All posts tagged: coffee culture

Tokyo Kissaten Picks

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It was about last year that I’ve started looking into the roots of café culture. While it is always exciting to find a new coffee shop before anyone else, I feel the same kind of excitement of finding a local-only café that has been preserved for hundred years. Kissaten, an old-style Japanese coffee house, is a great example of Tokyo deep-rooted passion for quality coffee. Hidden away from any sunlight, kissaten is all about you, the master and a cup of coffee. Here are the Curiosity’s three picks of top-notch kissatens in Tokyo: OLD AND NEW | Kayaba Coffee   Kayaba coffee is a fusion of ancient and modern. Located in Yanaka’s Kototoi-dori behind Ueno Park, this kissaten has been running for over 70 years. The building itself is a worth-seeing spot as it was built during the World War I in the so-called “old downtown” of Tokyo. The coffee house has survived the earthquakes and the air raids during the War and exterior remained unchanged to this day. However, the true charm of this …

London Coffee Festival with Shinsaku Fukayama

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Londoners had a chance to get over-caffeinated once again in the annual London Coffee Festival which is the largest of its kind in the world. It celebrates coffee culture by gathering the best baristas and hosting coffee shops from all around the Europe under one roof. The festival invites customers to learn about the basics of cupping, how to roast, brew at home or pour a beautiful latte art. It has also featured major demonstrations from world-class baristas and latte art masterclasses. Coming all the way from Australia, Shinsaku “Shin” Fukayama is one of the most anticipated guests in this year’s London Coffee Festival. His journey in coffee industry has started four years ago in St Ali, one of the most famous specialty coffee shops in Australia, and by now he is known as a World Latte Art Champion. Shin rushed to London straight after Australian Latte Art Championship where he took the second place. In Latte Art Live shows, Shin amazed crowds by free-pouring his original latte designs – a monkey, an astronaut and …

A Shot of Summer — Iki Espresso

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  Following the Aussie coffee culture, Iki espresso serves generous cups of excellent coffee in the centre of Chigasaki. This coffee stand is a successor of Allpress that is originally based in New Zealand, where coffee culture is said to be one of the best in the world. Allpress roasters opened their mega successful stores in cities such as London and Melbourne and very recently they expanded with a branch in Tokyo. Iki espresso embodies the idea of coffee stand with a look of abandoned coffee warehouse. Minimalistic concrete interior, a great collection of Kinfolk magazines and Off Season newspapers make you feel like out of Japan. No need to say about coffee as Allpress roaster is already acknowledged and loved by millions of people around the world. With the help of La Marzocco, Allpress roasted beans and creamy milk, Iki Espresso latte will never be enough. The coffee shop has been opened for more than two years and recently they have got something exciting behind the counter. Rapidly gaining popularity among Tokyo trendy coffee shops, coffee tonic is said to …

Discovering Beauty in White Forest

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In this simple, pure space a guest can savour his coffee and let his mind flow in tranquility. The minimalism culture that had been nurtured in Japan since ancient times has adapted modern influences in Tokyo. Ki Café is a true fusion of modernism and minimalism somewhere in between zen philosophy and urban city. Hidden one station away from Shimokitazawa, a commercial and entertainment district in Setagaya, Ki Café invites Tokyoites to run away from crowd to a mesmerizing white forest. Ki (木) means ‘tree’ in Japanese and details of it can be seen around the shop. While most of the design magazines describe Ki as cafe with an abstract tree theme, it is much more than that. According to the owner, Yuko, the main inspiration is ‘white’, which spreads tranquility and at the same time invites to reach a mental state of no-mind (無心). At the entrance, you will be asked to take off your shoes as if you enter a sacred space. There is no music in the background. No excessive details either. …

Rejoice in the Land of Purist Coffee: Lanark Coffee

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  London’s coffee purists stick to simple little spots that fully concentrate on quality in the cup. Lanark is one of those cafes with the shortest menus ever: espresso, espresso with milk or filter. It is a perfect spot to hide from hustle and bustle of Columbian Road and Broadway Market as its minimalist design and simple menu help guests to turn their attention to the complexity of specialty coffee.     True coffee guru would know Greg Boyce’s coffee-making abilities from Alchemy and Black Box. Lanark Coffee is his new coffee venture launched in 2014. Greg does not settle with one kind of beans but you can fully rely on his selected coffee from top micro-roasters. At the time of my arrival, behind the counter Greg has got beautiful Rwandan roast from Alchemy and East London’s Dark Arts Coffee waiting for its turn. Lanark is a coffee bar with its particular pure coffee approach: no soya milk or tea options here and sugar is available only on request. A tiny coffee bar inside is …

