Yozo Otsuki quit Goldman Sachs Tokyo and started Kurasu in Sydney in 2013. Both his parents ran jazz kissaten in Kyoto: his father a typical jazz kissa, his mother a gallery-kissa combination. The first café opened in 2016 next to Kyoto Station; the roastery moved to a renovated machiya in Nishijin in 2021.
A Loring S35 Kestrel and Giesen W6A roast microlots from named producers including Carmelo Yujra in Bolivia, Primavera Coffee in Guatemala, and Java Frinsa Estate in Indonesia. A subscription since 2015 partners with Japanese roasters like Light Up Coffee, Trunk, and Glitch.