Coffee Tea Jazz

Coffee Tea Jazz (I've made the assumption that this is the name of the cafe, since there was no other sign on display) is tucked away on a narrow shoutengai (shopping street) in Koenji Minami. Bright and welcoming from the outside with its white wooden terrace doors, the interior has a couple of tables and a short counter, making it a comfortable, airy, but intimate spot to enjoy a cup of your favourite brew.
Behind the counter there is a very extensive collection of jazz albums dating back to the fifties and sixties, with many album sleeves also forming part of the decor around the cafe. The owner is friendly yet unobtrusive and while not making the drinks, he sits quietly behind the counter enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. There is a bilingual menu, and an extensive choice of coffee blends and explanations of the different aspects of the flavour of each type and the prices are reasonable for this type of place. I opted for Brazilian coffee which was simply delicious. Whilst the menu doesn't feature any food, customers are welcome to bring along there own snacks to eat with there beverages.
A little out of the way for many perhaps, but if it's a nice place to read and relax that you're after, then this cafe is just the right spot.

Just Another Monkey Rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

Coffee L'Ambre

Coffee L'Ambre is a short walk from the east exit of Shinjuku station on a street that runs just behind Shinjuku Dori. From the street it looks fairly small, with thirty or so seats in a typical old smoky cafe, but the real treat lies in the basement floor, a vast area that seats around two hundred people and is a no smoking area to boot, which is fairly unusual in privately run coffee shops.

The seats are comfortable and the place is large enough for you to easily spend an hour or two chatting with friends or simply relaxing and reading.

As you relax with your coffee you can enjoy the gentle sounds of the piped classical music or simply take in the view, which is reminiscent of years gone by.

As with many coffee shops, there is a reasonable selection of food including savoury treats such as pizza toast and the like, or a selection cakes.

The large chain coffee shops may be better positioned and advertised, but this is a place where you will rarely have to wait for a seat and where you can enjoy your coffee at leisure. Recommended.

Just Another Monkey Rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

Cafe De Souvenir Nakano

You can find Cafe de Souvenir tucked away on the second floor of a building situated on one the narrow walkways that run between Nakano Dori and the Sunmall shopping arcade. The dimly lit narrow coffee shop is fairly comfortable and has a decent enough menu.

There are two types of 'blend' on offer, espresso and other coffee drinks as well as other soft drinks. If you're having an afternoon break then you can also treat yourself to one of the many cakes they have on offer, though be warned that as delicious as they are, they are also pretty filling.

A great place for a quiet coffee in Nakano, especially since many of the chain coffee shops are packed at weekends.

Just Another Monkey Rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

R Koenji

A little south of Koenji station off the PAL shopping arcade is the Chosenji Temple, and on the street leading to the temple tucked away on the second floor is a coffee shop called R. It's not the kind of place you're likely to stumble across by accident, because its presence is announced only by the narrow sign above and a staircase. Climb the stairs and you reach a large green door with a small peephole so you can look inside and a sign reminding customers that it's a place to come for peace and quiet, or rather coffee, books and peace and quiet.
The interior is decorated in a stylish way with an interesting mix of tables and chairs, with none repeated, so that you can, in theory, enjoy a different experience each time you visit.
I managed to find a nice comfy chair with a grandstand view of an aquarium, one of two or three dotted around the shop.
There is an extensive stock of books for customers to peruse if you haven't brought your own with you, with titles to satisfy a variety of ages and interests.

And what of the coffee? Well there are several blends on the menu and I opted for the Kilimanjaro, which was had a nice smooth yet rich flavour. For 680 yen you get a pot from which you can fill your cup three times, making it good value for money.

A great place to spend an hour or two with a good book.


Just Another Monkey Rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

Times Shinjuku

The Times coffee shop is just a short walk from the East exit of Shinjuku station. This is another coffee shop that seems to have a long history with dark brown worn tables and red upholstered chairs. It also has 'coffee' written in kanji rather than in the more normal katakana, suggesting a more traditional approach.
It's a fairly spacious place and you can relax and pick up one of the many newspapers on offer near the entrance. In fact, a lot of the customers appeared to be poring studiously over the racing form guides on the sports pages and making notes on scraps of paper.
The coffee itself tasted very good but was a little on the tepid side by the time it reached my table. In addition, none of the staff seem to believe in offering service with a smile, or maybe it was just a bad day.

Good coffee and a nice enough place to relax and read for a bit, but the tepid drink, and not so friendly service loses this place one star on my rating.

Just Another Monkey Rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

Edinburgh Shinjuku

Located on Yasukuni Dori in Shinjuku, Edinburgh is a coffee shop that has the look of a place that has been around for some time. The interior is in the style of more traditional coffee shops of years gone by, with lots of browns and yellows.
The coffee is pretty good and is made with a siphon, meaning each drink is made specifically to order rather than poured from a large pot, which can only be a good thing. There is also a large choice of coffee types on the menu, with several different blends as well as things such as Viennese and Irish coffee.

I ordered a cake set, though to be honest the cake wasn't that good and not as fresh as you might hope, especially since the coffee and cake came to 1,100 yen! There is a variety of cakes and sandwiches on the menu, though all of the prices are on the high side.

My guess is that the prices are high because the coffee shop is just a short walk away from the Kabuki-cho entertainment district and it is open 24 hours a day, meaning that it is likely that thy have a steady night trade.

Worth visiting once to get a feel for the more traditional coffee shops, but a little pricey for regular visits as far as I'm concerned.

Just Another Monkey Rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

Yanaka Bossa

Having recently thoroughly enjoyed The Devil's Cup, I have decided to add a new feature to this blog, namely a focus on some of the coffee shops of Tokyo. Given that wherever you go they are pretty much the same, I'll be ignoring the famous chain shops, regardless of their merits, and will instead focus on the small independent shops, of which there are many.

The honour of the first posting in this feature goes to Yanaka Bossa where I lunched on my recent visit to Uguisudani.

This small coffee shop has a nice laid back feel to it and you can relax to the sound of Brazilian music, though not always bossa nova, from an extensive collection of CDs while you eat and drink.

There are a couple of options regarding lunch sets, and you can either have a curry set or a quiche set, both of which come with a small salad and drink for a very reasonable price.

But what about the coffee? Well, the 'blend coffee' that came with the curry set I had was particularly nice, a good balance of smoothness and bitterness ~ just right to go with a meal.

The coffee shop is also used to house exhibitions and sometimes acoustic live music performances in the evenings, and I'm sorely tempted to come back to see one or the other at some point.

Just Another Monkey rating: ˜˜˜˜˜

Books: The Devil's Cup by Stewart Lee Allen

Being rather partial to a daily fix of caffeine ~ in fact I find it virtually impossible to get going in the morning without a cup ~ a book that suggests that coffee is one of the major driving forces in world history had its obvious attractions.

The Devil's Cup is part travelogue, part social history and part theorising on the contribution the bitter beverage has made to world history. Stewart Lee Allen takes us most of the way around the world from the birthplace of the bean (Ethiopia) through its rise in Yemen and the Ottoman Empire, and then Europe. He follows the trail to the New World, ending his trip in the US, land of the truck stop and coffee chains.

All the time, the prose is witty and informative, hitting just the right spot, like a perfect cup should do. The book is written in a gonzo journalist style, with tales of Allen's adventures and accounts of the various characters he meets interwoven with fascinating tidbits of information about the use of coffee in past societies, and how it was introduced (by foul means and fair) to different parts of the world.

A highly entertaining read which left me gasping for more.