or organized. Set its dates, title, body, images, and visibility.
Analytics are calculated from tasting posts other than drafts. They may include:
Charts show counts and proportions based on recorded posts. Empty fields are not included.
Your posts can be edited or deleted from the Library. After editing, you are taken to the updated post page. Deleting a post also removes images that were used only by that post from storage.
Removing an existing image in the editor does not delete it immediately. Deletion is confirmed only when Save changes is selected, and the image can be restored before saving.
You can follow USER accounts, EXPERTS, and ORIGINS. Public posts from followed accounts and pages appear together in one timeline. You cannot follow yourself.
Tasting posts, gear reviews, events, blogs, verification articles, and other supported content can be bookmarked. The bookmark page groups saved content by type and lets you remove bookmarks.
To use PRO features, complete an EXPERTS profile and submit it for review. Typical fields include:
The primary EXPERT CATEGORY determines how the account is grouped in the EXPERTS directory. Enter accurate experience and achievements that can be reasonably verified.
After approval, the EXPERTS page is published and specialist features become available. If an application is declined, review the reason, correct the information, and submit it again.
Changes made after approval generally require a new review. Features that were already available remain unlocked while a change application is being reviewed.
Create updates for your EXPERTS page, such as new activities, events, or availability. Published updates can be deleted from the dashboard.
Publish coffee-related articles.
Blogs created by a PRO user are shown on that user's EXPERTS page.
Compare multiple brewing, water, cupping, or roasting patterns and publish the result as a verification article. Up to ten patterns can be included.
Each pattern must contain at least one value, and at least one image is required. Typical sections include:
A product URL may be added to direct readers to a related item.
When another user selects the account owner as a provider in a tasting post, the post becomes a candidate for Posts from users on the EXPERTS page. Posts in which the owner links themselves appear under Account posts.
The display mode can be set to:
After switching to approval mode, newly linked posts remain hidden until approved. Posts that were already displayed automatically keep their existing state. If the author edits or deletes the original post, that change is reflected in the related post.
Related posts can be pinned, shown, or hidden.
To use OWNER features, select an existing ORIGINS suggestion or enter a new business and submit it for review.
Typical fields include:
When an existing ORIGINS entry is selected, it is linked to the account after approval. For a new entry, a review record is created and published only after approval. If the application is declined, the submitted values remain available in the form for resubmission but are not applied to the public profile. A temporary unapproved ORIGINS record created solely for a new application is deleted.
Changes made after approval also require a new review. Features that were already available remain unlocked during the change review.
An inquiry form is displayed on an approved ORIGINS page for eligible users. It can be used to contact the account directly about business matters.
The first inquiry may be sent by a PRO or OWNER, while the recipient must be an OWNER. After a conversation begins, both participants can reply in the dashboard. Users can delete messages they sent themselves.
Publish updates on an ORIGINS page, such as product releases, opening information, events, and new arrivals.
Blogs and verification articles created by an OWNER are shown on that owner's ORIGINS page. There is no separate EXPERTS/ORIGINS destination selector; content is published to the public page associated with the account role.
Connect a BASE, Shopify, or Square store and display imported products on an ORIGINS page. Each platform requires its own credentials and correctly configured redirect URL.
Access tokens and other credentials are never displayed on public pages. Disconnect the store from the dashboard when the integration is no longer needed.
When an ORIGINS entry is selected as a Source, Market, provider shop, or gear brand in a tasting or gear post, the post becomes a candidate for the ORIGINS page.
Posts in which the account owner links their own ORIGINS entry appear under Account posts. Posts by other users appear under Posts from users. Display behavior can be set to Display automatically or Display after approval, and each post can be pinned, shown, or hidden.
If the author edits or deletes the original post, the change is reflected in the related post.
Keyword search groups results by type, including:
Administrative announcements are not normally included in general search results.
Combine varieties, processes, taste tags, and gear to search tasting posts. Taste tags are grouped by Flavor, Mouthfeel, and Aftertaste, while gear is grouped by equipment type.
When multiple conditions are selected, related public posts are shown. Drafts, private posts, and member-only posts that the viewer is not permitted to access are excluded.
The dashboard shows:
Notifications and B2B conversations remain available when the display language is changed. Posts themselves are separated by their posting language.
Newly uploaded images are first stored in a temporary area. Completing a post moves them to permanent storage. Temporary uploads that are never attached to a completed post are automatically deleted after a set period.
Images are compressed during upload. When a post or profile is deleted, images that are no longer used are removed from storage.
Signing out does not remove the account or its posts.
Permanently deleting an account removes login information, profiles, posts, related data, and stored images. In principle, this cannot be undone. Save any information you need before deleting the account.
Send feature requests, questions, correction requests, and listing-related inquiries through Request to the operator in the dashboard or the website contact channel.