Berlin’s True Coffee Heroes

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Cursive letters that reads, Bonanza Coffee Heroes, on the greyish blue painted walls could be easily mistaken for a stylish boutique. Its minimal, yet stylish interior and exterior attract one’s eye, but the smell of freshly brewed coffee makes every passersby of Oderberger Straße a coffee addict. While for most foreigners the Barn’s name associates with the third wave coffee in Berlin, in fact, Kiduk Reus and Yumi Choi, baristas behind Bonanza, were the first to bring the legendary coffee movement to Berlin. This original roaster has been setting standards in the German capital for almost a decade and its coffee beans can be found in many coffee shops in Berlin. The inspiration behind Bonanza is London and one of the first specialty coffee shops, Monmouth Coffee Company. Monmouth is well known internationally for its approach to roasting coffee from single farms and directly trading coffee beans. While nowadays we can easily find specialty coffee shops on almost every corner, before the mid-2000s it would be a hard task to find a good cup in …

Kreuzberg’s gem – Companion Coffee

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Third wave coffee companies over the last decade have been occupying mixed-use spaces, ranging from barbershops to libraries. That way specialty coffee has become in the centre of community, finding its home in unexpected locations. Companion Coffee, brought by Shawn Barber and Chris Onton, settled in East Central part of Berlin and operates in association with trendy clothing boutique, known as ‘Voo Store’. It is a tiny space for a coffee shop. However, as the café space is extended with a spacious concept store, it creates different types of casual seating. Some sipping coffee on stairs, some sitting on stools, others reading magazines at the concrete tables. There are a few natural layers and all of them present different perspectives and different experiences. The walls and ceiling are roughly whitewashed; the atmosphere is casual, yet trendy. A contrast between concrete and vivid green plants gives an impression of an urban jungle. A bath in the corner of Companion Coffee brings back memories of funky Kyoto Hanjiro shop, where not only bathtubs but also sinks are blooming …

Curators of Coffee, Art and Flawless Design

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A small group of Antipodeans has gathered together for another coffee venture, where design infused with art of coffee brings space for local artists and coffee aficionados. Opened in 2014 summer, ‘Currators Coffee’ has been ‘loud’ since then. Blessed be Fitzrovia for its best selection of coffee shops in London and ‘Curators Coffee’ has absolutely deserved to be on this list. The Curators Coffee design fueled with creativity and innovation has brought two beautiful spaces to the City. However, Curators Gallery is the one that gets the most attention for its unique concept and flawless design. An airy space devided into ground floor and basement was designed by interior designer and stylist Ana Foster-Adams. A former clothing store on Margeret Street has been retransformed into a modern cafe and gallery space.  A design of careful thought and detail is the perfect environment for local art to be displayed and admired. Apart from artistic canvas, another form of art that is taken for granted in Curators Gallery is the art of coffee. Either coffee extracted by La Marzocco Strada or one of the neatly rowed Chemex, …

Coffee For Passion in ‘The Borough Barista’

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Nestling in an unexpected location behind Marble Arch station, The Borough Barista makes local hearts explode with happiness of artisan coffee. Fashionable chicks and elegant ladies, young lads and businessmen: all quietly sitting in front of the window and sipping locally roasted caffeinated goodness. It proves me again – coffee unites generations. Only good coffee, of course. … The Borough Barista on Seymour Street occupies the corner of red-brick building and beautifully stands out of the crowd with blueish gray painted walls and intriguing vivid yellow front doors. The sign board saying ‘Coffee For Passion’ lets the whole borough know that this is the place for a ‘decent’ cup of java. This corner coffee shop, surrounded by many bland cafe chains in Oxford Street and Edgware Road, stands proudly and boldly in the corrupt sands of commerce. As soon as you walk in, cheerful barista greets you and this small detail reveals that you are more than ‘just another customer waiting in a queue’. It is always a big pleasure to try locally roasted coffee beans. Without waiting any longer, I order …

When West Comes Calling

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Finally, Aussies with their world-famous coffee obsession started taking over West London. Hidden under a concrete flyover and local offices, Antipode is a real ray of sunshine for locals in the coffee wasteland of Hammersmith. … If there is a lack of shops serving a ‘decent’ cup of coffee in your local area, then create one. Seems that the owner of Antipode exactly followed this rule, giving joy to locals by bringing third wave coffee into an area. Thanks to never resting Aussies spreading their serious approach to coffee, West Londoners are a little bit more relieved for having unrivalled cup of joe on their doorstep. Opened for less than a year, Antipode is a relatively new coffee shop with fresh ideas, how West London coffee culture should look like. A cafe has already regular clientele as well as a queue on peak hours full of caffeine hungry local office workers. Striking 80% of customers are Kiwis and Aussies missing their Antipodean atmosphere and getting a big piece of it next to Hammersmith station. On the counter they proudly serve …

Coffee with a Big Splash of Kindness

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As I come in at 2 o’clock it starts to get busy for an afternoon coffee, I suppose. A lovely elderly couple enters the Antishop café in identical colourful clothes. Adel, the owner, greets them, gives a hug, and serves a croissant and a double espresso at the end. The couple is not too much talkative, but there is no need as honest smiles on their faces speak for themselves. Before leaving, a gentleman compliments Adel: “This is the best coffee ever”. Later the shop owner reveals that they have been coming to his café every day since it had been opened. Situated on the famous Brick Lane Road, The Antishop spreads anti-commercial love with its coffee and generosity.